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Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun mama house
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun mama house
Problems facing African Americans in 1950s and 1960s
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“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”(Langston Hughes). During the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, everybody has a dream, but due to financial problems, not everyone was able to reach their goals. In Chicago, there is a family of 5 living in an apartment that has big dreams for in life. Walter wanted to make money by opening a liquor store, Mama wanted a house with a backyard so she could start a garden and plant flowers, Beneatha wanted to go to school to become a doctor, and Ruth just wanted happiness for her family. Life takes a turn for the better when an insurance check of $10,000 comes in the mail. Lorraine Hansberry’s central idea is the racial tension for people of color in the 1950’s, with battling against money issues, and dreams becoming deferred. At the present time, racism was a huge problem everywhere, policemen and many others treated colored people poorly. Early on in the movie, Mama goes to the market to buy a bag of apples. When she asks the …show more content…
Everybody has a dream in this play and they all wanted to achieve those dreams. Beneatha had a dream of becoming a doctor, but Walter had a different dream for her, “Who the hell told you to be a doctor?... Then go be a nurse like other women-or just get married and be quiet”(38). At that point, she had felt like giving up her dream, but then decided she wasn't going to let her brother tell her what she could or could not be. She had almost let go of her dream but she was going to be what she wanted to be and didn't give up. At the end of the play, dreams take a twist when Walter’s good friend Willy Harris runs off with all the money saved for the liquor store and Beneatha’s schooling money. This was a depressing part of the movie because now they didn't know how they would pay for the rest of the house. Walter and Beneatha’s dreams were lost because of this
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.
¨There is always something left to love. And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing.”- Lorraine Hansberry. This quote helps me understand how much Lena loves her family. Ruth's dream was to move and get a better, improved house. Beneatha's dream in the future was to become a doctor and go to college. Lena had a dream to make her family happy.
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
In A Raisin in the Sun, desire is shown when each character has a different idea of what the American dream means to them. Mama dreams of having her own house, “…a little two-story somewhere, with a yard where Travis could play in the summertime” (Hansberry 1923). She had always dreamed of having her own house in Morgan Park, and even though her and Big Walter planned on moving there after a little while after being married it never happened. (Hansberry 1923). Ruth’s dream is similar to Mama’s, she would like to have her own house also, but the main thing on her mind is to not have to worry about money. However, Beneatha’s dream is the complete opposite of both Mama and Ruth’s. She dreams to become a doctor so she can prove that women can have the same jobs as men. That dream causes conflict because of Walter’s dream to become wealthy and to be able to provide for his family. “…You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand…baby don’t nothing happen for you in this world ‘less you pay someone off” (Hansberry 1917). Walter thinks that he has a better chance than Beneatha and the money should go to him, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor…just get married and be quiet” (Hansberry 1919). Throughout the remainder of the play Walter, Beneatha, Ruth
Moving to a white neighborhood in Chicago, her family had to deal with threats of violence and legal action. Her father defended the case successfully all the way to the Supreme Court.(sparknotes1) Her parents were well known in national black culture and political circles, which probably sparked her to latter become a reporter and editor for the Freedom, a black newspaper in New York from 1950-53. Hansberry relates her life situations through her play by having the Younger family deal with a similar circumstance. In the play Lena Younger or better known as mama, receives a 10,000-dollar check because her husband had past away.
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.
She shares that not only would she be able to get married as well as become a doctor, she would get to live in Africa. Her mother does not say no, but she kind of “brushes off” the news Beneatha shares with her as if it is not an option. Her brother, Walter, tells her to forget about it and marry rich. Neither her mother or brother are supportive in this moment. Hansberry ends the play shortly after this moment, so it is unclear what Beneatha’s final decision was. Was she independent enough to liberate herself from her family’s hold? Or did she remain trapped and dependent by their expectations of what her future should look like?
Beneatha 's American dream was to become a doctor. She was going to achieve this dream by going to a medical school. Her dream was deferred because of the money Walter lost. Mama said, “You mean your sister’s school money… You used that too… Walter?...” (129). This show that there 's no more money for Beneatha 's education. Beneatha 's American Dream of women 's rights was also deferred because Beneatha lives in a time when society expects women to build homes rather than careers. Walter said, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy about messing around with sick people, then go be a nurse like other women or just get married and be quiet…” (38). This shows how people think during those times that women just get married and stay home cleaning. Beneatha 's American dream is that she wants a good man was also deferred, because she wants someone to love her for who she is. Beneatha 's said, “Mama George is a fool honest” (97). This demonstrate, that she wants no fool. She wants someone that is serious with her. Overall, through her character, Beneatha Younger, Hansberry created a real example of a black American dream. All her dreams are deferred of becoming a doctor, her women’s rights, and a good
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...
At the end of the play it is unclear whether or not Beneatha would actually leave her family in order to find herself and pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor. She is obviously is not going to marry George, although Walter would like her to because of the money. Living in such close quarters for so many years with her family, she developed a love-hate relationship with all of them. I would be surprised if she did actually go to Africa. Like Nora, Beneatha at the end of the play has a strong sense of self. She knows what she wants, and is determined to accomplish her dream.
Beneatha believes that education is the way to understanding and self-fulfillment through knowledge and wisdom. It was rare at this time to find a poor well-educated black woman with such high ambitions. Her Mama knowing how much her education meant to her, told Walter to save $3000 for Beneatha's medical school. When they discovered that Walter had invested the money in his liquor store scheme and Willy had run off with all the money, Beneatha was devastated. Her dream according to Langston Hughes poem Harlem”Or does it explode?” She had lost all hope and even though her spirits may have been lifted after her talk with Asagai and the chance to move into a new house, it seems that Beneatha will never realize her
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.
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.
The social inequality which the Younger's encounter also does not hinder Mama's compassion. Mr. Lindner temporarily shatters Mama's dream of owning a home when he comes to the Youngers prepared to give them money to move from Clybourne Park. The derogatory use of "you people" by Mr. Lindner has little to no effect on Mama's steadfast decision to move to Clybo...
This struggle with locating her identity is having a negative effect on Beneatha’s ability to connect with her family in a meaningful way. This obsession with African culture is hindering her from being able to work towards achieving her dreams as well. Mama’s dream of having a house for her family and a little garden of her own represents security to her. To have these things would also mean she succeeded in a dream that she and her deceased husband held together. We learn this when Mama tells Ruth “We was going to set away, little by little, and buy a little place out in Morgan Park.”