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The shape of the American family has undergone a dramatic change over the last several decades
Family in modern society
Social norms modern day
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“Weariness has, in fact, won in this room. Everything has been polished, washed, sat on, used, scrubbed too often. All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room” (Hansberry 10). No, this is not the description of a small, worn-out room. This is the definition of the Youngers’ existence. The Youngers are a typical African-American family living in a Post-WWII era. The Youngers, unlike most African-American families, have been given a chance to move up in the world. With the death of Big Walter, the previous man of the house, the Youngers have a chance to make one family member’s dream come true. However, American Society has changed the Youngers. Instead of using the money to better the family, the family members, specifically Walter and Beneatha, now seek to use the money to finance their own dreams at the cost of others. When Asagai says “ How often I have looked at you and said, Ah-so this is what the New World hath finally wrought,” he sees the good that the New World caused in Beneatha (Hansberry 137). When Beneatha looks at Walter, she sees something different, she sees a pathetic man who has lost everything. They are both right in different ways. The New World hath wrought in Beneatha an all consuming desire for more, while it has caused Walter to become obsessed with money, and be frustrated with his lot in life. The values of the New World have caused Walter to become materialistic, emotionally insensitive, and frustrated. The first example of where this can be seen is during Walter’s argument with Mama. Mama and Walter both have different meanings on what it means to be alive. Walter, due to having become materialistic, views the meaning of life as money. Mama views the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ade it almost impossible for an African-American family to prosper. More often, society would torture African-Americans with visions of unattainable dreams, which are always doomed to be deferred. The New World hath wrought in Beneatha and Walter an obsession with money, and the has placed self-fulfilment out of Beneatha’s reach. Works Cited Cullen, Countee. "Yet Do I Marvel." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun: A Drama in Three Acts. New York: Random House, 1959. Print. Hughes, Langston. "Let America Be America Again." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. "I Have a Dream Speech." Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Speech - American Rhetoric. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.