Gender Roles In A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

The idea of gender roles is a construct of society. Throughout the existence of the human race, the genders have been expected to do two very different tasks in order to uphold society. There was generally no deviation from the roles, however, in modern society, it is no longer necessary for the genders to stick strictly to their expected jobs. A woman, as opposed to a man, can now be the supporter of the house. A man, as opposed to the woman, can now raise the family and care for the children. The survival of the human race does not depend on women nurturing their children and men providing for their families. Despite this, people seem adamant on keeping the old gender stereotypes, but taking a new twist on them for their own benefit. Some evidence for this can be found in the dialogue of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Some characters are adamant in their old fashioned beliefs in the roles of the genders, but others try fervently to break out of the chains binding them from their gender. Walter is a man who likes to dominate. He craves control and power in his family; over the women in particular. When Walter confronted Beneatha with “who the hell told you you …show more content…
She aspires to be a doctor, which is not a typical job for a woman. Walter attempts to put her down and make her give up her dream, but she continues to follow the path she wants. When conversing with Asagai about love and marriage, Beneatha reveals that she does not feel as if love is enough for a woman. She doesn 't want to end up as “someone 's little episode in America.” She refuses to be defined by whoever she marries and instead seeks to define herself through her career as a doctor and her strong will. Beneatha does not worry about who she will marry in the future “if [she] ever gets married.” Instead she focuses on her independence and her future and not being the typical perfect wife that is