A Raisin In The Sun Gender Analysis

Racism is acting indifferent towards a person or group because of the color of their skin. Another type of discrimination is gender discrimination. Gender discrimination is when a person is treated unfairly based on their gender. In the 1950s and 1960s, racial and gender inequity decreased as people began to realize it was wrong and changed the rules. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that displayed both racial and gender discrimination. The play is about overcoming the struggles of being an African-American family living in Chicago in the 1950s. The younger family, who receives $10,000 out of compensation for their fathers death, decide on how they want to spend the money. The mother, Lena Younger, wanted to use the money

For example, one character that shows resilience against race and gender inequity is Lena Younger, also known as Mama. In the play, black neighborhoods were more costly to live in since “the houses they put up for color in their areas all seem to cost twice as much as other houses (Hansberry 93). Mama had bought a house in Clybourne Park which is a neighborhood with no colored people since it was the most affordable and fitting for the Younger family. By buying that house, it showed how much she loved her family and wanted what was best for them. Her buying a house in an all white neighborhood shows her resilience to racism. Even though she knew they were going to be risks involved, she still did what was right for society and the best for her family. Another character that displays strength against gender stereotypes is Benatha younger. When Beneatha told Mama and Ruth Younger, Beneatha's sister in law, that she did not focus on getting married, they were shocked as it was common for women to “just get married and be quiet” (Hansberry 23). Beneatha not accepting the gender roles shows her strength to be independent in a time where it was looked down upon. As a result, characters in the play show perseverance against the norms in the

For example, Beneatha cutting her shows her embracing her culture not caring what other people think of her. In the beginning of the play, Beneatha had straight hair resembling a white person's hair. Later on in the play, Joseph Asagai, a suitor of Beneatha, criticized her hair. She had wondered what was “wrong with [her] hair?” (Hansberry 61). He was implying that her hair resembled caucasian hair and that she should cut it to embrace her culture and to not be influenced by the people around her. Beneatha cutting her hair symbolizes that one's natural self is beautiful and that people should feel proud in portraying their roots. Another example of a symbol to fight gender stereotypes was when Beneatha had the discussion of marriage. Beneatha had always put her love life second when everyone around her told her that she should just get married like every woman does. She focused on school and becoming “a doctor. [she] was not worried about who [she] was going to marry yet” (Hansberry 32). Marriage was seen as the only option for women to gain her freedom and nobody believed in a woman gaining independence on her own. Since Beneatha did not care about the gender roles she was able to chase her dreams and set an example to women in future generations. For these reasons, symbols in A Raisin in the Sun display the overcoming of the hardships of racism and gender