Introduction
The challenges faced by black Americans in the 1950s are depicted through the experiences of the Younger family living on Chicago’s South Side in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun. The drama looks at the difficulties that people of color encountered during this period, such as systemic racism, discrimination, and limited access to opportunity.
Walter and Beneatha, the key protagonists, represent the hardships faced by working-class black Americans as they navigate a culture that is sometimes antagonistic to their existence. This analytical study aims to examine the author’s intent in A Raisin in the Sun by exploring themes such as the American Dream, gender roles, and socioeconomic status. The paper argues that the play presents a nuanced examination of the challenges faced by Black men and women in shaping their identities and navigating their roles within society.
Play Setting
Hansberry, like other renowned black urban authors, uses segregation aesthetics to unveil not just the effects of segregation, but also the underlying and unavoidable source of it—the current arrangement of American society. In the play’s setting, many people were unable to further their studies or find better-paying work (Gordon 122). Discrimination in the workplace was also widespread, with African Americans having to labor in low-wage and menial positions. Due to systemic bias, it was difficult for black families to make ends meet and improve their quality of life.
The setting for A Raisin in the Sun is institutionalized prejudice and inequality. The Youngers, a black family residing on Chicago’s South Side, endure several obstacles due to their race and social situation. They frequently face discrimination and are deprived of the opportunities readily available to white Americans. Not only should the Young consider the material elements of their particular desires and ideals, but we should all challenge the capitalist foundations that underpin modern society (Gordon 124). The play addresses the challenges faced by black citizens of America in the late 1950s, specifically in Chicago’s urban settlement for people of color, as they navigate sexism, economic struggles, the pursuit of the American dream, and the experience of being a person of color through the characters of Walter and Beneatha.
Comparing the Play Characters of Walter and Beneatha
Walter and Beneatha represent the challenges faced by Black working-class Americans in the late 1950s. The drama delves into the difficulties of being a person of color in America, such as dealing with systemic racism and discrimination, negotiating traditional gender roles, and pursuing financial security and the American Dream. The play offers a significant critique of the American Dream from the perspective of socialism and human rights (Kiser 438). His idea, however, is greeted with opposition by his sister, Beneatha, who wants to spend the funds on medical school. This conflict underscores the challenges faced by working-class families in achieving financial security and improving their economic well-being.
Walter is angered throughout the play by his sister, Beneatha, who desires to utilize their father’s life insurance after his death to attend medical school. Walter believes that studying medicine is not a suitable vocation for women, and he is concerned that tuition costs are too high. For example, Beneatha states:” Well – I do – all right? – thank everybody! And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all!” (Hansberry 41)
Beneatha, who is distraught, sarcastically asks her brother to pardon her for having a dream. Beneatha, like the other characters in the play, has a dream that is just out of reach. Domestic staging within the house lacks linkages to the world outside the family’s boundaries (Kiser 446). Furthermore, it fails to assert Black women’s voices, instead focusing their discursive power on emblematic objects, such as the plotted plant, rather than empowering people who gain agency by telling their stories.
The play also highlights societal inequality, particularly in terms of access to opportunities and resources. The Youngers are a working-class family that has financial difficulties throughout the play. They are regularly discriminated against and denied the chances that white Americans enjoy.
Walter’s goal to start a liquor store represents his desperate desire to improve and provide for his family, but this desire is eventually hindered by systemic racism and prejudice. Walter’s views on working for other people and exploitation reflect the militant spirit of the time (Kiser 440). The play highlights the challenges that working-class families face in achieving financial stability and improving their economic situation, as well as the structural barriers that hinder individuals from realizing the American Dream.
Ultimately, A Raisin in the Sun suggests that systemic change is necessary to achieve a more just society. Namely, Beneatha’s desire to become a doctor diminishes during the play, and by Act III, she is plagued with despair and nearly abandons the idea entirely. For instance, she states, “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… with the Penicillin of Independence!” (Hansberry 133) As Beneatha approaches rock bottom, Asagai tries to persuade her to return to Africa, stating that Beneatha is too tied to the insurance money and that Africa is where she can contribute to meaningful transformation.
The nature of Beneatha’s rage has significant implications for how we interpret A Raisin in the Sun. Beneatha opposes capitalism, gender injustice, and racism prejudice, yet her frustrations are frequently lost on her audience. Her rage is similarly open-ended, never fading throughout the play (Orem 191). Beneatha mocks Asagai’s reform ambition, comparing it to a drug that may make things seem better but does not actually heal anything. Beneatha’s remarks emphasize how the idealism in the protagonists’ ambitions is constantly undermined by practicality.
