ipl-logo

Betrayal In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

924 Words4 Pages

Imagine that your father or spouse has passed away. Obviously it is a sad time and everyone is grieving and hurt, But if there is any good new to be taken out of this it is that there was a life insurance policy, and a large one at that. Due to the sum of the money it causes a family feud. One person wants a house, one wants to go to college, one wants to start a new business. So who gets the say and how will picking one option over the other impact the family, and will there be feelings of betrayal. All of this is covered in Lorraine Hansberry play, A Raisin in the Sun. The most important theme in the play “A Raisin in the Sun” is the coming together of the Youngers family. At first, Youngers are presented as a family that is loving but which have issues that cause them to not be close to one another and that intensify over the course of the play. Yet by the play’s end, the family …show more content…

Lindner’s offer so that the family can have money back. But after the family talks some sense into him, he stands firm and turns down Mr. Linder. This allows the family to move into their new house and out of the apartment. Beneatha also rejects George and gets proposed to by Mr. Asagai who wants her to movie to Africa after becoming a doctor. While we never get her answer, It is almost a sure thing that she said yes. This story has major character changes throughout it. Take Walter for example, he seemed self-centered and very much hard headed. He did not care to much for what Mama had to say about his choices in life. Yet, when faced with the hardest choice, to take the money or stay in the house, he does what is best for everyone else. They also show us that family is stronger than anything in the world. They had to deal with major racial discrimination but yet overcame in together. While their path certainly will not be easy, it is safe to say that they will overcome any and all of life’s

Show More
Related
1388 Words | 6 Pages

The Youngers are a poor African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago. An opportunity to escape from poverty comes in the form of a $10,000 life insurance check that the matriarch

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

This changes him because he realizes that not everything has to go his way. The second example of Walter changing is when he loses the rest of the money. This changes him because he realizes how irresponsible and childish he was acting. The final example of

Read More
1677 Words | 7 Pages

Beneatha is Walter Lee´s little sister. She is very smart. Beneatha thinks that she is always right. Beneatha want to become a doctor in the future. She say everything that is on her mind and nothing makes her happy.

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

The author, Lorraine Hansbury wrote the story Raisin in the Sun with characters who are more influential than others. Lena (Mama) and Walter Younger influence the plot in different ways and have different aspects on the life they are living with their family. Lena always does what she believes is best for the family and tries to make the family’s life stupendous. Walter pushes the family away and is selfish with his actions. Both characters are very different, but affect the plot in more ways than one.

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

Lena and Ruth laugh at her, and are confused on why she does not want to marry George right away. George thinks it is stupid to not get married right now and wants Beneatha to be like everyone else. Sharon Brubaker notes that Beneatha's version of the American dream is "solitary, less traditional, and not as concerned with family." Beneatha does not want to be "white" or "normal" in her life. Sally Burke says that "Beneatha refuses to accept the subservient position often seen as 'natural' for women" (95).

Read More
869 Words | 4 Pages

Beneatha cuts her hair early in the play, which leads Walter to make fun of her and say who ever heard of a colored woman going to college?" ( Act I, Scene II). Beneatha's hair is a representation of her willingness to follow her dreams and her defiance of traditional beauty standards. "I'm going to be a doctor, and everyone around here better understands it", she states to Asagai. (Act I, Scene II).

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Beneatha wants to study to become a doctor, but instead Walter Lee wants to spend his family’s insurance money so he can open a liquor store with Willy and Bobo his friends and be a man. Since Walter Lee and his family were in a bad position and were very poor it was Walter Younger’s responsibility to keep the family together and he saw this a very big responsibility. He frequently complained about being a chauffeur and ridding rich people, every day when he woke up in the morning. He would always fight with his wife Ruth, Mama and his sister Beneatha. For instance (Hansberry 32-34) he says to Ruth his wife “You tired, ain’t you?

Read More
921 Words | 4 Pages

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun follows the struggles of an African American family living in a neighborhood in 1950s South Side Chicago. The play discusses several issues pertaining to African Americans of the time, such as poverty and discrimination. One of the major themes of the story is the search for a sense of belonging; whether that’s a sense of belonging to the continent of Africa, a neighborhood in Chicago, or on a personal level within the Younger family. The play explores this theme through its characters Beneatha, Mama and Walter.

Read More
699 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

She is also upset because Walter is giving in to racial tension and calling Mr. Lindner back to negotiate taking money in exchange for not moving into the white neighborhood. Lena immediately snaps back and calls out Beneatha for not learning to care for her brother. In this scene Lena’s maternal instinct really shines through. Even though she is disappointed in Walters foolishness and lack of pride, she knows that Walter is at his lowest point and that persecution and ridicule will not help the situation in any way. She also understands that his pursuit of money wasn't for self interest but to make things better for the whole family.

Read More
963 Words | 4 Pages

Family is important to everyone in some way because family sticks together no matter what. The play A Raisin in the Sun is about a black family named the Youngers and the hardships they face together as a family. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruth Younger is motivated by her family. This is shown by Ruth wanting to make her family happy, her working even though she is tired, and later when Ruth finds out there is going to be another mouth to feed. Ruth Younger is constantly worrying about her family’s well being and happiness for them.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

In Susan Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the themes identified are dreams and faith that each character signifies throughout their struggles in their daily lives. The theme dreams refer to how each of the main five characters: Ruth Younger, Walter Lee Younger, Travis Younger, Beneatha Younger, and Lena Younger dealt with different oppression situations that took part in their lives that put the dreams on hold. Furthermore, the theme also connects towards the faith that each main character had to pursue to keep their family together after the death of a love one. The characters’ in A Raisin in the Sun tries to chase after a separate dream, unfortunately their dreams are utterly pushed away to realize the importance of their family

Read More
816 Words | 4 Pages

It was harder for the Young family to do simple things, but they overcome their obstacles and stayed true to themselves throughout the

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

Whereas Ruth adheres to patriarchal standards, Beneatha rebels against them. Hansberry contrasts Ruth and Beneatha to study how their adherence affects their personal and social well-beings. Through her play, she suggests that opposing the patriarchy leads to a more positive mindset and more stable relationships. In conforming to patriarchal norms, Ruth fulfills the roles of homemaker and wife. In the first scene of the play, Ruth makes breakfast and tells her son Travis, “Sit down and have your breakfast,” signifying that she has embraced her role as mother (Hansberry 490).

Read More

More about Betrayal In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Related Topics

Open Document