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

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

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