A Raisin In The Sun Conflict Essay

Within A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, there are a variety of motives behind the conflicts surrounding the characters. Looking deeper, the experiences and how they deal with them go on to shape who they are. The characters all struggle with the same recurring motifs. In A Raisin in the Sun, the types of conflict can be categorized into the emotional, the financial, and the racist. The emotional conflicts in this play are conflicts of feelings and misunderstandings. One example of a conflict of feelings would be the tension between Walter and Ruth. Because Walter can't seem to think of anything but himself and his plans for the future, he has created a hostile relationship between him and his wife. It is demonstrated in the way he speaks to her. On page 35 Walter says to her, “We one group of men tied to a race of women with small minds!” Walter verbally attacks Ruth because he feels attacked himself by her lack of faith in him. The characters choices to wound each other mentally suggest that they are fighting emotionally. Ruth’s lack of enthusiasm for Walter’s new idea leads him to feel neglected. Acting out of pain the two fight to emotionally break the other.

It seems as though each family member has a different idea about what to do with the money. This conflict is based upon money. Walter wants a liquor store, Mama and Ruth want a house, and Beneatha wants tuition money. All these clashing ideals lead to tension and outbursts of anger. For example, on page 38, Walter says to Beneatha, “If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people- then go be a nurse like other women- or just get married and be quiet…” The stress of who gets how much money has caused the family to be at eachothers throats. It creates anger and tension where there might not have been anger and tension