America has a diversity of cultures because people come to America from all around the world looking for better opportunity in social, educational, and religious lifestyle. The play, A Raisin in The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, shows the struggle of the Youngers pursuing their dreams. The play takes place in 1950s which was the time before the civil rights movement, the era of segregation and racial discrimination in the American South. Hansberry, through this play show us the challenges faced by black family, the Youngers. The Younger family moved to the Southside Chicago in search of a better lifestyle and to move ahead in their lives. While every member of the Younger family has their own particular quest to achieve their individual dream, Hansberry’s play ultimately sends the message that not only an individual’s dreams are important, but also, that they need to take care of their family. Hansberry shows her perspective on their dreams through this play and by many literary elements such as settings, characterizations, conflicts, and symbolisms.
This play is about a poor African American family who moved to Southside Chicago in search for brighter future of their family (Youngers) due to racial biases in the American South. The Younger family live in a tiny two-bedroom apartment where two of the family member have to share a bed and the son sleeps on the couch outside in the hall. Also, two families on that floor have a communal bathroom. It was a old building where roaches and other bugs were running all over the floor.
The Younger family were getting a $ 10,000 life insurance check, which Lena (Mama) is going to get upon her husband’s death. Every member except Ruth has their own vision on how to spend that money. Mama wants to use some money for buying a new house so that Travis can play in their own backyard, and she can have her own garden. Also, she wants to save some money for Beneatha’s tuition fees for her higher studies. Walter wants to invest that money into a liquor business with one of his friend. Beneatha thinks similar to her mother on how to use that money wisely.
Walter is trying to take a step ahead for his family and wants to be considered as a high class person. He was unhappy with his current job as a driver for white big shots. He dreams of having a big house, his own car and an office job. He wants to fulfil his dream but, the racial biases during that time prevented the blacks’ dream come true. Mama finds out that her son was not going to work for the past couple days because he wants to be a decision maker for his family and head of the household. She feels that she was unjust with her son so, she gives him an opportunity by giving him the responsibility for the remaining money from the life insurance check. However, Walter’s greediness leads him make wrong decision and he invests all the remaining insurance money in the liquor business with his friend. Later, in the play he finds out that his so called “friend” run away with all his money.
Everyone is ready and planned to move to the new house. However, Walter creates a tense situation and shocks everyone by telling them that he made a buyout deal on the new house with Mr. Lindner (representative from the Clybourne Park). A house that Mama made the down payment. However, when Mr. Lindner shows up Walter doesn’t agree on that deal because he understands that family comes first, so that makes him change his decision. Finally, whole family decides to move into the new house even though they know that the path they take will be challenging.
First, the setting of the play tells us more about the dream that the black families tried to pursue in early days. The Youngers moved to Southside Chicago seeking better jobs and trying to get away from racial biases in the American South. The area which the Younger family lives is a poor neighborhood in the 1950s where most of the African American live. After moving to Chicago, the Youngers find out that it’s the same here as it was in the South. For example, we see this when Walter says,
WALTER. Why? You want to know why? ‘Cause we all tied up in a race of people that don’t know how to do nothing but moan, pray and have babies! (Hansberry 340)
I think he meant to say that why is it only blacks have to face this kind of harsh situation and these race conflicts. He also makes a comment that we ourselves are responsible for this struggles because we don’t fight back. Most of the time the setting of the play is in the Youngers’ apartment. The apartment tells us more about their condition where the apartment is small and totally packed, torn and worn out, also it is lacking light only one small window near the kitchen. We can see this in line “Weariness has, in fact, won in this room. Everything has been polished, washed sat on, used, scrubbed too often. All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room” (311). These lines are mentioned in the stage direction that tells us about the difficult time faced by the Youngers throughout the years and have to live in that old building. There are a total of five members living in that small apartment where some members have to share rooms and the boy sleeps on the couch. They also have a communal bathroom that they have to share with the other family on the same floor. The Youngers have a minimal paying job during that time because of limited opportunities available to the blacks. Where only Walter from the Youngers has a low wage job and was working for whites so that made it hard for their family to come out of poverty and segregation. Ruth is an ordinary housewife and usually busy in taking care of her family where Lena (Mama) is her backbone and always supported her. Beneatha is busy in becoming a doctor so she doesn’t have a job. These aspects of the play’s setting show us the struggle and the challenges the Youngers face in that segregated era.
