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Always thinking she could do better. That’s just one way to describe Beneatha Younger one of the main characters in the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. You would think Beneatha Younger is a normal 20 something year old girl until you found out about her hectic but fun life. Beneatha is a part of the Younger family which includes Mama her mother, Walter her brother, Ruth her sister in law (Walter’s wife), and Travis her nephew (Ruth and Walter’s son). The Younger family is a poor African American family who lives in a 1 bed 1 bath house in the slums of Chicago. Which has made it very hard for Beneatha to exceed in what she wants to do with her life which is to become a doctor and find a nice man who loves and cares for her. …show more content…
Throughout the book you see the struggles Beneatha goes through with the boys in her life who can hold her back at points or push her, and never giving up on her dream to become a doctor. Let’s just say the men love her. Beneatha with her young, attractive attitude, and personality has all the nice African American men wanting her. Throughout the book you get introduced to her two main “boyfriends” Asagai and George Murchinson. Both these men are very fond of Beneatha which explains how they both treat her with respect and affection. While reading this book you get to learn quite a lot about both of the men and who they are. Asagai comes into the book after George but that didn’t stop him from becoming any closer than George and Beneatha and if not closer. Unlike George, Asagai was different; he didn’t have as much money, which made Beneatha feel like she could be more of herself around him which grew to make her like him more than George. Because of how Asaiga didn’t have as much money as George did he couldn’t afford some of the beautiful dresses and meals George could offer to Beneatha. But that didn’t matter to her. Even though she of course loved receiving beautiful gifts and wonderful nights out that wasn’t really her. Beneatha wasn’t used to having all of that done for her and for somebody to care to do that all for her. Even though Beneatha was very fond of George she just couldn’t see a future with him unlike the future she could see with Asagai. Also Georger was never as much for the idea of her becoming a doctor then Asagai was which she didn’t like about George. From what has been said above are the main examples of how both of the men treat Beneatha and how she feels about them. Ever since she was a little girl that’s all she could dream of; being able to help others is just what she was meant to do.
Her kind, caring, and strong spirit is what made her such an amazing candidate to become a doctor. One example of when she realized she wanted to be a doctor is when she talks about how her friend once got hurt and she didn’t know what to do and how to help her and thought her friend was gonna die but then her friend was taken to the hospital where they saved her life and ended up being fine. That is just one example that takes place in the book where she realizes that’s what she wants to do, she wants to save people. Another reason is because of how at points she can feel helpless as a woman and she believes that if she became a doctor it might take away some of the feeling of being a helpless African American woman. That is one reason why she's always wanted to be a doctor but she also had a time in the book where she started doubting …show more content…
herself. Maybe I should just give up.
That’s what Beneatha Younger began to think towards the end of the book when Walter her older brother lost Mama’s life insurance money. She began to think this for a couple of reasons. One reason is because of how she realized it would take to long too become a doctor and wouldn’t be making money for a while and the Younger family needed her to be making money now. Also George one of her boyfriends at the time wasn’t fully on board with her becoming a doctor. A reason for why he wasn’t on board with this was because of how he felt that she didn’t need to be working and when they were to have kids who would look after them, and also how it wasn’t very common for girls to work at that time. One last reason why Beneatha started to doubt herself and give up on her dream is because of how she no longer believes that she can help people and the feeling she used to have just wasn’t there anymore. Instead of feeling optimistic about demanding equality for African-Americans and freeing them from the French and English colonizers, she now frets about basic human misery. Never-ending human misery demoralizes her, and she no longer sees a reason to fight against it. Those are a couple of the reasons why Beneatha begins to doubt herself on give up her lifelong dream of becoming a
doctor. From all the men in Beneatha's life to losing her money to go and get her degree to become a doctor her life has been very stressful. She’s always doubting herself but in the end always ends up making the right decision. In conclusion you see how they boys in her life can hold her back at points which can lead herself to doubt herself but also how they can push her to do better.
