In the play A Raisin in the Sun, a prominent issue is gender inequality. Beneatha, Lena, and Ruth all faced this problem in the setting and by other characters. Lorraine Hansberry, the author, demonstrated inequality in an original way compared to other books in the 1950’s. Mama has been instilled with the fact that she is inferior to men through many years of racial conditioning (Washington 113). Beneatha and Ruth also encountered discrimination through her close friends and family. Despite that, the women remain prideful and continue with their dream even when they were weighed down by other’s opinion. Gender inequality is present in the play through occupation and characters, representing the difficulties women faced in the 1950’s. Lena …show more content…
Younger’s thinking has been limited by discrimination and her self-expectation has been lowered by gender conditioning (Washington 113). Mama grew up in a racist American society, forcing her to think in a way very different from her children’s. She was more “worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if [she] could and how to stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too…” (Hansberry 62). These circumstances “narrow[ed] her perspective and restrict[ed] her beliefs about what a black person could reasonably expect to achieve in American society.” (Washington 113). Mama could only dream about becoming a doctor or owning a nice house because society had led her to believe that it was impossible for her gender and race (Washington 113). She was also confronted with job discrimination (M'Baye 1). Mama was forced into the job of being a caretaker because she would not have been accepted for any other job. This is because she, a black woman, would not have been considered “fit” for any other job (M’Baye 1). Beneatha has been suppressed for her aspirations in life by three characters: Walter, George, and Asagai.
Walter Younger, Beneatha’s brother, always told her “go be a nurse like other women—or just get married and be quiet…” (Hansberry 28), but Beneatha wanted to become a doctor (Brubaker 1). A traditional woman was expected to get married and should be more concerned with her family than her education (Brubaker 1). Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor is dissimilar from the stereotypical female in the 1950’s (Brubaker 1). Beneatha believes education is the way to success (Brubaker 1). Beneatha does not want to rely on her boyfriend, George Murchison, a wealthy black man, and wants to wait to get married (Brubaker 1). George also discouraged Beneatha for her dream. He “wants a nice—simple—sophisticated girl” (Hansberry 146) and not a girl who wants to be different. He believed she should have fulfilled the stereotype when she wanted to achieve her dream. Finally, Asagai, a close friend of Beneatha’s, demoralizes her for being a woman. He said, “I can take women only just so seriously” (Hansberry 51). Even though Asagai encourages Beneatha about becoming a doctor, he still doesn’t respect her as he would another man. Beneatha’s dream seems impossible to others, but she remains independent and determined. Ruth Younger was underappreciated for her work. Ruth, Walter’s wife, worked at home and took care of everyone in the house even when they were disrespectful towards
her. Walter says “A man needs for a woman to back him up…” (Hansberry 21) and she should build him up. She was told by Walter that she should be on his side about everything, but she believes she should be able to voice her opinion. His excuse for her complaints are “[it’s] a woman’s way of looking at things” (Hansberry 23), Ruth is angered by this because he is just saying it to feel better about himself and blaming his problems on her. Ruth feels exhausted of the constant upkeeping of the house and by Walter always telling her what to do. A Raisin in the Sun was a very empowering book for women in the 1950’s. Women were underappreciated for the things they did for society and men. Beneatha was discouraged for her dream of becoming a doctor, and Ruth was suppressed by her husband for voicing her opinion. Finally, Lena Younger was raised in an older America causing her to think of herself as separate from others. Gender inequality is a major aspect of the play, including the struggles women faced daily.
The story also focuses in on Ruth Younger the wife of Walter Lee, it shows the place she holds in the house and the position she holds to her husband. Walter looks at Ruth as though he is her superior; he only goes to her for help when he wants to sweet talk his mama into giving him the money. Mama on the other hand holds power over her son and doesn’t allow him to treat her or any women like the way he tries to with Ruth. Women in this story show progress in women equality, but when reading you can tell there isn’t much hope and support in their fight. For example Beneatha is going to college to become a doctor and she is often doubted in succeeding all due to the fact that she is black African American woman, her going to college in general was odd in most people’s eyes at the time “a waste of money” they would say, at least that’s what her brother would say. Another example where Beneatha is degraded is when she’s with her boyfriend George Murchison whom merely just looks at her as arm
Although many people do not like to admit it, labeling others is part of the mind’s subconscious, whether it be sexually, racially or by gender. In many aspects, society has taken great leaps towards eliminating stereotyping. Some literature that was written centuries ago such as Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, still contains stereotypical gender roles, while others such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey reflect changes in society. Literature throughout history demonstrates that gender roles are evolving and become an issue of the past.
In the four years between 1861 and 1865 this country was in civil war over the rights and freedom of blacks in America. When all was said and done, the blacks won their freedom and gained several rights that would make their lives better. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry wrote her great play, A Raisin in the Sun. It described the everyday life of a black family in the Southside of Chicago sometime after World War II. Throughout the play, Hansberry talks of the difficulties that the Younger family faces trying to get from one day to another; the problems that should have been resolved by the Civil War. Even after the Civil War and this play, many of these problems still exist today.
