Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Dreams and goals are important in developing a person’s thoughts and actions. Seeking one’s dreams is the basic goals of their lives, and once they reach those goals, true happiness can be achieved. In ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, written by Lorraine Hansberry, the characters pursue prosperity through means as they see fit, though it can be vary from person to person. For example, Walter believes money can achieve bliss, while Mama believes that bonding with her family and buying a house are the best ways. These two characters often fight, as people with colliding ideals often do. The Younger family also encounters numerous challenges following their dreams. One of the ordeals is the time that they lived in. In the ninety-fifties, black rights were …show more content…
In the play, Mama expects her family to take pride in their dreams. Often, Mama is seen teaching her children, her ideals and values. Lena’s dreams regularly are related to her children and Travis, in trying to improve their lives. For example, When she bought the house, she did not buy it for herself. She exclaims that she bought the house for Travis, and the rest of the family. However, this goal that she can almost reach is just out of her hands. After she bought the house, Mr. Lindner exclaims that “Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities.” This quote is important because it reminds the reader that racial segregation presents a huge role in the time period. The racial prejudice is the cause of Mrs. Younger’s dreams to become deferred. As seen in the play, the dream becoming crushed has introduced many changes in attitudes. Not only did this destroyed dream lead to them moving into a new house, but many beliefs that each character had, has changed as well. Walter was able to gain his father’s pride and love for his family again. When the dream of Mama was almost on the brink of destruction, that's when they helped each other most. Towards the end, the characters realized that they love each other, and decided that it was more reasoning to follow their dreams. They moved into the house and new dreams …show more content…
As seen throughout the play, new dreams emerged, and people often learn new values and morals. When dreams become deferred, lessons are learned and people get better. Families become closer and more caring, as they understand each other's problems. “Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody?” Many of the people in the play did not realize this, but towards the end is when they learned it. They were able to hope and love each other again, not because they prospered, but because of the hardships they faced. These dead dreams do not explode and die, they are able to build different dreams based new personalities. For example, Walter learned that his views were not proper, then he realized that pride and love matter the most. He was able to learn from his destroyed dreams, not did not ruin him in the long run. This play supports that goals not reached can benefit in the long run, and dreams are not over when a horrible event