ipl-logo

Comparing The American Dream In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

1114 Words5 Pages

"A Raisin In the Sun" a play written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, is about a low class African American family living in a constant struggle of achieving their wants and desires. Throughout this play, there is one recurring theme. The American Dream. The American Dream is "A national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers." In other words, a life without struggling. Each individual character has a different perception on what "The American Dream" means to them. In the duration of this play, you'll learn just exactly what it means to these characters, …show more content…

No matter your what your ethnicity may be, you still are presented with the opportunity to achieve your dreams, to be who you choose to be. In the 1950's, when "A Raisin In The Sun" was written, African Americans didn't have as much expressive freedom and equal rights. Especially for women. For Beneatha Younger, that didn't stop her. Beneatha has dreams and a mindset of being a doctor. As an African American, low class, woman, a high class position of that type, wasn't widely known. In that time period, it was unheard of for the most part. Beneatha is remarkably outspoken. She lives in a family with all similar beliefs and morals, yet she doesn't fear to disagree with them. Her need for independence leads to many arguments and shakiness within her family. Beneatha constantly feels the need to have no less than expensive hobbies, and a surplus of them at that. As she enjoys them, her family constantly reminds her that the money could be used for more financially relevant things. The bond between Beneatha and her family is very rocky in "A Raisin In The Sun" solely due to the reason that she refuses to accept the traditional female role in her time of being. "A set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success... " A short piece of what the actual definition of "The American Dream" is. Beneatha strived to have all that. She is willing to challenge the expectations of society to fulfill

Show More
Related
1449 Words | 6 Pages

The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in 1959, and the movie was made in 2008. “A Raisin in the Sun” is about the Younger family, the fifth generation of lower-class African-Americans living in Chicago’s Southside. They are faced with problems such as racial discrimination, poverty, and conflicting dreams. As the family decides on how to spend the insurance check of $10,000 from Walter’s father’s death, these problems cause many conflicts to rise. Reading the 1959 play and the 2008 movie, I have realized certain similarities and differences in how the story plays out.

Read More
587 Words | 3 Pages

While her family goes through difficult times after Walter Sr. has passed away, Beneatha faces many challenges. Beneatha, a resilient young woman, must try to find herself while overcoming the ridicule of others and being treated like a child, not a mature adult in the Younger’s family. Chicago in the 1950’s was also a difficult time for African Americans to face. Dealing with discrimination, segregation, and less opportunities as

Read More
942 Words | 4 Pages

George is looking for a pretty girl to make him look good. George wants someone with less opinions and less educated. Beneatha’s education and willingness to learn makes her talk more and wanting and questioning things but that upsets George. Also in the play Beneatha’s education is not taken seriously. This is shown when Walter gives all the money Mama gave him and gives it to the liquor store and Willy takes all the money and runs.

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Overall, Beneatha wants to break racial and gender stereotypes by becoming a doctor. She seeks to find herself and create her own path. In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry portrays Beneatha Younger as a woman in the 1950s who seeks to find herself in life while also making mistakes along the way. She faces gender and racial stereotypes and wants to break those standards that have been placed. It is frowned upon to do so, however, it is best to walk through

Read More
600 Words | 3 Pages

The title of the play “A Raisin in the Sun” comes from the poem “Harlem” written by Langston Hughes. The poem is asking what happen to dreams that are not accomplished, What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun (Hughes) in the play many character have unaccomplished or deferred dreams. Mama dreams is moving her family out of their small apartment and into a house in a nice area with a yard for Travis and a garden for herself. She has had this dream for a long time but has never been able to accomplish it financially. After the death of her husband, the family receives a $10,000 life insurance check this money gives mama of the opportunity to buy the house she has always dreamed for her family.

