Beneathas Bold Journey: Redefining Womanhood Can you imagine working the same amount as someone but being paid less? Receiving the same education as someone yet having their opinion valued over yours. Having life-altering decisions made for you without consultation. Being viewed as less human, more of an object. This has been the reality for women throughout history. Beneatha is a central character in Lorraine Hansberry's play, “A Rasin In The Sun.” She and the rest of her family share a small apartment in 1950s Chicago. After her father's death, they come across a large sum of money from insurance, and their mother must decide how to use it. The arrival of this wealth causes animosity and arguments among the family members. Caught up in the …show more content…
Several of Beneatha's actions and ways of thinking often upset those around her who disagree with her or believe she is out of her place as a woman. She frequently questions traditional beliefs. One demonstration of this is a remark about God in Act 1: “I mean it! I’m just tired of hearing about God all the time. What has He got to do with anything? Does he pay tuition?” (Act 1, Scene 1). She dismisses God's role in her life and continues to say she is “tired of Him” (Act 1, Scene 1). This upsets her mother, going against the religious and cultural norms of her family and community. Beneatha disregards the idea women should unquestionably adhere to the religious beliefs of their families. The discomfort this causes for Mama reflects on the tension between the older generation's adherence to strict gender roles and the new age of women refusing to conform. Additionally, her declaration in Scene 2, “Listen, I'm going to be a doctor. I'm not worried about who I'm going to marry yet-if I ever get married” (Act 1, Scene 2), further opposes the traditional role of women primarily being mothers and …show more content…
and I will hand you the world! Act 2, Scene 2). In reality, it is not owning a liquor store that Walters dreams of, but supporting his family, bringing comfort to his wife and opportunity for his son—simultaneously wanting to prove his manliness through financial success. While The American Dream proves to be a driving force of the play, it is the incorporation of gender roles that affects the experiences of the characters the most. In conclusion, Beneatha's defiance of traditional gender roles in A Rasin in the Sun serves as a powerful reflection of the broader struggle faced by women throughout history. Her goals and mannerisms challenge the sexist norms of the time by being outside of what was expected of women in that era. The reactions from other characters in the story to Beneatha's actions and beliefs shed light on the societal tensions surrounding gender roles and responsibilities. Despite societal pressures and expectations set on her, Beneatha remains true to her ideals and insists on pursuing her dreams. Beneathsa's resistance to those around her doubting and disrespecting her because she's a woman reminds us of the ongoing fight for gender equality. She shows that to make change it is important to challenge oppressive
MILLERSBURG — After deliberating for three hours, a jury of four women and eight men found a Holmesville man guilty of making and possessing methamphetamine, all within the vicinity of juveniles and a school.
The story also focuses in on Ruth Younger the wife of Walter Lee, it shows the place she holds in the house and the position she holds to her husband. Walter looks at Ruth as though he is her superior; he only goes to her for help when he wants to sweet talk his mama into giving him the money. Mama on the other hand holds power over her son and doesn’t allow him to treat her or any women like the way he tries to with Ruth. Women in this story show progress in women equality, but when reading you can tell there isn’t much hope and support in their fight. For example Beneatha is going to college to become a doctor and she is often doubted in succeeding all due to the fact that she is black African American woman, her going to college in general was odd in most people’s eyes at the time “a waste of money” they would say, at least that’s what her brother would say. Another example where Beneatha is degraded is when she’s with her boyfriend George Murchison whom merely just looks at her as arm
It was unheard of at this time for a poor well-educated black woman to have such high ambitions and dreams. Beneatha took a lot pride in this fact and often waved her intelligence around in her families faces. Mama, knowing how much her education meant to her, told Walter to save $3000 for Beneatha's medical schooling. When it was discovered that Walter had invested the money in his liquor store scheme and Willy had run off with all the money, Beneatha was devastated. She had lost all hope and even though her spirits may have been lifted after her talk with Asagai in act III and the chance to move into a new house, it seems that Beneatha will never realize this
Young. Ambitious. Dependant. A woman with big dreams will put everything aside to make them come true. Can her family support these dreams? In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry portrays an African American woman in her mid-twenties in the 1950s with big hopes of becoming a doctor. Beneatha Younger, a childish, dependant, young woman, devoted to becoming a doctor, open minded, yet sometimes disrespectful. Ultimately, Beneatha’s need for her family’s support holds them back throughout a difficult time.
Beneatha wants women to have the same rights and the same expectations that men have. In the setting of A Raisin in the Sun, women are not expected to go to medical school and to become a doctor. If anything, they are “supposed to” become a nurse, or be a stay-at-home mom. Beneatha’s dreams to be a doctor often contradict what other people expect her to do with her life, but she doesn’t care what they say. She identifies as an anti-assimilationist, showed in A Raisin in the Sun when she says, “(Wheeling, passionately, sharply) I am not an assimilationist!”. She is accused of being an assimilationist by Asagai and passionately denies it. She thinks that being an African-American assimilationist would be an insult to her culture and thinks that African Americans should embrace their native culture. Her position on this matter often get in the way of her relationships with other people. This is shown in A Raisin in the Sun when George says “Oh dear, dear, dear! Here we go! A lecture on the African past! On our Great West African Heritage! In one second we will hear all about the great Ashanti sculpture of Bénin - and then some poetry in the Bantu - and the whole monologue will end with the word heritage! Let’s face it, baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch of raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts!”. George wants Beneatha to leave behind her heritage and embrace what Americans are doing. He wants her to abandon her family history and be an assimilationist. Beneatha is willing to fight against this mindset and this shows that she is willing to fight for what is right. Beneatha would much rather prefer to embrace her heritage and be proud that she is African rather than submit herself to American culture and leave behind her
Beneatha was an intellectual young adult that was attending college. A Raisin in the Sun addressed many social issue of that time, the family dealt with racism and stereotypes. They faced racism when Mr. Linder came by to offer the family money to not move into the all white neighborhood. The economic stability of the Younger’s also affects their family structure. Their family consists of Walter Younger, his wife and son living together in a tenement apartment in Chicago with his sister and
When Walter loses his "sister's school money," the consequences are widespread and Beneatha sees that dream diminish before her eyes. She sees her slipping through Walter's fingers and finds her lifelong goals changing. From the days of her childhood, she has longed "to be a doctor" and "fix up the sick." While her family and friends do not understand Beneatha's dream, she continues longing for the education she needs to create a successful life she desires rather than one where she is waiting "to get married.
