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Traditional Ideas In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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As far as history would go, there were many traditional ideas of gender around the world. Like in Egypt, the pharaohs were ideally male, or during the medieval times the King upheld all the power and led his people. The play A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry. The play is about the Younger’s family and their struggles; it takes place in the South Side of Chicago during the World War II era. The play both portrays the traditional American ideas of what it is to be a man and a woman, but subverts them too.

The play introduces the traditional ideas of what it is to be a man. For instance, men play a similar role to God, for He is the creator of the earth and the universe. Mama says, “A man’s hands was made to make things.” Men are not supposed to be servants, they are meant to create as God would. Furthermore, a man is the boss that you must obey. Walter talks about Linder when he says, “The man. Captain Boss – Mistuh Charley, Old Cap’n please Mr.Boss.” A man is a boss like figure, with all the power in business. Additionally, the men are the head of the family. Mama tells Walter, “I’m telling you to be …show more content…

In the first place, woman are expected to be married. Walter says to Beneatha, “Go be a nurse like other women, or just get married and be quiet.” Walter makes it clear that women should not state their opinions and they would be better off getting married. With this in mind, women are thought to be doing nothing. Walter states, “We all tied up in a race of people that don’t know how to do nothing moan, pray and have babies!” He has the idea that women only complain and get pregnant. In addition, it is the woman’s job to do the housekeeping. Mama tells Ruth, “Well, he’s a little boy. Ain’t supposed to know ‘bout housekeeping.” The only job for the women is to look after the men and children, and do the chores. Generally speaking, woman are expected to meet certain

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Women are confined to single roles and are expected to be submissive and respectful. When Joe married Janie, he forced her into a role of subservience. Hurston indicates that Joe attempted to mold Janie into what white women do on a daily basis which is to “sit on their high stools on the porches of their house and relax.” Doing this, Joe believes he is granting his wife all the wishes she ever wanted while neglecting the fact that Janie takes pleasure in the simple things in life like chatting, laughing, fishing and dancing. “Janie [especially] loved the conversation[s]” that took place on the porch and sometimes “she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge” because he didn’t want her to talk after those “trashy people” (Page 104).

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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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