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A Raisin In The Sun Materialism Analysis

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E. F. Schumacher once said “...materialism - does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle while the environment it is placed in is strictly limited.” More simply, he is saying that materialistic people can not be fully satisfied in the modern world as there are certain limitations such as availability and money which would prohibit acquiring all that you desire. This is relevant in A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry as a character named Walter seeks out only material things. He does not seems to be pleased with what he has. On the other hand, his sister Beneatha will be satisfied curing people and helping them through medicine. Therefore, the author uses materialism to show that Walter is driven by greed and can not be fully satisfied as there are always more things to acquire, and that Beneatha is driven by passion and that she will be satisfied by helping her cause. Walter’s greed causes him to not be satisfied with what he has and always only think about what he does not have. This applies to him not being satisfied with what he has …show more content…

She believed that medicine could help people very significantly. Beneatha thought through medicine she could “‘...fix [someone] up - sew up the problem, make [them] alright again’” (Hansberry 133). This is her way of helping the world and trying to make it a better place for everyone. This is her goal in life and will be satisfied by helping people. She thought it was the only definitive “‘...thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick...make them whole again’” (Hansberry 133). By saying this, Beneatha thinks this is the most valid way of helping people since other methods such as trying to end poverty are too ambitious and could not be achieved. This shows that she is more selfless, dedicated, and realistic than

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Beneatha is a confident person and she wants to figure out and explore who she is. While arguing with Mama and Ruth about marriage and her future, Beneatha says, “I am going to be a doctor and everybody around here better understand that!” (50). During the argument Beneatha is very assertive of her beliefs and what she wants to do. She is very adamant that she wants to be a doctor

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Hansberry addresses Beneatha's struggles with discrimination for wanting to become a doctor by getting told it's just a phase. Beneatha always loves to share her dreams with the whole family, as she wants everyone to hear her and know that

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Occasionally, Beneatha can be perceived for the genuine person she is. The motive behind Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor is driven from a time her childhood friend was injured by splitting their head open due to sledding. Observing the face of her childhood friend after recovering from the accident which had “a little line down the middle of his face”, Beneatha thought it was “The most marvelous thing in the world”. It is a vision for Beneatha to “… fix people up, sew up the problem, and to make them whole

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It shows this because Walter diminishes his sisters Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor by making a misogynist comment in which insinuates on her settling on being a nurse due to a doctor clearly being an often male dominant profession. Furthermore, Walter is deluded by greed on opening a liquor store which causes him to have no regard for the feelings or desires of others. Clearly, the central idea of the text is that in trying to achieve a dream it can bring out a person selfish tendency because people tend to disparage others dreams in order to attain theirs. The author 's use of conflict is important to the developing the central idea that oneself can become selfish when trying to obtain the American dream because it creates tension.

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“Well we are dead now. All the talk about dreams and sunlight that goes on in this house. It's all dead now” (143). This illustrates that Beneatha has given up on her dreams, saying that they are dead because she can't become a doctor. The reason she can't go to medical school is because Walter gave away Big Walters insurance money to Willy Harris, who then stole it.

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Beneatha is the most educated person in the family. Her dream is to medical school and become a doctor. Beneatha almost gives up her dream of becoming a doctor when Walter lose her money but Asagai offers for her to go be a doctor in Africa. Another dream she has is to have her cultural identity and be a part of the African heritage. Much of her desire to express her African heritage comes from Asagai who says she is assimilated and acts white.

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Beneatha 's dream is to go to college and become a doctor. She wants to prove her family´s disbeliefs of her becoming a doctor wrong. Yet she feels defeated after her brother, Walter, goes out and gives away all of her college money to some man that ends up disappearing with the money. She faces challenges financially and faces backlash from her family.

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He decides to leave, donating his money and burning the rest. He went into the wilderness, living off the land. He demonstrates materialism by taking only what was on his back. Materialism is a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values. The average person requires possession of physical objects in order to be content.

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In this way she expresses herself, but would never have done so without the provocation of Asagai. He also rebukes her need for her father’s insurance money to continue her education. He shows her that her dream of attending medical school is still going to be fulfilled without the insurance money, as it was never promised to her before she conjured up that dream. Advocating for Beneatha to finish her educational journey to become a doctor is another way he develops her confidence and wants her to become all she can be. Asagai believes she is the epitome the New World can offer: an educated, stubborn, beautiful black woman who owns her own heart and constantly betters her mind.

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Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor, is often affected by some of her family members’ decisions. She begins to lose hope, thus enabling her to become a realist.

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Beneatha’s dream to become a doctor connects to the American Dream through freedom. She wants to be able to achieve her own life and make a living for

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Beneatha also faced a hardship in her life, but herr 's was different from the rest. She face problems with education. Her family did not fully support her decision of wanting to become a doctor. Beneatha wants to become a doctor but her family is not that wealthy.

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The way that Walter thinks is that if he had lots of money he would be better and act different, but sometimes people with too much don’t really act like they enjoy and also money never solves big problems but walter thinks it will. I believe that if you have too much money you think that everything is going so well at the moment and you don't care about spending money, but one day something could occur and you will lose all of so this just shows that no one should rely on money. In life you need to make sacrifices that could be should i spend money on an investment that could be helpful and help out my family in the future or if that I should buy something so I could help out my family instead of later. I believe that you should always help out the family when they are in need because something could happen and it could all go away. Having money should never define the person you are because you could be rich you could just be rude and not help anyone and be selfish and if you are wealthy you could have the nicest heart and be very helpful to people that are in need.

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She defies the ideal life for a woman and expresses her opinion loud and clear. Beneatha throughout the play finds herself and her African American roots. Walter does not approve of Beneatha’s hopes to become a doctor he tells her, “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. . .” (1.1.125) These social issues that the characters faced in their lives made them out to be the people that they were meant to be.

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Beneatha dreams to be a doctor, which is a male-dominated profession. She says, “I am going to be a doctor and everybody around here better understand that!” (Hansberry 33). This shows her feminist attitude in the play when Beneatha takes a largely optimistic stance when facing troubles of entering a male-dominated profession, implying that she is a ‘non-conformist’. Additionally, Beneatha refuses to “just get married and be quiet” (Hansberry 22), as her chauvinistic brother, Walter Lee, expects her to be.

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