Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Everyday people chase their dreams and some succeed while others do not. For those who do not reach their dreams a lesson is learned. In Lorraine Hansberry’s, A Raisin In The Sun, we read that the Younger family is a low income family that faces racism and discrimination everyday and the only thing that is keeping them going is the hope that one day they will reach their dreams and create a better future for their children. In Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses the Younger family to show that as individuals strive to reach their dreams they often disregard the aspirations of others, but they may eventually learn to support one another in attempt to better their lives.

In the play, Walter Younger is enthusiastic to buy

a liquor store, the one he always dreams about, but he did not realize that just like himself, his wife, son, mother, and sister have dreams they hope someday they might accomplish.

Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, Walter constantly disregards his family's dreams to chase his own ambitions. When Beneatha explains that she wants to become a doctor, Walter criticizes her and says that it is unachieveable for her, Beneatha (Dropping to her knees) says, “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!” (Hansberry, 497). As you can see Beneatha is being sarcastic in saying how her dreams are indeed achievable by saying, “... Forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all...”. In addition to Beneatha being sarcastic, she is also mocking Walter for risking a large increment of money on a liquor store that he believes is more successful than being a doctor. Walter simply ignores

the fact that Beneatha wants to become a doctor ever since she can remember. Not only does Walter disagree and ignore the hopes and dreams of Beneatha, he also does not look at his family’s own dreams of buying a house in a better neighborhood. Instead, Walter complains constantly and is incredibly dissatisfied with his life since he cannot own his liquor store without the sufficient funds, and he's taking it out on everybody around him. Poor Ruth feels the brunt of her husband's unhappiness, as she told mother, “Mama, something is happening between Walter and me. I don’t know what it is – but he needs something – something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena.” (Hansberry, 501). Walter wants to own the liquor store so much that even his wife cannot make him happy, not even his family being happy can satisfy his thirst for power.

Beneatha is another part of the Younger family that disregards the dreams and aspirations of others in pursuit of their own dreams. On the topic of Africa, Asagai brings up his hopes to stop assimilation and colonialism and Beneatha retorts this saying, “I know that’s what you think. Because you are still where I left off. You with all your talk and dreams about Africa! You still think you can patch up the world. Cure the Great Sore of Colonialism – (Loftily, mocking it) with the Penicillin of Independence - !” (Hansberry, 564). She mockingly makes fun Asagai for having farfetch dreams, such as saving Africa from the people who try to destroy its culture, because Beneatha’s dreams became non existent after working so hard just to see Walter rip her away of her college funds. Still frustrated at Walter, Beneatha asks him, “…Did you dream of yachts on Lake Michigan, Brother? Did you see yourself on that Great Day sitting down at the Conference Table, surrounded by all the mighty bald-headed men in America? All halted, waiting, breathless, waiting for your pronouncements on industry? Waiting for you – Chairman of the Board!…I look at you and I see the final triumph of stupidity in the world!” (Hansberry, 567). Beneatha bitterly ridicules Walter’s dream for the possibility of ever dreaming that big and she is also extremely resentful that Walter put his dreams ahead of hers. Both ends of the spectrum do not consider each other's dreams, but rather label their dreams as the most important, whereas it should be both equally respected.

In the midst of all that almost tore the Younger family into pieces, the common hate against discrimination brought the dysfunctional family together. Mr. Lindner is a courier for Clybourne park that brings the message that they rather the Younger family stay at their current house and to never move into Clybourne park because it would make the caucasians of the neighborhood uncomfortable. In spite, the Younger family agreed to all work together to pay the rent for the house in Clybourne park to make up for the money Walter lost. In fact, as Mr. Lindner offers a check for the Younger family in consolation for not moving into their new home, Walter turns the offer down saying, “And we have decided to move into our house because my father—my father—he earned it for us brick by brick. (MAMA has her eyes closed and is rocking back and forth as though she were in church, with her head nodding the Amen yes.) 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. (He looks the man absolutely in the eyes.)We don't want your money. (He turns and walks away.)” (Hansberry, 575). The Younger family then realizes after bickering at each other that their father did not work so that one person in the family can achieve their dreams, but rather create a better life for the next generation just like Mr. Younger did working as a slave. Together the Younger family makes its first move to protest against oppression and discrimination. In fact, on a day to day basis, the still faces discrimination and oppression. For example, in the Middle East girls are being deprived from a proper education unlike the males living there. Michelle Obama spoke out of this situation to “A Plus”, a online news website conveying all current events, saying, “Solving our girls' education is definitely about resources, but it is also about attitudes and beliefs… It's about whether parents think their daughters are as worthy of an education as their sons. It's about whether our societies cling to outdated laws and traditions that oppress and exclude women." Notice how First Lady Michelle Obama included societies. This tells us that Mrs. Obama wants us to come together as a community and let go of these irrelevant and misogynistic ideas of the past.

Nonetheless, Lorraine Hansberry foreshadows the dreams of Mama’s bigger dream for the entire family in the beginning of the play as “She crosses through the room, goes to the window, opens it, and brings in a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the window sill. She feels the dirt and puts it back out.” Just as the plant continues to "doggedly" grow despite its poor environment, Mama continues to hold on to her dream of someday owning her own home. In the meantime, she nurtures and cares for her plant as best she can or in other words her own family.

In the end, the Younger family bands together to create an even bigger dream for the next generation.

Despite the arrogance throughout A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family eventually learns to support each other in an attempt to better their lives. Walter learns his lesson by swallowing his pride and dropping his dreams to own a liquor store to create a dream that would benefit his family’s life. Beneatha learns that critiquing other people’s dreams because she can not achieve her own is counter productive and decides to become a doctor in Africa, while supporting Asagai’s dream of saving Africa. All together, the Younger family learns that the next generation of African Americans will believe that they cannot dream or aspire to great things because of the environment of oppression that surrounds them. Even if they do dare to dream. Without protesting and fighting against discrimination and oppression nothing will change, and change begins with a family banding

together.