Even though south side chicago had a low amount of hope, the characters of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Walter, Beneatha, and Mama found a way to dream big. It led them to doing what they thought was right, eventually molding Walter into a greedy man during most of the play, Beneatha into an aspiring woman that demands respect, and Mama into an improvising woman who loves her
Walter and Beneatha’s relationship is very complex. The spiraling tension between the two siblings causes confrontation to form and creep into the Younger household. Walter needs his family to respect him as the man of the family, but his sister is constantly belittling him in front of his mother, wife, and son. This denigrating treatment taints Walter’s view of himself as a man, which carries into his decisions and actions. Beneatha also subconsciously deals with the dysfunctional relationship with her brother. She desires to have her brother’s support for her dream of becoming a doctor, yet Walter tends to taunt her aspiration and condemns her for having such a selfish dream. Mama as the head of the family is heartbroken by the juvenile hostility of her adult children, so in hopes to keep her family together she makes the brave move of purchasing a house. Mama’s reasoning for the bold purchase was,“ I—I just seen my family falling apart….just falling to pieces in front of my eyes…We couldn’t have gone on like we was today. We was going backwards ‘stead of forw...
When talking to Mama and Ruth in a scene about marriage, Beneatha’s opinion on this topic shocks the two other women. When she is asked about her thoughts on who she will marry, Beneatha responds by saying, “I’m not worried who I’m going to marry yet—if I ever get married” (Hansberry 50). Beneatha is not concerned about marriage at the moment because she is studying to become a doctor. Her motivation to become a doctor stems from her want to change the world. Beneatha’s motivation is parallel to her generation’s, the Baby Boomers, drive to improve the world. As the conversation leads towards the topic of religion, Beneatha tells Mama and Ruth that “God is just one of the ideas I don’t accept” (Hansberry 51). Being the youngest of the three women, Beneatha is not as religious as Mama. Instead, she believes that it is wrong that He gets all the credit of humankind. Beneatha not believing in God lines up with how the Baby Boomers are less devout than the GI Generation. Beneatha’s beliefs show how she incorporates more modern values into her
This event shows yet another time in which a family member threatens to ruin the inherent stability of the family structure by trying to build in a manner which is completely incompatible with the rest of the structure. Beneatha, although believing in bettering herself, is leaving an important part of herself and her heritage behind. Beneatha's speech about God is her attempt to show her independence and uniqueness in the world, but when she asserts herself in an area that is extremely sensitive to the family heritage and structure, she threatens to wean herself from the only guaranteed support group in life, the family. Once again, as with Walter, Benetha realizes later in the story that it is the furtherance of long-standing family values and morals which give the foundation upon which to build a wonderful life.
In Lorraine Hansberry “A Raisin in the Sun”, the issues of racial discrimination, the debate of heroism, and criticism is vividly displayed. The play, which was written in the late 1950’s presents itself in a realistic discerning matter that implicates the racial division among the black family and white America. The play insinuates Walters’s heroism as well because of the black family’s struggle not to become discouraged in trying to obtain the world riches and still maintaining human dignity. When Hansberry wrote “A Raisin in the Sun”, many critics questioned the motive behind her play because it showed the America the world wants to grow oblivious to. This presents the reality of racial discrimination and heroism for the black man among
Beneatha is Mama’s daughter. She wants to become a doctor when she gets out of college. She also wants to save her race from ignorance.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a modern tragedy in which the protagonist, Walter Lee Younger, is unable to find the fulfilling life he wants so badly. A contrasting view of the quest for that fulfilling life is offered in the character of Beneatha (whose name seems a play on her socioeconomic status, i.e. she-who-is-beneath), who serves as a foil against which the character of Walter is defined. Both Walter and Beneatha, representing the new generation of blacks coming of age after World War Two, are in conflict with Mama, who represents the previous generation and its traditions. The character of George Murchison is also opposed to both Beneatha and Walter, since he symbolizes assimilation on the white man's terms. Walter and Beneatha are also in conflict with their environment, a society where they are marginalized and subject to daily humiliation because of what is called their race (not, in fact, a biological distinction but a cultural construct).
Her quest for education and independence challenges traditional gender roles and cultural norms, which echoes the ongoing battle for gender parity and equality. Beneatha’s assertion of control over her career path mirrors a larger struggle for freedom of choice within social barriers. She defiantly declares, “I am not going out and be a nurse just because I am supposed to. If I want to be a nurse, I am going to be a nurse, and I am going to be a good one” (Hansberry, Act 1, Scene