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Oppression In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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Recommended: Theme of discrimination in the 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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

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Walter believes that money will resolve all of his financial and social problems. His desperation for money makes him feel like a man. Although, as a man, Walter feels worthless. He craves success, but his family is always telling him that his ideas are insignificant. Hansberry uses Walter’s desire for success to potentially lead

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Mama said, "so money is life, once upon a time freedom used to be life not it's money"(Hansberry). Walter view that money is more important than freedom which bring pleasure in their life. He desire to buy liquor store and he refuse to do small, want bigger the what he have now.

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Hansberry illustrates the idea that they should not give up on their dreams and goals despite the inequalities they face, as Walter and Mama work tirelessly to achieve their dreams and overcome the injustice of society. Walter initially dreams selfishly, disregarding others' thoughts, but then he realizes his mistakes and becomes selfless. As a lower-class male, Walter feels that the only way to provide for his family is to "make a transaction .. . a business transaction that’s going to change [their] lives"(108).

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In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry starts off with Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” to show what can happen to dreams that get caught in the middle of life. In Hansberry’s play a family of five African Americans live in a small crouched apartment on the south side of Chicago. Hughes’ poem relates to Hansberry’s characters because each one of them has a separate dream, however, not everyone’s comes true and “stink like rotten meat” (Harlem 6). The dream deferred can refer to anyone in the play. Ruth Younger, the wife of an abominable Walter Lee Younger, has dreams of moving out of the ratty old apartment and joining her family together for good.

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When Walter's father died, his family was going to receive a check from a life insurance policy. Walter planned to use the insurance money to open a liquor store and financially prosper. His mother though, would not let him do this though because it was unholy and an immoral way to make money. Walter, who was already bitter because he was a chauffeur, felt deprived. He saw an opportunity to make money and grew increasingly resentful because his family would not allow him to pursue those avenues, instead his family wanted to buy a home they could call their own.

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Walter feels his job is more than unsatisfying, and can not make Mama understand, since her simplistic views are just like Ruths. In spite of his personal inadequacies with his job fulfillment, Walter shines in the end of the story with understanding and growth of his own fathers not so wonderful job. Walter seems to be reflecting on his own status as a

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Walter, give up; leave me alone -- It’s Mama’s money. Walter: He was my father, too! (Hansberry 23)”

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Through the depiction of Walter Lee’s actions, words, and thoughts, Hansberry effectively illustrates what it was like to be an ambitious African American man striving for success in the 1950s in America at this time, according to a variety of research. Hansberry uses Walter's actions to show how strong his beliefs are. Walter wants many things but mama then mama says, “I want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy” (Hansberry 72). This quote from "A Raisin in the Sun" shows that Walter has a lot of wants and dreams that are making him feel overwhelmed.

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Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun follows the struggles of an African American family living in a neighborhood in 1950s South Side Chicago. The play discusses several issues pertaining to African Americans of the time, such as poverty and discrimination. One of the major themes of the story is the search for a sense of belonging; whether that’s a sense of belonging to the continent of Africa, a neighborhood in Chicago, or on a personal level within the Younger family. The play explores this theme through its characters Beneatha, Mama and Walter.

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As a civil rights activist, Stokely Carmichael once said, “We are told,” If you work hard, you’ll succeed”- but if that were true, black people would own the country. We are oppressed because we are black- not because we are ignorant, not because we are lazy, not because we are stupid, but because we are black!” This quote is still relevant even to this day, blacks are still considered a minority and they get treated differently simply because of the color of their skin. People continue to treat others by the color of their skin rather than their character. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the interaction between the themes of race and dreams demonstrates that your race can affect the dreams that you have and what you choose to do about it.

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Being the man of the household, Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and plans on using Lena’s money to do so. Walter is always after money and believes that the only way to succeed in life is with money. For example, when Walter is talking about the check, he says, “Mama, sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool, quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back and talking about things, turning deals worth millions of dollars, sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me” (992).This shows how Walter wanted something more out of life and not just be a poor black man. Everyone in this family had dreams but no one supported each other dreams.

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Out of a family of five, three people work: Walter Lee as a chauffeur to a wealthy white family, Ruth as a housemaid, and Mama as a nanny to other peoples children. This is clearly necessary to afford basic needs as shown in their apartment, with “weariness [having], in fact won” (Hansberry pg.23). It is clear in Hansberry’s characterization that the members of the Younger family are dissatisfied with their station in life, albeit to varying degrees; Walter Lee in particular is very vocal regarding their poverty, as he states at one point: “I got boy who sleeps in the living room- and all I got to tell him is stories about how rich white people

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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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Before choosing criminal justice as my major, I wanted to be an art major. The dream was to work as a comic book artist, but I soon realized that it was virtually impossible for me to achieve that dream. Eventually, I became interested in the criminal justice system and all of the aspects that exist in the system, specifically the court aspect. When I told my family that I wanted to be a criminal justice major, my father told me outright that I could not be a police officer or work in corrections, so law school was the only option, but I morphed that expectation into my own with the desire to become a civil rights attorney. Moreover, I have always been interested in politics and political movements that involved civil rights and human rights.

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Despite the fact that dreaming of a liquor store is shallow, Walter’s motivation to be able to support his family helps reconcile his somewhat immoral hopes. Later, Walter shows the idiocy of his plan to own a liquor store when he gets drunk. In act 2, scene 2, Walter borrows Willy Harris’s car and drives around Chicago for two days, then “just walked”, and finally “went to the Green Hat” (2.2 105). Through his actions, Walter shows that he is immature and cares more about pretending to be rich than his job that would allow him to provide for his family.

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