Beneatha Silent Me Analysis

645 Words2 Pages

African American women's roles throughout the 1950’s were strictly domesticated by man and society, leaving Beneatha inferior. Beneatha and women alike in this time period were taught to disregard or ignore any type of self-diligence. Benny is forced to be apologetic for the dreams she so dearly desires, (Dropping to her knees) “Well – I do – all right? – thank everybody! And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all! (Pursuing him on her knees across the floor) FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME!” (1.1.123). The expectation for women was and still is to subdue their thinking of great matters in life. Beneatha is forced to be ashamed for having dreams. In Walter’s eyes her dream of becoming a doctor seems too far-fetched. With this …show more content…

Asagai, Beneatha’s friend and lover throughout the book pressures her into making immense decisions about spending their lives together in Africa. Asagai implements that she doesn’t need a job to fill her desires. When Beneatha not only wants him to support her, he discourages her dreams and aspirations. If Asagai demands the head of their relationship, her penultimate sacrifice is her dream of becoming a doctor. If Beneatha doesn't have a job then she'll be forced to use his income. This issue adds to Beneatha’s lack of confidence and financially not being able to support herself on her own. Scholar Charles Washington discusses the perception and ideology of women. He quotes, “Generally, these standards differ concording to the sex of the individual: A good man, for instance, is strong, aggressive-masculine-, where as a good woman is sweet, gentle-feminine” (Washington 111). Charles only adds to the stereotypes in society that focuses on exploiting and defining women as they aren't. In disagreement with Charles, his views lack discernment. Benny represents the constant struggle of women throughout her time period. She is determined to find her fulfillers as an individual and not be defined or dependent on the man she

Show More
Related

  • The Damnation Of Women Analysis

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anna Julia Cooper’s, Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress, an excerpt from A Voice from the South, discusses the state of race and gender in America with an emphasis on African American women of the south. She contributes a number of things to the destitute state African American woman became accustom to and believe education and elevation of the black woman would change not only the state of the African American community but the nation as well. Cooper’s analysis is based around three concepts, the merging of the Barbaric with Christianity, the Feudal system, and the regeneration of the black woman.

    Read More

  • Leith Mullings' On Our Own Terms: Race, Class, And Gender In The Lives Of African American Women

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Author of this book (On our own terms: race, class, and gender in the lives of African American Women) Leith Mullings seeks to explore the modern and historical lives of African American women on the issues of race, class and gender. Mullings does this in a very analytical way using a collection of essays written and collected over a twenty five year period. The author’s systematic format best explains her point of view. The book explores issues such as family, work and health comparing and contrasting between white and black women as well as between men and women of both races.

    Read More

  • Raisin In The Sun Women

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Symbolism Inherent in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    The contrast between how She sees herself and how the rest of the world sees Her can create extreme emotional strain; add on the fact that She hails from the early 1900s and it becomes evident that, though her mental construct is not necessarily prepared to understand the full breach against Her, She is still capable of some iota of realization. The discrimination encountered by a female during this time period is great and unceasing.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Help By Katheryn Stockett

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    This novel also looks at social norms overseeing gender in the southern states around the 1960's. White women in the book are valued by the amount of children they can reproduce for the black women to raise. Even though getting a job is difficult for these black woman, the white women have a hard time seeking out a job as well. But these black women sacrifice their lives to be major workhorses surrendering their own families to work for white employers. Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter confront the roles put upon them by society and receive fulfillmen...

    Read More

  • Sweat, by Zora Neale Hurston

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat” is a distressing tale of human struggle as it relates to women. The story commences with a hardworking black washwoman named Delia contently and peacefully folds laundry in her quiet home. Her placidity doesn’t last long when her abusive husband, Sykes, emerges just in time to put her back in her ill-treated place. Delia has been taken by this abuse for some fifteen years. She has lived with relentless beatings, adultery, even six-foot long venomous snakes put in places she requires to get to. Her husband’s vindictive acts of torment and the way he has selfishly utilized her can only be defined as malignant. In the end of this leaves the hardworking woman no choice but to make the most arduous decision of her life. That is, to either stand up for herself and let her husband expire or to continue to serve as a victim. "Sweat,” reflects the plight of women during the 1920s through 30s, as the African American culture was undergoing a shift in domestic dynamics. In times of slavery, women generally led African American families and assumed the role as the adherent of the family, taking up domestic responsibilities. On the other hand, the males, slaves at the time, were emasculated by their obligations and treatment by white masters. Emancipation and Reconstruction brought change to these dynamics as African American men commenced working at paying jobs and women were abandoned at home. African American women were assimilated only on the most superficial of calibers into a subcategory of human existence defined by gender-predicated discrimination. (Chambliss) In accordance to this story, Delia was the bread victor fortifying herself and Sykes. Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 “Sweat” demonstrates the vigor as wel...

