Look at how Hansberry views success, aspirations, and the American Dream, and explain how her portrayal of these views compare to the reality of that time by examining the curiosities, repetitions, opposites, and links within them.
A “Raisin In The Sun”, written by Lorraine Hansberry, is a play that is set in 1959 Chicago. Some of African-Americans’ toughest times were in this period. There were hangings, lynchings, and blatant segregation. Also, this period is the aftermath of the Great Depression. Therefore, there were lots of poverty in the nation. But, through all of this, the Younger family still has dreams and aspirations. With the ten thousand dollar check that they receive in the mail due to Mama’s husband dying, her, Walter, and Beneatha believe each of them can start a brand new life. Hansberry’s outlook is very positive and optimistic about the American Dream (success through wealth) in this book and there are countless examples involving the characters showing how.
Mama
Mama, the head of the household, is a firm believer in following your dreams and having hope that they will come to pass. She says throughout the entire book that the plant struggling to get the one stream of light is like this family staying afloat through all of their adversity. This check is this light in a way. Mama’s dream is to get a house in a different neighborhood with better surroundings, a garden, and a yard for Travis (her grandson) to play in. She just wants her family to be happy and taken care before she dies. This dream is reasonable and is achieved in the book. Although Mama’s dream for her family would be terribly laborious to attain thanks to the segregation against ladies and African Americans. They do not get paid the identical as men and Caucasian males. Also, the house she wants is in an all white neighborhood that does not want her and the Younger family to be there. Mr. Lindner, a man from the neighborhood, comes to the Younger house attempting to persuade them to not destroy the white community. He offers plenty of cash in exchange for their agreement. These are very hostile times but this was the reality in the 1950s. People of color faced structural barriers once it came to securing quality housing, healthcare, employment, and education. Racial disparities additionally perforated and still permeates the criminal justice system within the United States and undermines its power. Thousands of cases were either thrown out of court or white defendants were ruled not guilty. Such cases include Emmett Till and the Scottsboro Boys where blacks were killed or accused of a crime they did not commit. If Mama would have tried her dream in real life during this time, I believe it would have been much more challenging than how the novel portraits it. The Younger family would have probably receive death threats and their potential house would have been vandalized.
Beneatha
Beneatha, the brains of the family, is a feminist to say the least. She is not just pursuing a career, but a career in the medical field. This is very uncommon for women during this time. Blacks were fighting for civil rights, and women of every ethnicity were fighting for women’s rights. In the 1950s, traditional jobs were still mostly closed off to ladies. There was blatant discrimination in the workforce and companies had a written policy that stated that women should be paid less than men. Politics were strongly influenced by sexism and government officials were mainly males. Beneatha prides herself on her independence. She likes doing things herself. Her dream is to finish medical school and become a doctor. She has met a wealthy man of African descent named Asagai and he wants to marry her. Unfortunately for him, Beneatha’s independent spirit stands in his way. Asagai complains to her about being both too independent by not wanting to marry him and too dependent by not wanting to leave America to go to Africa with him. Ironically, Beneatha is not as independent as he believes because she is relying heavily on the ten thousand dollar insurance check to pay for her schooling. Sadly, her dream does not become reality. She gives up when she finds out Walter loss the money that he invested in the liquor store. She was relying heavy on Walter’s investment in the liquor store. However, this makes their relationship much better. Earlier, she blamed him for his sketchy finances, but later she eventually recognizes his strength to go out on a limb and make a risk to help the family. Though this vision did not happen, Hansberry still shows her optimistic view on the American Dream. She portrayed Beneatha as an educated black woman which was very uncommon in the 1950s. This had to be inspiring to readers during this time. Women were not displayed doing things such as getting an education. This was groundbreaking and gave hope to all readers particularly women.
Walter and Ruth
Walter, the man of the household and Mama’s only son, is resilient and pushes for what he believes in. He pleads to Mama about uses the check to invest in a liquor store. Walter is both protagonist and antagonist of the play. The novel revolves around him and also the actions that he takes, and his character evolves the most throughout the course of the play. Most of his actions and mistakes hurt the family greatly, however his unpunctual rise to manhood makes him a form of hero within the last scene. His wife Ruth is somewhat submissive towards him. She follows him and backs him up for the most part. Walter is struggling to provide for the family and is looking for any mean to help. Walter thinks money will solve all problems that are within the Younger family. He sees liquor stores are in high demand and he wants to invest into one. Everyone in the family knows this is a high risk, but he is desperate to provide. He continuously asks Mama and sooner or later receives the lagniappe money Mama has after buying the house. She provides him the remaining $6,500 of the insurance cash, telling him to deposit $3,000 for Beneatha’s education and keep the last $3,500. With this cash, Mama says, Walter should become bv 1qa1the head of the family. He invests all of the money, including the money he was supposed to put aside for Beneatha, into the liquor store and loses it all because his friend Willy runs off with the money. Though Walter’s dream did not come to pass, Lorraine Hansberry continues to show her positive attitude towards the American Dream. He still had the ability or chance to chase his dream. Walter also learn how to be a man and make decisions for the family. When Mr. Linder offers money not to move in the neighborhood, he makes the family decision to decline the money.
In conclusion, “A Raisin In The Sun” is an optimistic book that can inspire others to chase the American Dream. All of the characters in this book had the ability to achieve their individual dreams. Although Mama was the only one to accomplish this, the others all gain something positive in their time of downfall.