Moreover, Beneatha struggles to define her identity in a culture that often confines black women to traditional gender stereotypes. She rejects a wealthy and arrogant suitor, George Murchison, in favor of Joseph Asagai, a Nigerian man who urges her to explore her African origins. Beneatha’s desire to become a doctor and assert her individuality highlights the challenges faced by black women as they strive to balance gender and cultural expectations. Walter Lee’s furious duplicate is Beneatha, the play’s college-aged wannabe doctor and metaphorical critic of this patriarchal society (Orem 190). A Raisin in the Sun explores the challenges that black men and women face in navigating their identities and societal responsibilities through the characters of Walter and Beneatha.
When Mama eventually gives some of the insurance money to Walter, he immediately begins asking his son, Travis, how he can help him achieve his goals. Walter states: “Just tell me where you want to go to school and you’ll go. Just tell me, what it is you want to be – and you’ll be it… You just name it, son… and I hand you the world!” (Hansberry 109)
Walter strives to act like the head of the household and support his child, exemplifying his father’s idea that a Black man’s goals are often postponed for the sake of his offspring. Distance and panic indicate the chasm between his real home and the fantasy that holds his dreams. While dreams are not inherently evil or dangerous, Walter’s dream is based on a false promise, or as the play puts it, a hysterical possibility of success and acceptance – hysterical in both senses (Matthews 559). Walter’s optimism and desire to give his child the world display his love for and dedication to his son, reinforcing a recurring theme throughout the play: dreams are eventually fulfilled through family.
The Theme of the American Dream in the Play
The narrative about the American Dream and how it is not equally available to all Americans, particularly individuals of color. The play addresses the challenges that individuals of color face in pursuing their aspirations and overcoming societal barriers. The Younger family’s refusal of Mr. Lindner’s offer highlights the nation’s contradictions in declaring all men are created equal while denying its exhausted, hungry, and destitute minority population the rights and protections of the home (Matthews 569).
Walter’s intention to open a liquor store represents his eagerness to provide better care for his family. Nevertheless, his proposal faces resistance from his sister, Beneatha, who prefers to use the funds for medical school. This disagreement highlights the challenges faced by working-class families in securing financial stability and improving their economic prospects.
An example of this narrative is evident in the passages where Beneatha wishes to attend medical school, her brother Walter wishes to purchase a liquor store, and all Mama wishes for is a better life for her children. As such, the siblings’ mother states: “Big Walter used to say… ‘Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams – but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worthwhile” (Hansberry 49). The mother’s dream is not about herself but her family and their hopes for a better future. The mother uses her husband Big Walter’s heartbreaking words to illustrate how Black parents’ goals are constantly postponed for their children.
Despite their difficulties, the Youngers remain resilient and determined. Their endurance demonstrates the strength and resilience of families that endure difficulty daily. The play’s happy conclusion, with the Youngers moving into their new home, is a powerful reminder of the virtues of hope and endurance (Matthew 205).
Overall, A Raisin in the Sun is a striking reflection on the importance of structural reform in creating a more just and equal society. It emphasizes the significance of education, equal access to opportunities, and the removal of structural barriers that prevent people of color from achieving their goals. The play challenges viewers to act for a brighter future for all Americans by bringing these concerns to light.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is a powerful play that highlights the 1950s challenges faced by black Americans. The play explores the challenges faced by people of color during this era—such as systemic racism, discrimination, and limited opportunities—through the lives of the Younger family in Chicago’s South Side. Central characters Walter and Beneatha embody the struggles of working-class Black Americans as they navigate a society that often opposes their very presence. This study argues that the play presents a nuanced exploration of how Black men and women navigate their identities and social roles, drawing on both primary materials and scholarly secondary sources. Ultimately, the play suggests that structural change is necessary to create an equitable society where individuals of color can achieve their goals.
Works Cited
Gordon, Michelle. “‘Somewhat Like War’: The Aesthetics of Segregation, Black Liberation, and A Raisin in the Sun.” African American Review, vol. 42, no. 1, Saint Louis University, 2008, p. 121. Web.
Kiser, Kelsey. “The Domestic Sphere as Counter-Surveillance in Lorraine Hansberry’s a Raisin in the Sun.” Modern Drama, vol. 63, no. 4, University of Toronto Press, 2020, pp. 435–54. Web.
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
Matthews, Kristin L. “The Politics of ‘Home’ in Lorraine Hansberry’s a Raisin in the Sun.” Modern Drama, vol. 51, no. 4, University of Toronto Press, 2008, pp. 556–78. Web.
Orem, Sidney R. “Signifyin(G) When Vexed: Black Feminist Revision, Anger, and a Raisin in the Sun.” Modern Drama, vol. 60, no. 2, University of Toronto Press, 2017, pp. 189–211. Web.