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Examples Of Sexism In A Raisin In The Sun

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Beneatha’s Experience With Sexism Women and Men are the two genders that society measures on what they should do and how they should behave. Women, particularly, have faced discrimination for the majority of the years including the present day. In the book, A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha is described as a diligent and devoted college student, on the path to becoming a physician. Lorraine Hansberry portrays the sexism Beneatha encounters for wanting to become a doctor through her peers' disparaging comments. 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 …show more content…

This holds back Beneatha because she needs all the motivation she could get. People telling her she won't actually become a doctor only makes her feel even less confident about it, particularly coming from her family, who should be her biggest supporters with something like this. Beneatha overcomes this towards the end of the play by simply ignoring them and focusing on herself. Furthermore, Walter displayed sexism towards Beneatha when he explained that girls do not become doctors. Beneatha reminds Walter almost daily that she still wants to be a doctor. Walter discourages it and proceeds with, “Ain’t many girls want to be a doctor” (Hansberry 38). In this section, Walter recalls that the fundamental standard for women in their society is that women cannot become doctors. This is simply because it is not the norm for them. This challenges Beneatha to keep pursuing this dream because she may feel unaccepted in society if she chooses this career. Barely any women aspire to become doctors, and Beneatha could feel incapable of doing so. Beneatha could be considered an “other” for trying to go against the stereotypical way for women, which could give her complications throughout her career. Lastly, Beneatha endures inequality by facing the fact that there are very few Black

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882 Words | 4 Pages

In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha is an empowered young woman whose dreams are more significant than life. Beneatha is not an actual name, but it still has a more profound significance. Hansberry creates this name to show society’s perception of Beneath in contrast to her perception of herself. Everyone around her wants to dim her light and make her more petite than she wants to be. Beneatha has had her mind set on being a doctor forever.

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779 Words | 4 Pages

Beneatha wants to become a doctor but Walter and the rest of her family wonder why she just does not become a nurse instead. The fact that her family questions her dream of helping people in the way she wants too can really put her down. A quote that can explain this is when Beneatha is ranting to Asagai about her struggle, “And where does it end? […] An end to misery! To stupidity!

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919 Words | 4 Pages

Hansberry makes the characters have a tough life so when they achieve what they want, it’s a greater reward than someone who had an easy life. The main reason Beneatha changed so much during this play because of how people treated her. Beneath goes through major changes in the play. One of the main reason she does is because of Asagia. Asagia is a friend of Beneatha and is from Nigeria.

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600 Words | 3 Pages

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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934 Words | 4 Pages

Walter, believes Beneatha should give up on her dream of becoming a doctor. In the story, he states, ¨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...¨(Hansberry 38). Her attitude towards his response was very fitting for the situation. She is tired of his attitude toward his dream and lets him know by telling him to give up. It seems as if Walter was the reason for Beneatha 's dream to become deferred.

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921 Words | 4 Pages

Walter uses his male privilege to put Beneatha down. Beneatha battles being underprivileged at home and in society by defying odds and choosing her own path. According to the matrix of domination, Beneatha being an African American woman shows that in order for her to have full privilege she has to deal with both the isms. The social construction of difference has produced racism and sexism and connected them and society has used them to justify

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699 Words | 3 Pages

Beneatha is a young independent woman, who has big dreams of becoming a doctor. During the 1950, it was very rare for a young woman to become a doctor. As a result, becoming a doctor was even harder for a young black woman, like Beneatha. She is constantly told that women should just sit and look pretty. Constantly being put down by George Murchison a man that neglects his roots, “I don’t go out with you to discuss the nature of “quiet desperation”or to hear all about your thoughts...

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910 Words | 4 Pages

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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1127 Words | 5 Pages

Hardships of the Youngers In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the characters of Mama, Walter ,and Beneatha are faced with hardships associated with their dreams being destroyed by discriminatory housing,racial inequality and lack of support from her family towards her education. In the play all the characters have some kind of dream. Mama wants to get a house for the family, Walter wants to have money to provide for his family and plans to do that with a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to become a doctor. Beneatha is going to school and at the same time she’s trying to discover herself,but her family is not supportive of this.

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2545 Words | 11 Pages

After undergoing the obstacles of being a Black woman trying to attain higher education, her dream is squandered because her brother, Walter, gives the money meant for her education to a con man. Beneatha thus loses her one shot to create the future she has dreamed up for herself; unlike Biff, she does not have additional money to fall back on to ensure the fulfillment of her dream. Therefore, her dream is only brought to near fruition, because it is uncertain if she will ever have the resources to attempt to enroll in medical school. Hansberry is depicting that even those with a plan to seek higher ways of life may be unable to accomplish

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816 Words | 4 Pages

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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1502 Words | 7 Pages

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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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).

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779 Words | 4 Pages

His sister, Beneatha, wants to become a doctor and Walter isn't very supportive of her decision. Walter's wife, Ruth, is the recipient of the majority of Walter's anger and sexist remarks. In Act 1 Scene 1, the audience learns that Beneatha, a colored woman, wants to become a doctor and attends medical school. Beneatha and Walter begin to banter with each other about Mama’s money.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

In Act 1, Beneatha’s quest to find her personal identity is seen in the way she expresses herself, her ambitions, her roots and the way she deviates from what is acceptable in her family. She tries to find ways to express herself such as trying different hobbies. In the past, Beneatha has been a part of a play-acting group, horseback-riding club, and in Act 1 starts guitar lessons (47). She also has the ambition to become a doctor which is looked down upon by her brother, Walter Lee (38). Additionally, her African roots are important to her search for identity.

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