Ruth has an intriguing personality. She is very loving towards her family. She will do all in her power to improve the lifestyle of her family. When it appears that the deal for the house in Clybourne Park will fall through, she promises to dedicate all of her time to make the investment work. “Lena-I’ll work… I’ll work 20 hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago…I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to and scrub all the floors and wash all the sheets in America if I have to-but we have to MOVE!” she pleads to her mother-in-law (Hansberry140). Her plan is unrealistic and idealistic, but the well being of her family is more important to her than anything. Ruth is also witty and sarcastic at times. She cracks jokes to lighten the mood of her family when they’re worried. “Well that’s the way the cracker crumbles. Joke. (121)” When Beneatha and Mama are stressing over the neighborhood they are moving into, Ruth makes a witty joke to improve the mood. Ruth supervises the daily routine and well being of her family. She makes sure that everyone does what they are supposed to and stays on track. ...
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...
When talking to Mama and Ruth in a scene about marriage, Beneatha’s opinion on this topic shocks the two other women. When she is asked about her thoughts on who she will marry, Beneatha responds by saying, “I’m not worried who I’m going to marry yet—if I ever get married” (Hansberry 50). Beneatha is not concerned about marriage at the moment because she is studying to become a doctor. Her motivation to become a doctor stems from her want to change the world. Beneatha’s motivation is parallel to her generation’s, the Baby Boomers, drive to improve the world. As the conversation leads towards the topic of religion, Beneatha tells Mama and Ruth that “God is just one of the ideas I don’t accept” (Hansberry 51). Being the youngest of the three women, Beneatha is not as religious as Mama. Instead, she believes that it is wrong that He gets all the credit of humankind. Beneatha not believing in God lines up with how the Baby Boomers are less devout than the GI Generation. Beneatha’s beliefs show how she incorporates more modern values into her
Many of the obstacles seen in the 1940s or 1950s are still heavily present in the society of today, specifically in race and gender. The play A Raisin in the Sun challenges both the social norms and the expectations of women and people of color, by showing far ahead of their time characters embodying empowerment by taking extreme risks, such as studying to become a black female doctor, or moving into a predominantly white neighborhood. Drawing on her own experience, the author Lorraine Hansberry creates scenes that are both realistic, but also grave, up until the ending. Throughout Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the seemingly wholesome resolution relies solely on unrealistic faith in humanity, specifically shown through Asagai’s stress on
“ Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” said Martin Luther King Junior. There was many social issues in the play “ A Raisin in the Sun.” One of the biggest social issues was the role of the women in the 1950’s in America. The play by Hansberry is showing issues like abortion, the meaning and value of marriage, and changing gender roles for women and men. Another big social issue was class stress between the African American community.
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.
In the words of Jim Cocola and Ross Douthat, Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to mimic how she grew up in the 1930s. Her purpose was to tell how life was for a black family living during the pre-civil rights era when segregation was still legal (spark notes). Hansberry introduces us to the Youngers’, a black family living in Chicago’s Southside during the 1950s pre-civil rights movement. The Younger family consists of Mama, who is the head of the household, Walter and Beneatha, who are Mama’s children, Ruth, who is Walter’s wife, and Travis, who is Walter and Ruth’s son. Throughout the play the Youngers’ address poverty, discrimination, marital problems, and abortion. Mama is waiting on a check from the insurance company because of the recent passing of her husband. Throughout the play Walter tries to convince Mama to let him invest the money in a liquor store. Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor while embracing her African heritage, and Ruth just found out that she is pregnant and is struggling to keep her marriage going. The Youngers’ live in a very small apartment that is falling apart because of the wear and tear that the place has endured over the years. Mama dreams of having her own house and ends up using part of the insurance money for a down payment on a house in an up-scale neighborhood. The Youngers’ meet Mr. Lindner, who is the head of the welcoming committee. Mr. Lindner voices the community’s concerns of the Youngers’ moving into their neighborhood. Is the play A Raisin in the Sun focused on racial or universal issues?
An Analysis of A Raisin In the Sun & nbsp; "A Raisin In The Sun" is a play written by an African-American playwright - Lorraine Hansberry. It was first produced in 1959. Lorraine Hansberry's work is about a black family in the Chicago South Side. the Second World War. The family consisted of Mama(Lena Younger), Walter.
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.
The late 1950s was filled with racial discriminations. There was still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites were not for any change or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells a story of a black family that is struggling to gain a middle class acceptance in Chicago. The family of five, one child and four adults live in a tiny apartment that is located in a very poor area. Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals is two key parts played out throughout the whole play. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends met to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have help the family and not only himself, if he would have thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to setup for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand history of racial discrimination and how racial discrimination has an effect on the people in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as how that has an effect on the characters within the play.
In A Raisin in the Sun, Mama illuminates the fact that woman can exist and can do positive things in the world on there own. By Mama’s role, she shows that women can live on their own without the guidance of men. Mama’s strong; bold attitude overcame the aspirations of the struggle between men and women, which led to clarifying the book as a guide to the upbringing of the women’s movement. Through Mama’s desires, the play A Raisin in the Sun examines the expressions, the emotions and the feelings of what woman had to cope with during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Mama’s dreams and her attitude designed a new path for woman to walk on. Through Mama’s conduct this play reveals a positive attitude towards the women’s movement and represents that woman can survive on their own.