A Raisin In The Sun Obstacles

Many obstacles can prevent people from accomplishing their goals. The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is about a lower class, colored family that has to overcome many obstacles. Lena, often referred to as Mama, receives a life insurance check of $10,000 due to the death of her husband. Her son, Walter Lee, wants to use to money to go into business and invest the money in a liquor store. However, her daughter, Beneatha, hopes that the money goes toward her schooling to become a doctor. Walter Lee’s wife, Ruth, believes that Mama should spend the money how she wants to without the influence of her children. Mama has been pondering the idea of buying a new house because it has always been a dream of hers. It is very difficult

for them to achieve their dreams because they are trapped by their environment. Preconceived sense of failure also makes it difficult for them to achieve their goals and overcome certain obstacles. However, due to the strength and endurance of the human spirit, the Younger family is able to overcome many obstacles and achieve some of their dreams. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family is faced by many obstacles that make it difficult to achieve their goals, however, they overcome those obstacles due to the strength and endurance of the human spirit.
The Youngers often find it difficult to achieve their goals because they are trapped by their environment.

Walter wants more out of life and wants to do more with his life. He wants to become a businessman and open a liquor store. He does not want to work for others, he wants to be wealthy. Although Walter works towards these goals, his environment prevents these dreams from becoming reality. They do not have the money to pursue his goals. Although they are receiving a large check in the mail, it is not his money to spend. He does not have full support from his family. Mama is unwilling to invest her money into liquor and the rest of the family thinks that the idea of opening a liquor store is foolish. Beneatha also has difficulty trying to reach her goals due to her environment. She wants to be a doctor and wants more out of life than just surviving. Not only do they not have the money to pay for her schooling but they believe it is an unrealistic goal. Walter says to Beneatha, “Girl, if you don’t get all them silly ideas out of your head! You better marry yourself a man with some loot” (Hansberry 150). Her family believes that she should just marry rich and give up her dream of becoming a doctor. The Youngers often have difficulty reaching their goals because they are trapped by their

environment.
Preconceived sense of failure makes it difficult for the Younger family to achieve their goals.

They often feel as though they will fail or are afraid of failing. Ruth is having a baby and she is considering to get rid of the baby because she does not know how she will be able to take care of it. Beneatha asked Ruth, “where is he going to live, on the roof?” (Hansberry 58). They do not have the time, space, or money for a baby therefore she believes that she will not be able to care care of the baby once it is born. Walter also deals with preconceived sense of failure because his family does not have faith in him. He wants to go into business with friends and open a liquor store. The rest of the family does not believe that he will be successful and that it is not a good idea. Mama said the Ruth, “We ain’t no business people, Ruth. We just plain working folks” (Hansberry 42). Mama and the rest of the family do not believe that they are meant for business or that they will be successful in the business industry. The Youngers do not always reach their goals due to preconceived sense of

failure.
Due to the strength and endurance of the human spirit the Younger family is able to overcome many obstacles that they face and achieve many of their goals. The Youngers do not have a lot of money and they have a small home with a lot of people in it. They also have a baby on the way and are not sure how they will have the space or the money for it. Mama is unsure what she wants to do with the life insurance check of $10,000 and most of them have different ideas of how to use the money. With support from the family Mama decides to pursue a dream of owning her own house. Walter was very torn up because of the money so Mama decides to give the remaining money to him after she decides to give a portion of it to Beneatha for college. Walter then loses all of the remaining money including what Mama gave to both him and Beneatha. People in their new neighborhood do not want them to move into the new house because they are colored. They offer them a deal that would put the Youngers at a financial gain. They consider taking the offer because Walter lost their money, however, Walter tells the man, “We have decided to move into our house ... We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that's all we got to say about that ... We don’t want your money” (Hansberry 148). Due to their strength and endurance they were able to continue to fight for their dream of owning a home instead of going down the easier path. Due to the strength and endurance of the human spirit the Youngers achieved many of their goals by overcoming hardships.
By sticking together, staying positive, and working hard, The Youngers persevere through many obstacles and achieve many of their goals. There were many things that had prevented them from accomplishing their goals. They were trapped by their environment which made it difficult to accomplish what they wanted. The preconceived sense of failure also prevented the Youngers from pursuing their dreams. Although they faced many obstacles, they were able to overcome them and achieve many of their goals due to the strength and endurance of the human spirit.