Beneatha's Cultural Identity

During the time period this play was wrote cultural identity is very important in America. In the !950’s African Americans were expected to assimilate their own culture and adapt to their culture to belong. Growing up Lorraine Hansberry’s father was a successful real estate broker and her mother was a schoolteacher. They moved into a white neighborhood and were violently attacked by her neighbors. Hansberry wrote this play to somewhat describe what they went through moving into a white neighborhood. In the play Beneatha struggles to find her cultural identity because she in search of a new culture that’s not as oppressive to her people, she’s also been learning about many cultures in college, plus she never feels accepted by her family because of her different beliefs. …show more content…
She can see Walter’s humanity and his pride slowly grasping away from him. “Not crazy, Brother isn't really crazy yet he he's an elaborate neurotic” (Hansberry, pg.47). Beneatha already knows how Walter is changing with this money coming their way. Her brother is losing his cultural form of grief over his father due to the insurance money. Beneatha seeks a new culture because they just lost their father and all her brother can do is think about the check. This being she goes out to learn about different cultures. In college Beneatha met a man named Joseph Asagai, whose from Nigeria. Having many questions about his culture in Nigeria, they got together and talked about it one day. “Oh, Asagai! . . . You got them for me! . . . How beautiful . . . and the records too!” (Hansberry,pg.60). Learning about this culture Asagai bought her tribal clothing and records to help feed her knowledge of the culture. Later on in the play Asagai asked Beneatha to come back to Nigeria with him. Beneatha being so young not knowing if she is ready yet to make a change so drastic in her life she can’t make up her