Nature’s Irrevocable Bond with Humanity Due to a subtle action in A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the comparison to a loved one in “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” by William Shakespeare, and the continuing conflict in “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, these literary pieces of work prove that humanity is forever bound to nature and that no act of isolation or disconnection can break that bond. The environment and ecosystem that one lives in has a very profound impact on one’s life. This is true for Georgiana in “The Birthmark,” with an overbearing scientific husband who wants her to be perfect and for our family members in A Raisin in the Sun, who are struggling due to the lowly economic environment they live in.
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The little plant that Mama keeps by the window is a subtle yet significant symbol throughout the play. Nature can give humans so much, however, often humans don’t have much to give in return. Mama enters the stage for the first time and the stage directions and gestures say, “She crosses through the room, goes to the window, opens it, and brings in a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the window sill. She feels the dirt and puts it back out.” (Hansberry 930) Later, whenever the family is packing up to move to the new home, Mama grabs her plant. Beneatha says, “Mama, what are you doing?” Mama replies, “Fixing my plant so it won’t get hurt none on the way…” (Hansberry 975) Beneatha is caught off guard by this gesture, she doesn’t understand why her mama would want to take such a shriveled up thing with her, “That raggedy-looking old thing?” (Hansberry 975) Then momma stops and looks at Beneatha, “It expresses me.” (Hansberry 975) Mama has cared for this plant throughout the whole play, just as she’s cared for her family. In this same scene, whenever Walter comes up behind Mama and hugs her, she tells him to be careful to not “mess up my thing here!” (Hansberry 975) Her little plant that she’s cared for so dearly, even in the midst of her “drought,” is symbolic of her “watering” her shriveled up
The little plant that Mama keeps by the window is a subtle yet significant symbol throughout the play. Nature can give humans so much, however, often humans don’t have much to give in return. Mama enters the stage for the first time and the stage directions and gestures say, “She crosses through the room, goes to the window, opens it, and brings in a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the window sill. She feels the dirt and puts it back out.” (Hansberry 930) Later, whenever the family is packing up to move to the new home, Mama grabs her plant. Beneatha says, “Mama, what are you doing?” Mama replies, “Fixing my plant so it won’t get hurt none on the way…” (Hansberry 975) Beneatha is caught off guard by this gesture, she doesn’t understand why her mama would want to take such a shriveled up thing with her, “That raggedy-looking old thing?” (Hansberry 975) Then momma stops and looks at Beneatha, “It expresses me.” (Hansberry 975) Mama has cared for this plant throughout the whole play, just as she’s cared for her family. In this same scene, whenever Walter comes up behind Mama and hugs her, she tells him to be careful to not “mess up my thing here!” (Hansberry 975) Her little plant that she’s cared for so dearly, even in the midst of her “drought,” is symbolic of her “watering” her shriveled up