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Gender Roles In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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The Power of Female Gender Roles in A Raisin in the Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer whose work focuses on themes of race, gender, and culture, once said, “Do not ever tell her that she should or should not do something because she is a girl” (Adichie). Such limited female gender roles in society are challenging for many women. Whether they are inflicted when young or are naturally imprinted in one's brain, it is crucial to convey that women can do the same tasks as anyone else, and representing this throughout the media becomes essential. The three main female characters in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, illustrate the power of gender roles in the 1950s: Mama sacrifices her wants for her children, Ruth overworks …show more content…

Beneatha faces this certain belief from her mother constantly in conversations and yet she could not care less. In almost every scene Beneatha is seen in, she’s talking about her immense dream of becoming a doctor. When her brother Walter is questioning her desire and reasoning behind it, he remarks to her, “Then go be a nurse like other women or just get married and be quiet . . .” (Hansberry 38). Walter never wanted to believe in her dream and assumed she would end up conforming to all the other expectations “normal” women do. Without regard to the constant backlash Beneatha receives, her dream never falters until Walter loses all of the money Mama had given to them for their dreams. She loses sight of everything, and cannot craft a way that could make her dream happen. As she talks to her companion, Asagi, she explains why she had chosen to go into this career path, “I always thought it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know, and make them whole again” (Hansberry 133). She has put all of her efforts and self-value into making other people well again, and she has forgotten what to do if this dream could not become a reality. By displaying her fears and opening up to Asagi she grapples with a dependency on men to help her find a reason not to give up. He provides her with the hope of moving to his home in Africa and even getting married to him. With some convincing Beneatha jumps at the offer and begins to see the light again. Eventually, she does not defy the expectations society has for her and completes the status quo of marrying someone, but in a different

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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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She was not like other young women that would be housewives or maids at her age but instead is independent. Looking after herself and making more of a life for herself, she attends school, tries to play guitar, and looks for a love interest. This breaks the stereotype of a “normal” woman who is a housewife or maid and shows Beneatha is different. Therefore, Beneatha overcomes this criticism of her “unnatural ways”, and proceeds to make her life successful.

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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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1686 Words | 7 Pages

The 1950s were oppressive and degrading towards the culture and identity of African Americans. This principle is especially personified through the drama, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. As a black female author in this time period, she was easily able to capture the racism and forced stereotypes poignant within the lives of the minorities. Beneatha, a fictional character in the play, represents the ambitious and suppressed black female intellectual who is stripped of her identity at every turn. The men in her life are as different as black and white, and in essence that is what they are.

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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.

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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

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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Good morning, There is a red van parked right up against the building alongside the fence overlooking route 330 - Please move it to. This action is not only against recently established parking guidelines, but with the amount of rainfall over the weekend, the ground is very saturated which makes driving a vehicle at such steep angle dangerous. Easily, a serious or even fatal accident could have occurred. With more than 80+ marked staff spaces, in addition to numerous others, there is ample parking available, relieving anyone from having to park on the grass. If you need to load or unload materials or equipment carts available in the supply, maintenance or front office for you to use.

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(Hansberry 28). Beneatha is talking about how she wants to be a doctor and how marriage can wait. She would rather work hard and have a good job, then get married right now. Beneatha's American Dream is to have a great job such as a doctor then get married. The speech from Beneatha shows her idea of the American

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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.

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1502 Words | 7 Pages

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun presents the rise of feminism in America in the 1960s. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, with the feminist notions displayed in the play, women establish their rights to fulfil their individual dreams which diverge from traditional conventions of that time. Beneatha Younger, Lena Younger (Mama) and Ruth Younger are the three primary characters displaying evidences of feminism in the play. Moreover, Hansberry creates male characters who demonstrate oppressive attitudes towards women yet enhance the feminist ideology in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, the play encourages women to develop an identity for themselves, particularly through education and career.

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In a patriarchal society, women are encouraged to focus on their family and its well-being. Most often, women achieve this by caring for the children and the home. However, in the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry suggests that women do not have to focus on the family. Instead, they can prioritize their own well-being. Hansberry exhibits these ideas through two female characters, Ruth and Beneatha.

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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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Just within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.

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