    Read More

  • The Reconstruction Period and Racism Towards African Americans

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    The interaction between African American and White differed in every aspect especially toward social problems. Social interaction between these two groups was unequal. African American experienced racial discrimination. This struggle can be best described in “Cora Unashamed.” “Cora Unashamed” by Langston Hughes effectively portrays the inequality between African America...

    Read More

  • On Being Young-A Woman-And Colored By Marita Bonner Summary

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    On Being Young-A Woman-and Colored an essay by Marita Bonner addresses what it means to be black women in a world of white privilege. Bonner reflects about a time when she was younger, how simple her life was, but as she grows older she is forced to work hard to live a life better than those around her. Ultimately, she is a woman living with the roles that women of all colors have been constrained to. Critics, within the last 20 years, believe that Marita Bonners’ essay primarily focuses on the double consciousness ; while others believe that she is focusing on gender , class , “economic hardships, and discrimination” . I argue that Bonner is writing her essay about the historical context of oppression forcing women into intersectional oppression by explaining the naturality of racial discrimination between black and white, how time and money equate to the American Dream, and lastly how gender discrimination silences women, specifically black women.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of What Has Happened Here? By Elsa Barkley Brown

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Brown stresses the importance of recognizing that being a woman is not extractable from the context in which one is a woman. She examines how both black and white women’s lives are shaped by race and gender, and how these affect life choices. Historically, women of color have filled roles previously attributed to white women

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun Ruth's Dream

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    Beneatha’s dream is revealed because nearly everything Beneatha does is because she wants to be a doctor. Beneatha’s barrier is that she is dependent on others to fulfill her dream. In act 3, Asagai says: “But did you earn it? Would you have had it at all if your father had not died?” (135). Beneatha begins to understand that the money was never hers. Asagai declares in act 3: “Then isn’t there something wrong in a house – in a world – where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death on the death of a man?” (135). After Asagai says this, Beneatha realizes she can’t depend on her father’s life insurance to become a doctor. Ruth and Beneatha both have major barriers keeping them from their

    Read More

  • Characters Dreams Deferred in Raisin In The Sun

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beneatha’s dream is to become a doctor. She believes that her dream was deferred when she was born since she is coloured and a female. Although she fights this, her dream is deferred even more when Walter looses the money which she needed to get into medical school.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Feminism In A Raisin In The Sun

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Asagai argues that love should be enough for women, but Beneatha argues that she needs more- a career, for instance. She is determined to find her fullness as an individual and to not be defined by the man she marries.

    Read More

  • The Color Purple, by Alice Walker and Push, by Sapphire

    3221 Words  | 7 Pages

    In today’s advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. However, in many aspects of life they are still in a subordinated position. Women often do not have equal wages as the men in the same areas; they are still referred to as the “more vulnerable” sex and are highly influenced by men. Choosing my Extended Essay topic I wanted to investigate novels that depict stories in which we can see how exposed women are to the will of men surrounding them. I believe that as being woman I can learn from the way these characters overcome their limitations and become independent, fully liberated from their barriers. When I first saw the movie “Precious” (based on Sapphire’s “Push”) I was shocked at how unprotected the heroine, Precious, is towards society. She is an African-American teenage girl who struggles with accepting herself and her past, but the cruel “unwritten laws” of her time constantly prevent her rise until she becomes the part of a community that will empower her to triumph over her barriers. “The Color Purple” is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker which tells the story of a black woman’s, Celie’s, striving for emancipation. (Whitted, 2004) These novels share a similar focus, the self-actualization of a multi-disadvantaged character who with the help of her surrounding will be able to triumph over her original status. In both “The Color Purple” and “Push”, the main characters are exposed to the desire of the men surrounding them, and are doubly vulnerable in society because not only are they women but they also belong to the African-American race, which embodies another barrier for them to emancipate in a world where the white race is still superior to, and more desired as theirs.

    Read More

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun – Mama

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beneatha is Mama's youngest child. She aspires to become a doctor. Mama wants Beneatha to become what she wants so she decided to put aside some of the insurance money for Beneatha's schooling. Beneatha struggles as a young independent woman who has yet to find her identity. She finds herself trying new hobbies and dating two very different men. During a conversation with one of those men, Asagai, Beneatha is forced by Asagai to realize that she is not very independent at all. In fact she has been depending on the insurance money to get her through school. After this realization, Beneatha gains thoughts on how to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor (Kohorn). She presents her mother with her decision of getting married and how she "plans to find her roots in Africa" with Asagai (Silver).

    Read More

  • The Sociological Criticism of Alice Walker

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this Alice Walker story, the reader meets a girl named Celie. In this novel, Walker takes the reader on a journey through much of Celie’s life. While taking the reader through this tale, Walker draws attention to a number of social aspects during this time period. Through Cilie’s life, Walker brings to light the abuse and mistreatment of African American women from 1910 through the 1940’s. “Women were also regarded as less important than men – both Black and white Black women double disadvantage.

    Read More

More about Beneatha Silent Me Analysis

Open Document