A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, delves into the African American psyche during the 1950’s in the way a lower class black family deals with acquiring new money and moving into a new neighborhood. All of the members of this family have their own dreams, and the different ways they handle their dreams getting seemingly crushed reveals a lot about the African American psyche during this time period. Beneatha, the daughter of Mama and sister of Walter, has a dream to become a doctor and take care of people, but due to the sexism and racism of her peers, it becomes nigh impossible for her to achieve her dream. Because of the time period she lives in, her dream is marginalized and discounted by everyone she meets, including her own family.
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gave his famous I Have A Dream speech. In this renowned speech, he speaks about how he believes that one day everyone will truly be equal, saying, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of the creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”. King’s wishful thinking for the future shows that he is acknowledging that even in 1963, nearly a decade after A Raisin in the Sun, everyone is not even remotely equal. Sexism and racism were still running rampant all over the country. These prejudices are especially noticeable in Beneatha’s life, with her readily hearing her family tell her that women aren’t meant to have high-level jobs, like being a doctor. At one point Walter even said to her, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people - then go be a nurse like other women - or just get married and be quiet…” (Hansberry 41)! Her family, the people who are supposed to be the most supportive of her in the world, belittled her dream. In the 1950’s, America was not prepared to deal with women in high paying jobs, so Beneatha would never have been able to get a job even if she was qualified. Because even Beneatha’s family would not support her in her dream to be a doctor, the general populace would never accept her either, making her dream to become a practicing doctor …show more content…
The type of black people that white people approved of, in this time period, were the black people who chose to not make their race a part of them. The Murchison’s, in A Raisin in the Sun, are a perfect example of this. They are successful black people, but they reject parts of black culture. Beneatha would never do this, she is clearly very proud of her “blackness”, going as far as to wear her hair naturally, and acquire African clothing. Beneatha would never tolerate sacrificing such a large part of herself to be successful. Beneatha also loves her heritage more than she wants to be a doctor, because she was accepting of the fact that she had lost her dream. Because Beneatha is not willing to sacrifice her heritage to be a doctor, her white colleagues would never have approved of
gave his famous I Have A Dream speech. In this renowned speech, he speaks about how he believes that one day everyone will truly be equal, saying, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of the creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”. King’s wishful thinking for the future shows that he is acknowledging that even in 1963, nearly a decade after A Raisin in the Sun, everyone is not even remotely equal. Sexism and racism were still running rampant all over the country. These prejudices are especially noticeable in Beneatha’s life, with her readily hearing her family tell her that women aren’t meant to have high-level jobs, like being a doctor. At one point Walter even said to her, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people - then go be a nurse like other women - or just get married and be quiet…” (Hansberry 41)! Her family, the people who are supposed to be the most supportive of her in the world, belittled her dream. In the 1950’s, America was not prepared to deal with women in high paying jobs, so Beneatha would never have been able to get a job even if she was qualified. Because even Beneatha’s family would not support her in her dream to be a doctor, the general populace would never accept her either, making her dream to become a practicing doctor …show more content…
The type of black people that white people approved of, in this time period, were the black people who chose to not make their race a part of them. The Murchison’s, in A Raisin in the Sun, are a perfect example of this. They are successful black people, but they reject parts of black culture. Beneatha would never do this, she is clearly very proud of her “blackness”, going as far as to wear her hair naturally, and acquire African clothing. Beneatha would never tolerate sacrificing such a large part of herself to be successful. Beneatha also loves her heritage more than she wants to be a doctor, because she was accepting of the fact that she had lost her dream. Because Beneatha is not willing to sacrifice her heritage to be a doctor, her white colleagues would never have approved of