How Does Beneatha Change In A Raisin In The Sun

A person’s dreams and how they reach them can affect the path of their life. Beneatha Younger’s dreams, in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, are no different. We can see how Beneatha’s dreams change throughout the play. In the beginning, Beneatha is confident, although she wants to understand who she is. She knows what she wants to do, she wants to be a doctor and do things to help other people. In the middle, she is still confident and is going through the process of figuring out who she is. She still wants to be a doctor and feels that the money from the check could help her accomplish that. Nearing the end of the play, something happens and she feels lost and no longer knows what she wants to do. By the end of the play she figures out what she wants to do again

Beneatha is a confident person and she wants to figure out and explore who she is. While arguing with Mama and Ruth about marriage and her future, Beneatha says, “I am going to be a doctor and everybody around here better understand that!” (50). During the argument Beneatha is very assertive of her beliefs and what she wants to do. She is very adamant that she wants to be a doctor and she is upset that no one understands that. Beneatha also wants to explore who she is. In a conversation with Asagai, he imitates her saying, “‘Mr. Asagai I want very much to talk with you. About Africa. You see, Mr. Asagai, I am looking for my identity!’” (61). Asagai is imitating what Beneatha said to him when they first met at college. Beneatha previously saying that shows that she is taking the matter of her identity very seriously and would like to know more about where her ancestors came from in order to hopefully learn more about herself. By the end of Act I, Beneatha is still a confident person. During Act II, Beneatha discovers more about herself and continues working to accomplish her