Elijah Torbenson Ms. Morris English Honors When One Deserves Their Wish “Hell, yes, I want me some yachts someday!” (Act 3 Scene 1). All the characters in Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun play have dreams, and obviously some are more valid than others. The main characters in this book are Ruth, Travis, Beneatha, Lena, and Walter. So, the only dreams that can be selected as being most worthy are these. Lena, whose dream is for her family to be realistically happy in their lives, is the most deserving of her dream because it is realistic, non-self-centered, non-genreric, and Lena is the most deserving herself. Lena Younger’s dream is the most deserving because it is the most realistic …show more content…
Her worthiness for her dream shows up in her personality. For example, she has a very persevering personality. When Walter foolishly lost all the money, Lena took in the situation and made the best she could out of it by being cheerful and trying to mend the demoralized family back together. On the other hand, when Beneatha was in the same situation, she completely gave up and became bitter. Beneatha and Lena were both suffered from the same tragedy. The difference was what they made out of it- Beneatha gave up, Lena persevered. Dreams shouldn’t be magically handed to somebody like the lottery, people should have to preserver and work up to them. And because Lena had the most persevering personality out of the main characters, she deserves to get her dream. Another reason why Lena Younger is the most deserving is because she has kept her dignity for herself and her family the entire novel. For example. when Walter lost the money, he fell unto a pathetic heap on the floor, willing to sacrifice all that their family had stood for for just a little bit of money. People who stoop down as low as Walter did and who esteem money as higher than their own selves generally aren’t very virtuous or deserving. However Lena kept her dignity, “Son—I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers —but ain 't nobody in my family never let …show more content…
Throughout the play, characters in A Raisin in the Sun have strived passionately for achieving their dreams. Lena Younger’s dream was for her family to live safely and happily. Easily crossing out all the other possibilities of dreams that could be chosen, Lena Younger’s dream was the most deserving because it was very virtuous. It was realistic, selfless, distinguishable, and Lena was the most qualified
The Deferred Dreams of the !950’s In Lorraine Hansberry 's play, A Raisin in the Sun, the characters of Mama, Walter, and Beneatha face several obstacles and hardships that refrain the characters from being able to accomplish their dreams. They are faced with issues such as gender stereotyping, discriminatory housing , and racial prejudice. All of which lead to their deferred dreams. Throughout the story, the reader is given a visual of how all of these issues are relevant and how they affect each character.
They do not want to sacrifice their own dreams to please the others. Unwilling to make a sacrifice proves to bring more animosity in a family as shown in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry through conflict involving money and how the characters handle their actions. Walter’s dream is to use the money to open up his own business even if it goes against his family’s wishes. Walter argues, “.... he’s
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry, both Walter and Mama have great dreams and encounter barriers on the path to achieving their dreams. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to better provide for his family, a dream that changes when he faces the barrier of his money being stolen by Willy Harris. Mama dreams of living in a real house with a garden and also encounters barrier of her money being stolen by Willy Harris. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to financially support his family. Walter’s dream is shown in act 1, scene 1 when he explains to Ruth how the liquor store he and his friends are buying will help their family have enough money to do more than just make ends meet (32,33).
In the text “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the author uses the writing strategy of conflict to develop the central idea of how oneself can become selfish when trying to achieve the American dream. The text shows that the central idea is selfishness because circumstances are presented where various characters fail to take into consideration others while seeking their dreams. For example, Walters says, “ Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ’bout messing round with sick people, then go be a nurse like other women-or just get married and be quiet…. ’’. This example of greed shows that the ambition to obtain a dream brings out the selfishness is true in the instance of Walter.
In A Raisin in the Sun, a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, the audience was able to obtain a sense of the struggle for the American dream. We are introduced to the Youngerś a black family living in the Southside of Chicago around the 1950’s. Each member of this family has their own meaning to what is the American dream. A Raisin in the Sun teaches us that even though life might be full of conflicts, it is important to not give up on our dreams.
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry and the speech, “I have a Dream”, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have many similarities to having many dreams, a urge for power, and a want to make a change in the world for the many years to come. In Lorraine’s play, Lena Younger, is a mother who has two children and a step daughter with a kid all living in a two bedroom apartment. Lena wants nothing more than to give her family a better life. In Dr. Martin Luther King speech he wants nothing more than to give the world a better life.
The title of the play “A Raisin in the Sun” comes from the poem “Harlem” written by Langston Hughes. The poem is asking what happen to dreams that are not accomplished, What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun (Hughes) in the play many character have unaccomplished or deferred dreams. Mama dreams is moving her family out of their small apartment and into a house in a nice area with a yard for Travis and a garden for herself. She has had this dream for a long time but has never been able to accomplish it financially. After the death of her husband, the family receives a $10,000 life insurance check this money gives mama of the opportunity to buy the house she has always dreamed for her family.
Beneatha’s Dream People have dreams to do or be what makes them happy by setting goals to reach their dream. Dreams are almost like goals that people create in their mind to try to motivate them self to achieve their dream. The American Dream is the idea that everyone who is a U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to be successful and benefit through their hard-work, determination, and initiative. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha Younger’s dream is to become a doctor and build a career/life for herself without anyone providing for her which connects to the American Dream through her independence, hard-work, and determination.
She was not like other young women that would be housewives or maids at her age but instead is independent. Looking after herself and making more of a life for herself, she attends school, tries to play guitar, and looks for a love interest. This breaks the stereotype of a “normal” woman who is a housewife or maid and shows Beneatha is different. Therefore, Beneatha overcomes this criticism of her “unnatural ways”, and proceeds to make her life successful.
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.
Since her husband died she has taken charge. In every decision she makes she shows how much she cares about her family and puts them first. After her husband unexpectedly died the dreams he had for his family were placed into her hands and sprouted from there. Lena is very caring supportive, not only of her kids and
Family is important to everyone in some way because family sticks together no matter what. The play A Raisin in the Sun is about a black family named the Youngers and the hardships they face together as a family. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruth Younger is motivated by her family. This is shown by Ruth wanting to make her family happy, her working even though she is tired, and later when Ruth finds out there is going to be another mouth to feed. Ruth Younger is constantly worrying about her family’s well being and happiness for them.
Beneatha doesn 't really believe them though, she thinks that they are against her she says “Forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all” (Hansberry.37). She is saying that no one else in her family is ever going to be anything. She believe that she is the only one that is going to be successful. The rest of her family just has a low paying job and they don 't really make anything of them self. The real truth is that her family is working hard to put her through school so that she can make
Reader Response: 3 “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, is a play about a black families experience in 1950s South Side Chicago. The story revolves around what happens to the family when Lena Younger, the matriarch of the family, receives a ten thousand dollar life insurance check upon the death of her husband. Everyone from the family has different plans for what they want to do with the money. Lena Younger serves as the head of the family. She is Walter and Beneatha’s caring mother so they and Ruth call her Mama.
Lena is a teenager girl spending her time in school, hanging with her best friend Roza and occasionally visiting clubs to dance. However, the situations she has to face in her house is quite difficult, since she has a handicapped brother, Bohdan, who becomes offensive regularly, and particularly when he feels he is mocked or pitied. His situation has led Lena's parents to focus their attention on him, neglecting her, and ignoring the facts that she is also tormented by her brother's situation. Her circumstances take a turn for the even worse, when Robo, a teacher in their school who also tutors her and helps her brother with his mobility issues, rapes her in her house during a tutoring session. Fed up with her situation, and feeling that she cannot tell anyone about the rape, neither her parents nor Roza, who always talks about sex, she commits suicide during her brother's birthday party.