A Raisin In The Sun Beneatha Character Analysis

A Raisin in the Sun: A Literary Analysis Throughout the fifties, African-Americans constantly faced with impertinence due to normalized racism in society. A Raisin in the Sun, a renowned play written by Lorraine Hansberry, perfectly demonstrates what racial prejudice was like in the fifties. The play revolves around a poverty-stricken African-American family growing up in Chicago, and all the obstacles they must overcome to survive. By using Mama’s plant to symbolize the state of their family and irony to create both humor and drama, Hansberry creates a beautifully vivid story that touches everyone who reads it.

Beneatha wants her brother to realize that he should stand up to the man. To say what Walter actually wants to say not what he wants the man to hear. She doesn't want him to take the money because this will give the man power over her brother which she doesn't want at all to happen. With this said the audience understands why she is angry at her brother, by the mistreatment they have to endure yet she begins to take it to far when she calls him names like “toothless rat” and questions his manhood. Some of the obstacles that she has are herself, and her family.

Beneatha is a Walter little sister also she is a smart girl who tries to be WOKE but is not unless someone puts that idea in her head. Beneatha is also a little promiscuous and she has many men in her life that likes her for her and some who only want her body. Beneatha dream is is to school to become a doctor because of what happened to a friend of hers when she was a little kid because she thought it was like playing God. Furious, Beneatha shouts at the man that ruined her dreams “There he is! Monsieur le Petit bourgeois noir-himself!

Beneatha younger dedicates her life into saving people 's lives, annoying comments like she 's African American and that she can 't succeed but neither using these comments to empower herself to fulfill her dream. Not letting nobody push her down, Beneatha wants to complete her dreams to become a doctor in saving people 's lives. A Raisin in the Sun Beneatha says “I always thought it was the one concrete things in the world that a human being could do, fix up the sick you know make them whole again” page 564 act 3. Beneatha has the strongest feeling to reach her dreams two major on medical studies. Beneatha wants to complete her dreams to become a doctor and saving people 's lives.

There are many different intentions and aspirations shown by each character’s own American Dream, but each lead into the same thing which is Happiness. Beneatha is a high class women who intends to be a medical doctor and considers herself an independent woman. On the other hand, Mama is just a humble and dignified individual who has very good morals and values that beliefs can change her family overall. She also wants her family to have a better quality of life. Joseph Asagai says, “Her speech is a mixture of many things; it is different from the rest of the family’s in so far as education has permeated her sense of English” (Hansberry 17).

He opens her eyes to the necessity of having her own existence and identity. Finally, Beneatha intends to accept his proposal of marriage and move with him to

An argument occurs between Walter and Beneatha about the check and Beneatha wanting to go to medical school, Walter yells at Beneatha on who told her “[she] had to be a doctor”(38) and suggests that she “then go be a nurse like other women- or just get married and be quiet”(38). This quote demonstrates that black women in the 1950's, have little to no chance on achieving their dreams. Due to their unsupportive family members comparing them to other women or dismissing it as an unimportant matter. When Beneatha, Ruth, and Mama are discussing about Beneatha

In the play Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry takes place on the southside of Chicago where Walter and his family are racially profiled and show us how the survive throughout their struggles. The central struggles for the younger family in their search for the American dream is mostly poverty and being racially profiled against for their actions. Hansberry challenges the traditional gender roles and issues of dominance throughout the play when Mama gives Walter lee the rest of the money at the end of the play. He becomes all excited and was supposed to save some for himself and put the rest of the money to Beneatha 's education. Instead, he gave all that money to Willy another character in the play which later on that he stole from him.

The racism and sexism being shown in the Raisin in The Sun demonstrates that the matrix of domination is in play. In the book, Beneatha is an African-American woman who is battling not only racism, but also sexism. She battles racism by attending medical school during the civil right movement era and she battles sexism at home with her brother Walter, and being told to marry George Murchison. In the text Walter says “We one group of men are tied to a race of women with small minds” (Hansberry, 35). In this quote he not only degrades the woman, but he degrades the African American woman.

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.

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun presents the rise of feminism in America in the 1960s. Beneatha Younger, Lena Younger (Mama) and Ruth Younger are the three primary characters displaying evidences of feminism in the play. Moreover, Hansberry creates male characters who demonstrate oppressive attitudes towards women yet enhance the feministic ideology in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, with the feminist notions displayed in the play, women can fulfil their individual dreams that are not in sync with traditional conventions of that time.

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.

In other words, to become a doctor. Beneatha’s dream of helping others vanished after Walter loses all of the insurance money. While explaining the current situation to Asagai ,Beneatha describes herself as “nothing” (Hansberry 132).This shows that she has given up and “stopped caring” (Hansberry 133) about her dreams. At this moment, Beneatha feels very pessimistic because after her dream was taken away she feels as if there is nothing good left for her in life.

Lorraine Hansberry uses gender identity as a key foundation throughout the play A Raisin in the Sun. The play intertwines masculine and feminine gender roles concurrent with the times. Gender identity has been and always will be an issue that people either advocate for or ignore completely. It is an unspoken rule that men are the leaders and women simply follow orders. Sociologically speaking, gender is a social construct that we are so accustomed to that we rarely speak up about the injustices women face.

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.