A Raisin In The Sun Mama's Plant Essay

Throughout the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Mama’s Plant is clearly used to show the struggle of life in South-Side Chicago and how its residents tend to make the most out of everything they have. South-Side Chicago is notoriously known for being one of the worst areas to live in America as it has high crime, high poverty, high unemployment, low opportunity, lack of funding into the system, as well as a lack of proper schooling. Residents of this specific area are faced with the decision to become another oppressed statistic on the “failure” of the neighborhood, or break the status quo by living life to the fullest and attempting to make the most out of all the things present in the current environment. Mama’s plant does …show more content…
The plant lives in a small apartment with only one window and barely receives any light, however it has doggedly held onto life and has persevered past many challenges to remain alive. The term doggedly means in a manner that shows tenacity and grim persistence. The plant is slowly growing, trying to make the most out of everything that it can. The plant is beating the odds. The tenacity that it withholds, the drive to thrive, is clearly seen in the faces of many residents of impoverished neighborhoods as well. Mama is a clear example of this. Throughout the novel, Mama remains at work even though she is old enough to retire because she wants to provide for her family and see them do better. Furthermore, Mama is once again talking to Ruth about the plant when she mentions “Well, I always wanted me a garden like I used to see sometimes at the back of the houses down home. This plant is close as I ever got to having one.” This clearly shows that Mama makes the most out of the environment she is