A Raisin In The Sun American Dream Essay

"A Raisin In the Sun" a play written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, is about a low class African American family living in a constant struggle of achieving their wants and desires. Throughout this play, there is one recurring theme. The American Dream. The American Dream is "A national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers." In other words, a life without struggling.

Saad Moolla Ms. Noha Enligh III 15 January 2015 Literary Analysis Essay The play, “ A Raisin in the Sun” authored by Lourraine Hasenberry holds a very unique title that refers to Langston Hughes’s poem “A Dream Deferred.” Langston’s poem is about dreams and what happens to those dreams are not fulfilled. Hassenberry wrote her play about a poor African American family by the name of the Yongers. Mrs. Younger, Walter Lee, and Beneatha all have there own individual dreams.

A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play which contains many different obstacles that the characters face. One character, Beneatha, faces an obstacle that is out of her control. This obstacle is gender inequality. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, gender inequality is experienced by Beneatha and reflects the struggles women faced in the 1950s. One of the issues that Beneatha faces in the play is her relationships with two men in her life, George Murchison and Joseph Asagai.

The book and song both demonstrate the importance of respecting and supporting the people close to us. Beginning with the respect from a standpoint of intellect and individuality is the character of Beneatha. Beneatha wants to be able to chase her dream of becoming a doctor free from family disapproval and discouragement. In a conversation between Beneatha and her brother, Walter, he states, “I’m interested in you. Something

Walter’s statement tries to tell the women that he didn’t try to make the world the way it is now. Yes, he wants luxurious items for him and his wife. However, even though he seriously messed up, he’s still the man in the family and will continue to make the decisions for the

Beneatha Younger struggles to find her real identity throughout the whole play, “A Raisin in the Sun.” She strives to become a doctor despite being a women. Throughout the whole play she tries out a handful of hobbies that she takes up during the play. She tries out horse riding and then she wants to learn to play the guitar. Beneatha talks about how she is experimenting with many hobbies to find her identity.

Beneatha’s dream to become a doctor connects to the American Dream through freedom. She wants to be able to achieve her own life and make a living for

In Act 1, Beneatha’s quest to find her personal identity is seen in the way she expresses herself, her ambitions, her roots and the way she deviates from what is acceptable in her family. She tries to find ways to express herself such as trying different hobbies. In the past, Beneatha has been a part of a play-acting group, horseback-riding club, and in Act 1 starts guitar lessons (47). She also has the ambition to become a doctor which is looked down upon by her brother, Walter Lee (38). Additionally, her African roots are important to her search for identity.

They do all put in work to pay for her schooling though. School was difficult for black students as they were not always accepted in all schools. “In September 1957 Arkansas Democratic Governor Orval E. Faubus became the national symbol of racial segregation when he used Arkansas National Guardsmen to block the enrollment of nine black students who had been ordered by a federal judge to desegregate Little Rock 's Central High School¨(Faubus). The Whites were definitely trying to keep the blacks from getting the proper education to be successful this is why her family is sceptical about her become a doctor. The family is somewhat supportive of Beneatha’s dream in the sense that they pay for her schooling.

No one ever stays the same forever. This is shown in Beneatha Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun”. Beneatha is a young black women, who faces challenges everyday. She is a students at a college and dreams to be a doctor but no one else seems to believe in her. This makes her try harder and makes her change the way she thinks.

Walter uses his male privilege to put Beneatha down. Beneatha battles being underprivileged at home and in society by defying odds and choosing her own path. According to the matrix of domination, Beneatha being an African American woman shows that in order for her to have full privilege she has to deal with both the isms. The social construction of difference has produced racism and sexism and connected them and society has used them to justify

Throughout the 1950s, people of color have struggled with achieving their dreams due to the lack of equality that is portrayed in that specific time era. It has been a constant battle for equality for all races and genders over the course of time. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin In the Sun the character Beneatha struggles with her racial inequality, education, and gender stereotyping. These specific struggles are the blocks she deals with trying to achieve her dream.

Beneatha dreams to be a doctor, which is a male-dominated profession. She says, “I am going to be a doctor and everybody around here better understand that!” (Hansberry 33). This shows her feminist attitude in the play when Beneatha takes a largely optimistic stance when facing troubles of entering a male-dominated profession, implying that she is a ‘non-conformist’. Additionally, Beneatha refuses to “just get married and be quiet” (Hansberry 22), as her chauvinistic brother, Walter Lee, expects her to be.

The American Dream is a byproduct of pride that is shown in the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, and in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In A Raisin in the Sun, the play follows a black family’s struggle to achieve their American Dreams to fruition. Walter Lee Jr. is the head