Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

In the poem “A Dreamed Deferred, “Langton Hughes asks “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun (Hughes)”? The most common dream in modern day is the “American Dream.” According to Merriam-Webster:

The American dream is a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful with good jobs, a nice house, two children, and plenty of money, they believed they were living in the American dreams.

The characters in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry deal with issues like these. Everybody has a dream that they want to accomplish in life. Walter Lee, Beneatha, and Lena Younger all have dreams and goals

Also, in the play Hansberry demonstrates how both Younger children “come of age.” In the play, Walter Lee has a dream that he wants to accomplish. A Walter dream has been often been put off by his poverty. Without a plan, your goals will just be dreams (Hansen). According to Jones, “Failure to make progress toward personal goals can lead to negative affective states such as depression and anxiety (Jones1)”. Failure and getting let down by his mom made Walter Lee depressed, so Walter Lee decides to go drinking at the bar. Walter Lee wants to invest in a liquor store with his two friends (Gates). Walter Lee often thinks his dreams are being ignored by his mom. He says to her “Do you know what this money means to me? Do you know what this money can do for us? Mama—Mama—I want so many things” (Act I Scene II). According to Katz, “The key is to determine what is worth fighting for and what is something we must let go” (Katz). Walter Lee is often trying to prove to his mother he can use the money and make them some money. According to Brunstein “ poor conditions for attaining personal work goals, indicated by a lack of opportunity, control, and support in the pursuit of personal goals, were associated with impaired progress and

The mother Lena plans to put half of the insurance money up in the bank, so Beneatha’s dream of going to medical school will have the chance to come true (Ingle). We found out later in the story that her brother jeopardizes her dream of becoming a doctor by using some of the money on his dream of opening up a liquor store (Ingle). Beneatha’s dream may be deferred because of the money Walter Lee loses in his liquor scam. Walter Lee’s big dreams often affect his mother’s Lena dreams. Jones clearly states that “Individuals fulfil their needs for advancement and growth by pursuing and attaining goals” (Jones2). According to Lipari “Briefly, the story of A Raisin in the Sun is a classic exile story that, at its hearts revolves a family’s search for a home- a place with a garden like the family matriarch mama ‘used to see sometimes at the back of the houses down home’[Hansberry53]( Lipari121)”. One of Lena’s dreams of a house include having a place to plant roots and have a backyard so that her grandson Travis will have a place to play in (Lipari). Lena’s dream has always been to own a house one day “But Lord, child you should know