Withered Dreams Envision living your whole life striving for a dream but never being able to achieve that dream. Instead you watch it wither up and die. In A Raisin in the Sun, several characters are living a life full of withered dreams. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun and the Motown music of the Civil Rights era demonstrate the struggles African Americans faced during segregation. Both of these works explore ideas of perseverance, searching for freedom, and the longing for respect that they encountered. Mama relates to Mahalia Jackson’s song, “We Shall Overcome” because of her religious perseverance and hope for the future of her and her family. One line from Jackson’s song reads, “The Lord will see us through someday” (Jackson 7). She continues and recites, “We shall overcome someday” (Jackson 10). These lines …show more content…
She is an exceptionally religious lady who believes God has a plan for their lives. While encouraging Beneatha she declares, “Course you going to be a doctor, honey, God willing” (Hansberry 50). Mama realizes that God is the one who actually controls their lives, and in the end it comes down to whether he wants Beneatha to be a doctor or not. When Beneatha replies that God has no control over it and He simply does not need to be recognized in her choice, Mama becomes heated. She forces Beneatha to recite, “In my mother’s house there is still God” (Hansberry 51). The reader can perceive Mama has an exceptionally high level of respect for God in her life. Another line from Mahalia Jackson’s song reads, “The truth shall make us free someday./ We shall live in peace” (Jackson 26-27). The family has been racially discriminated while buying a house in the