Oppression In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Gabriella Hennessey

Ms. Kolenik

9th Grade Lit & Comp

20 January 2022

Contravening Society

On December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old woman named Rosa Parks found a seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus after work. Segregation laws at the time stated Black passengers must sit in designated seats at the back of the bus, and Parks complied. Similar to Rosa Park's struggles in dealing with oppression, in Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family demonstrates the struggles black families faced in the 1950s in Chicago. In addition, Langston Hughes’ Harlem expresses the effects of interminable oppression not only on the family but one's mental state and goals. Lastly, in Lorraine Hansberry’s To Be Young, Gifted and Black, she demonstrates

His current socioeconomic status revolts him; he feels he should be destined for more because he is young, gifted, and black. Mama and Walter are fighting about the quality of his job when he reacts, “Mama, a job? I open and close car doors all day long. I drive a man around in his limousine, and I say, "Yes, sir; no, sir; very good, sir; shall I take the Drive, sir?’ Mama, that ain't no kind of job… that ain’t nothing at all” (Hansberry 73). According to Walter, self-employment is the key to a successful career. This is shown when Hansberry uses an ellipse; she makes the reader pause in alignment with his reflections on his career. Later in the play, Hansberry suggests the idea of Walter owning a liquor store. Therefore, the introspection Walter experiences when he is fighting with Mama is fueled by the revelation that his job, by his definition, is unsuccessful. Similarly, when Hansberry selects the phrase “that ain’t nothing at all,” she establishes a desperate tone in Walter, leaving the readers to infer that Walter yearns for more than what he owns and is unsatisfied with his current socioeconomic status. In Hansberry’s book, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, she talks about African American mindsets and lifestyles in Chicago in the 1950s: “My people are poor. And they are tired. And they are determined to live” (Hansberry). Hansberry’s choice of the

Walter has issues with his family, and his unintentional selfishness causes Mama to react in an exemplary way: “What you ain’t never understood is that I ain't got nothing, don’t own nothing, ain't never really wanted anything that wasn't for you. There ain't nothing as precious to me... there ain't nothing worth holding on to, money, dreams, nothing else if it means- if it means I'm going to destroy my boy” (Hansberry 106). Since Walter is hyper-fixated on his dreams, such as owning a liquor store, he forgets the basic parts of the family. Mama displays her worry and demonstrates her selflessness in an attempt to bring Walter to the realization that his mindset has impacted the family. Hansberry’s choice of the phrase “money, dreams, nothing else…” reveals Mama’s intention because she is purposely exemplifying the things that Walter is concentrating on. Instead of recognizing Mama’s attempt to comprehend his perspective, Walter secludes himself further by relying on his alcoholic habits. To the rest of the family, Walter's habits appear to be selfish. As a result, the family relationship is unstable, leaving Walter in a lonely and unhealthy obsession with his own habits and dreams. The poem “Harlem(A Dream Deferred)” by Langston Hughes provides the reader