Read More
1002 Words | 5 Pages

Young African American women's ideas and aspirations changed around the middle of the 20th century in America, and her character reflects those changes. The larger cultural and societal shifts occurring at this time are reflected in Beneatha's curiosity and yearning to connect with her African background, and her interactions with other characters emphasize the challenges and complexities of the African American experience. Beneatha's commitment to social justice and a strong sense of cultural and social identity both influence how she sees the world. Her interactions with other characters offer a potent reflection on the African American experience in mid-20th century America, and her character represents the shifting attitudes and aspirations of young African American women during this time. One quote from "A Raisin in the Sun" that typifies Beneatha is: "I'm not a symbol.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

Introduction Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” led a great quest for the Younger household. Raisin is set in subsidized housing in Southside Chicago, in which three Black female relatives live and interact with their brother, husband, and son Walter. African Americans were frowned upon before the writing of “A Raisin in the Sun”. However, it her notorious story provided individuals of multiple races new hope for life. In 2006, Diana Adesola Mafe provided the world with her opinion of “A Raisin in the Sun”.

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

Since Mama is from an older generation than Beneatha, she wants her daughter to be taken well care of in a family that can provide. Beneatha's views differ because she has newer thoughts due to her upbringing in a more recent generation. These opposing views between Beneatha and Mama create conflicts in the

Read More
1601 Words | 7 Pages

“A Raisin in the Sun,” written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, was the first play ever produced on Broadway by an African-American woman and was considered ground-breaking for it’s time. Titled after Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” sometimes known as “A Dream Deferred,” the play and the subsequent film adaptations are honest examinations of race, family, poverty, discrimination, oppression and even abortion in urban Chicago after WWII. The original play was met with critical praise, including a review by Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times where he wrote, “For A Raisin in the Sun is a play about human beings who want, on the one hand, to preserve their family pride and, on the other hand, to break out of the poverty that seems to be their fate. Not having any axe to grind, Miss Hansberry has a wide range of topics to write about-some of them hilarious, some of them painful in the extreme.” The original screen adaptation released in 1961 was highly acclaimed in its own right, and was chosen in 2005 for preservation in the United States of America National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance.

Read More
1138 Words | 5 Pages

As a civil rights activist, Stokely Carmichael once said, “We are told,” If you work hard, you’ll succeed”- but if that were true, black people would own the country. We are oppressed because we are black- not because we are ignorant, not because we are lazy, not because we are stupid, but because we are black!” This quote is still relevant even to this day, blacks are still considered a minority and they get treated differently simply because of the color of their skin. People continue to treat others by the color of their skin rather than their character. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the interaction between the themes of race and dreams demonstrates that your race can affect the dreams that you have and what you choose to do about it.

Read More
910 Words | 4 Pages

She puts a lot of effort and time in trying to get an education for herself and learn how to be her own person. Beneatha does not want to be with George because she feels that she will not be able to fulfill her dream of being a doctor. For example, “But if the Younger’s are sitting around waiting to see if their little Bennie is going to tie up the family with the Murchisons, they are wasting their time” (Hansberry31).Beneatha wants to be a hardworking woman and this connects to the American Dream because hard work is a big component of achieving what you want. Also, she does not want George Murchison stopping her from being a hard-working woman. She does everything by herself and puts her hard work into everything she does.

Read More
1524 Words | 7 Pages

The Idea of The American Dream can be interpreted as a mixed blessing for many as they will change who they are or what they believe in just to achieve it. We see this idea in the play A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Robert Nemiroff. This story shows the struggles of an African American family with dreams and hopes and not enough possibilities to achieve them. Another example of this idea is portrayed in the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes. This poem shows a different side of The American Dream, the side that people often ignore because the outcome is not what they hope for.

Read More
418 Words | 2 Pages

Lastly,Beneatha is a highly motivated character. She is motivated to make a difference in the world and achieve her goals to become a doctor. Beneatha was not letting anything stop her from becoming a doctor. In the text it states "I'm going to be a doctor. I'm not worried about who I'm going to marry yet—if I ever get married."

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

A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period.

Read More

More about Comparing The American Dream In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Related Topics

Open Document