Family In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Mama sprinkled her love for the family as if they were seeds in her garden, hoping with enough sunshine that they could blossom into the flower she hoped they could become. Lorraine Hansberry illustrates the hidden meaning of family through Mama’s plant as it undergoes positive and negative changes throughout the novel. In A Raisin in the Sun, Mama’s plant represents the family’s growth over time, dependence on Mama, and the ability of sustaining life even in the most difficult of times. Even though the play only takes place during the span of a few months or so, the growth and changes by the Youngers’ over this period of time is more than physical. To begin, Mama, the head of the household in the Younger family, symbolizes the plant, as

As a colored family in the 1950’s, maintaining a steady job and income is hard enough, but the Youngers consistently manage to make the most of what they have. To demonstrate, Beneatha and Walter both have dreams that are not common or easily reached, yet they are not the least bit discouraged. In comparison, Mama’s plant does the same, “Like this little old plant that ain’t never had enough sunshine or nothing-and look at it” (Hansberry 52). In spite of the fact that the plant continues to live, it is still weakened due to little sunshine, which resembles Mama and her dream. Though she encourages her children and grandchild to dream big, she, herself, limits her dream of a more stable, better life, because she does not have enough hope to see past her family’s current situation (Brubaker 1). Even without all the luck in the world, the family, as does the plant, continues to find a way to survive and keep moving forward. When Walter lost all the money, the family did not let the money define them, and they kept moving forward as the plant does with little nutrients. Henceforth, the Youngers ability to survive with what they have and keep moving forward bears a resemblance to the Mama’s