Second, the characterizations of the play give us a clear portrait of four individuals, each having their own dream. In general, everyone wants to do something in their life and they aim high and try to accomplish them. Similarly, in the play every member of the Younger family has their own dreams. Mama has a dream of her own to buy a new house because she didn’t want her family to be apart. Also, she wants her own garden and she was trying to do what her husband was not able to do for his family. For instance, in the play we see this when Mama says,
LENA (Mama). Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, learn his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black men nothing but dreams – but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worthwhile. (322)
By saying this Mama actually tells what her husband meant that blacks dreams will just remain as dreams and they are not going to come true in the country where our community is not valued. We can see this in the play that Mr. Lindner, one of the representatives of Clybourne Park Association, comes to the Younger to influence them not to move into their white neighborhood. Walter wants to be a man or the head of the household, and also wants to have his own house and a car. He is tired of his previous job and he wants an office job. He has a dream of owning his own business by investing $ 10,000 in a liquor business with his friends and make more money so that he would feel like a high class person. Ruth and Mama share the same dreams and wants betterment for the family. Ruth also tries to maintain peace every time when there is a conflict. Likewise, Beneatha has a dream to be a doctor and wants to use the part of the money for her tuitions. She wants to be away from these race conflicts and always trying to explore Nigerian culture and their backgrounds after getting in touch with two of the Nigerian boys whom she was dating.
Third, while accomplishing those dreams all the members have to face many challenges, at some point it leads to conflict in the family. In the play it is the insurance money that creates conflicts among the Youngers. The scene after Mama puts some money as a down payment on the new house Walter has an argument with his wife Ruth. We can see this in the play when Ruth is talking to Walter. She says,
RUTH. [Passionately and suddenly] Oh, Walter ain’t you with nobody!
WALTER. [Violently] No! cause ain’t nobody with me! Not even my own mother! (340)
This conversation with Ruth clearly tells us that Walter is angry with all the family members. Another way we know that he is angry is when Walter said, no one cares for you and ignores Ruth’s presence. Ruth was trying to make peace among the family members while stopping the fight when she says,
RUTH. Oh, Walter… (Softly) Honey, why can’t you stop fighting with me?
WALTER. (Without thinking) Who’s fighting you? Who even cares about you? (340)
Beneatha and Walter also has an argument when Walter loses the remaining money when Mama gave him the responsibility for keeping that money in savings. Ruth is having an internal conflict when she comes to know that she is pregnant with the second child. We can see this in the play when she is having a hard time to make a decision of keeping the child or to have an abortion. She is having hard time because of her family cannot afford another child. These are some conflicts that arise with or within the members while the individuals are trying to accomplish their dreams.
Finally, symbolism also plays an important role in the play. Mama’s plant shown to us by Hansberry that serves as a symbol of her family’s deferred dreams. Whatever Mama is doing for the small plant reflects the same for her family. We can see this when Mama says,
LENA. Lord, if this old plant don’t get more sun than it’s been getting, it ain’t never going to see spring again (319)
By saying this she tries to show her concern for family as well as for the plant. Mama is concerned for her family because it’s not going to be easy for them when they will move to the new white neighborhood. Even though the Youngers have a bad financial condition and struggle all through the play, at the end all the members understand the importance of the family and were successful in pursuing their dream of buying and moving to a new house.
In a nut shell, this play is about the Younger family who move to Southside Chicago. All the members have their own dreams, but they are not easy for them to accomplish because of racial discrimination in the 1950s. They all have a common dream of buying a new house which came true at the end of the play. Hansberry shows us the struggle that Youngers confront by using some of the literary elements mentioned above. Walter learns a lesson that family and family dreams are more important than their individual dreams.
WORK CITED
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in The Sun. Exploring Literature. Ed. Frank Madden. 5th ed.
New York: Longman, 2012. 310-369. Print.