At first, the family viewed the insurance money as a distant entity, much like the dreams of Beneatha and Walter. Beneatha, the independent sister of the family, had dreams of becoming a doctor one day. She felt as though being a doctor “was truly being God” (133). To her, as a doctor, she would not only miraculously cure people and save lives like God, but she would also finally reach a level of divine respect. Much like God has control over all living beings, Beneatha viewed her medical degree as the key to having complete control over her own life. Once she had obtained her degree, her life would take an abrupt turn for the better. Without her degree, Beneatha feels as
“We wonder. But not well! Not for a minute! Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now, we think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it” (Brooks 11-13). The speaker indicates that even if someone has a dream, they cannot really consider pursuing it, for it is not as important as the basic necessities. Instead, they replace the dream with a practical desire: getting into the bath before the water becomes cold. This demonstrates that the speaker believes that it is essential to take care of basic human needs before fantasizing about unrealistic ideas. Beneatha, on the other hand, is determined to accomplish her dream of becoming a doctor. Unlike the speaker in “Kitchenette Building,” Beneatha strives for a dream that seems far-fetched. She is not satisfied with just the basic needs, so she yearns to do something important with her life. In fact, one of her nicknames is “One for Whom Bread-Food-Is Not Enough” (Hansberry 65). Unlike the speaker of the poem, Beneatha refuses to let her dream die just because of her family’s unfortunate financial situation. Furthermore, Beneatha’s ambition does not fit into the gender stereotypes of the time period. “Ain’t many girls who decide ‘to be a doctor’”
Lena, Walter, Ruth, and Beneatha Younger all lived under the same roof, but their dreams were all different. Being the head of the household, Lena dreamed the dreams of her children and would do whatever it took to make those dreams come true. Walter, Lena's oldest son, set his dream on the liquor store that he planned to invest with the money of his mother. Beneatha, in the other hand, wanted to become a doctor when she got out of college and Ruth, Walter's wife, wanted to be wealthy. "A Raisin in the Sun" was a book about "dreams deferred", and in this book that Lorraine Hansberry had fluently described the dreams of the Younger family and how those dreams became "dreams deferred."
In A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruth and Beneatha both have great dreams but encounter at least one barrier to their success. Ruth’s dream is to have a happy and loving family, and Walter is her barrier. Beneatha’s dream is to become a doctor, but she is dependent on others to fulfill her dream.
Poverty doesn't have to effect the people's personalities that I consumes like most of the Youngers. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha did not let being poor make them envy any one who had money. Walter on the other hand was sick of the way he and his family had to live. He was fed-up and was desperate to make money any way he could think of for his family.
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 Younger’s dreams to be a doctor often contradict what other people think is best for her, showing that she is willing to take risks. Her relationship with George becomes tense when he discovers that she aspires to become a doctor. This is shown when he says “As for myself I, want a nice... simple... sophisticated girl... not a poet, OK?” George does not like the change that Beneatha advocates for. Another instance, when he says “It’s simple. You read books, to learn facts, to get grades, to pass the course, to get a degree. That’s all,
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.
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...
Differences in generations can cause people to have different viewpoints in life. A Raisin In The Sun is a play set in the 1950s written by Lorraine Hansberry. The Youngers are a black family who lives in a cramped apartment in the South Side of Chicago. When Mama receives a check of insurance money, members of the family are divided in their own hopes of what it will be used for. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha are the three women of the Younger household and their generational differences clearly show through their actions. The difference between generations is why Mama is the most devout, Ruth is an agreeable person, and Beneatha is outspoken and has modern views.
In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the main character, Beneatha Younger is a 20 year old black woman. She struggles with her identity throughout the play by not wanting to assimilate into white culture, but has no connection to her distant African culture. Beneatha dates two men who represent these different identities. George Murchison, an African-American man, comes from a wealthy family. George and his family represent assimilation into white culture and finding success by doing so. Their success makes George the favorite of Beneatha's suitors among her own family. The second man, Asagai, is Nigerian. He represents a connection back to Beneatha’s distant African culture. Beneatha feels the most connected with Asagai, as he provides
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.
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).
She is determined to find her fullness as an individual and to not be defined by the man she marries. Walter constantly criticizes Beneatha’s dream of being a doctor. He treats it as though his dream is no longer feasible. He’s portrayed by Hansberry as being fairly pathetic and helpless. It seems like he needs women to help him move into manhood.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down barriers to become an African American female doctor. Lastly, is Walter Lee Younger, son of Mama and husband of Ruth. Walter dreams of economic prosperity and desires to become a flourishing businessman. Over the course of Walter's life many things contributed to his desire to become a businessman. First and foremost, Walter's father had a philosophy that no man should have to do labor for another man. Being that Walter Lee was a chauffeur, Big Walter?s philosophy is completely contradicted. Also, in Walter?s past, he had the opportunity to go into the Laundromat business which he chose against. In the long run, he saw this choice was fiscally irresponsible this choice was. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee's dreams, which are his sole focus, lead to impaired judgement and a means to mend his shattered life.