As humans we have an inherent need to fit in. We are mimetic creatures. We follow trends and follow rules and if someone breaks out of the order of things then we shun them. We try to assimilate to the culture of wherever we are so that we don’t stand out. Although we no longer face the same societal prejudices of the first half of the 20th century, there are new roles we have to fill and there are specific ways we have to do it. Increasingly, however, we see people who rebel against these roles; who will not accept their gender, their class or their race as a disadvantage. In A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Machinal (1928) and A Raisin in the Sun (1959), the playwrights advocate against cultural assimilation, as it has the potential to
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While Blanche is in the bathroom during scene two, for example, Stanley confronts Stella about the bill of sale for Belle Reve, the Dubois’ family estate. When Stella reveals that there weren’t any papers, Stanley “enlightens” her with the Napoleonic code, “according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband” (A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 2). In this instance, Stanley asserts his dominance as a man verbally. However, Stanley also establishes his position physically. In scene three, for example, Stanley throws the radio out the window, interrupting Mitch and Blanche mid-awkward waltz. Stella runs after him calling him a “drunk…animal thing” after which he chases after her and there is a “sound of a blow” off stage, after which “Stella cries out” (A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 3). A more obvious instance of Stanley using violence to assert his position is when he rapes Blanche at the end of scene ten. Stanley, however, doesn’t appear to see this as raping Blanche but rather as right as the head of the household – as an American …show more content…
Even though the civil rights movement is unraveling during this time, “sometime between World War II and the present,” there are still extreme levels of racism occurring in society (A Raisin in the Sun, 1.1). This fuels the majority of the African American community to reject their African heritage in order to prove that they too are American and that they belong in the U.S., which is why Beneatha faces such judgment from her family as she begins to delve into African culture with Nigerian her friend, Joseph Asagai. Beneatha’s identity as an African American woman in the 1940s-1950s is difficult, as she is constantly confronted both by racism and sexism. Ideally she would marry George Murchison and be taken care of for the rest of her life. However, while Helen Jones sees no option but to marry, Beneatha refuses to fall into the “good housewife” role. Instead, she is adamant about pursuing medicine, a dream for which she is reprimanded; especially by her brother Walter, to whom she angrily says to “forgiver [her] for ever wanting to be anything at all!” (A Raisin in the Sun,
While Blanche is in the bathroom during scene two, for example, Stanley confronts Stella about the bill of sale for Belle Reve, the Dubois’ family estate. When Stella reveals that there weren’t any papers, Stanley “enlightens” her with the Napoleonic code, “according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband” (A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 2). In this instance, Stanley asserts his dominance as a man verbally. However, Stanley also establishes his position physically. In scene three, for example, Stanley throws the radio out the window, interrupting Mitch and Blanche mid-awkward waltz. Stella runs after him calling him a “drunk…animal thing” after which he chases after her and there is a “sound of a blow” off stage, after which “Stella cries out” (A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 3). A more obvious instance of Stanley using violence to assert his position is when he rapes Blanche at the end of scene ten. Stanley, however, doesn’t appear to see this as raping Blanche but rather as right as the head of the household – as an American …show more content…
Even though the civil rights movement is unraveling during this time, “sometime between World War II and the present,” there are still extreme levels of racism occurring in society (A Raisin in the Sun, 1.1). This fuels the majority of the African American community to reject their African heritage in order to prove that they too are American and that they belong in the U.S., which is why Beneatha faces such judgment from her family as she begins to delve into African culture with Nigerian her friend, Joseph Asagai. Beneatha’s identity as an African American woman in the 1940s-1950s is difficult, as she is constantly confronted both by racism and sexism. Ideally she would marry George Murchison and be taken care of for the rest of her life. However, while Helen Jones sees no option but to marry, Beneatha refuses to fall into the “good housewife” role. Instead, she is adamant about pursuing medicine, a dream for which she is reprimanded; especially by her brother Walter, to whom she angrily says to “forgiver [her] for ever wanting to be anything at all!” (A Raisin in the Sun,