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

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Bending Gender Roles in A Raisin in the Sun
In society, there is definitely a standard for which gender does what. Men are very often seen as the head of a family, or the boss of a company, while women are more commonly seen as a housewife or secretary. However, if people are in a situation where money is tight and space is tighter, these roles don’t seem to hold up. In a house where everyone can work, everyone should work. In the novel, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, she presents Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha in order to express how the usual gender roles of the time period are bent and rewritten, overall showing how being in situations with limited resources can change a family dynamic.
The “head” of the family is Mama. Mama makes most of the decisions for the family and manages a lot of money. The author uses Mama as the regular maternal role, leading the family …show more content…

Beneatha is very independent and always speaks for herself, even when others tell her she shouldn't be. One example is her first boyfriend in the book, Joseph Asagai. Joseph is her favorite boyfriend because of how he wants to keep his african roots, but even he tries to get Beneatha to change in some way or another. Joseph thinks that Beneatha is too dependent on American culture because of her straight hair. However, Beneatha likes Joseph much more than her other boyfriend in the book, George Murchison. George is on the other end of the spectrum and he thinks Beneatha is too independent and that she speaks for herself too often. He tells her to be more submissive and “Drop the garbo routine” (Hansberry 96). George tells her that she needs to start acting “like a woman” and that he wants a sophisticated girl, not a poet. Beneatha ends up breaking up with George and then eventually finds Joseph. This shows how Beneatha is independent and will speak for herself, even when people say she

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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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He respect his mother and father, but mostly fear his father. Even though he fears his dad, he still tries to protect his mom from his dad when he tries to hurt her. When his dad was about to hurt her, he forgot all his fear and tries to stop his dad. For Beneatha, She always tries to do new things everyday and she was the only promising person for her future in her family. But because she was a colored person, she would have a rough time through her life to become a doctor.

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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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George thinks men should be smarter than women. George also makes fun of Beneatha’s heritage, by saying “ Let's face it, baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch of raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts!” (1571). Even though George is also this heritage, he thinks he’s better than them because he is rich. Thi changes Beneatha by showing that George is wrong and Asgia is the guy for her.

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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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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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I Chose The Book To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird has influenced the thinking of my life because of the conflict and symbolism in the book. The symbolism in this book isn't just in the book it is in our world everyday sometimes it's hidden but it's their. The symbolism of killing a mockingbird influenced me the most by showing how tom robinson is a innocent man and is being attacked. Killing a mockingbird is a sin because they don't you you or anything. To kill a mockingbird shows lots of symbolism throughout the whole book, and the main symbolism in the book is the mockingbird.

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George’s negative outlook is something that he received from his upbringing. When George puts down Beneatha’s interests and tells her that thinking is not required of her, he simultaneously shows that he is unhealthy in his relationship with Beneatha and that his unhealthiness comes from his upbringing. The unhealthiness comes from his upbringing because George, taught as a higher class, learned that it wasn’t necessary for his happiness, therefore he thinks that Beneatha does not need it

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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.

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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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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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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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“Generally, men are socialized into believing that their essential role in life is to work outside the home and provide for the family while women are taught that their main role is to be homemakers” (Akotia and Anum 5024). The breadwinner is normally thought of as a man, but Lena puts a twist on that gender role. “You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to” (Hansberry 1948). Lena breaks the gender role

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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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