Nayu Kita
Mr. Branch
English 10, Period 1A
15th October 2017
A Raisin in the Sun Character Analysis As an expat living in Shanghai and attending a school that teaches nothing of my ethnicity’s language or culture, it is easy to forget. It is easy to forget about my heritage and at times speak insensitively about them. In the play A Raisin in the Sun ’s playwright, Lorraine Hansberry explores the African American race and their gradual distance from their African roots. The Younger family illustrates a typical black household during the 60s. The majority of the family members held on to their traditional African roots by a feeble thread. None other than Joseph Asagai and Beneatha Younger have associations or have genuine interest of their …show more content…
Hansberry describes his whole attire with great detail, which she rarely does throughout the play. In the scene where George awaits for Beneatha to change from her traditional African clothing in to her “normal” clothes, he is described as wearing a “cashmere V-neck sweater over sot eyelet shirt and tie… finished off with white buckskin shoes” (Hansberry 83). This particular clothing attire irritates Walter Lee Younger. He asks George, “Why are you college boys wear them faggoty looking white shoes?” (Hansberry 83). The white shoes mentioned in this scene is clearly a new concept of style to Walter, who is intrigued yet resentful of his shoes. The detailed description of George’s clothing and his white shoes in particular symbolizes his integration in to the dominant culture. The white shoes and George’s sophisticated style are a representation of the more privileged and educated class: the white American race since the majority of students enrolled in schools were white. Therefore, George’s clothing style by incorporating and mimicking the American culture shows that he is an African American assimilationist who has moved on to the favored culture. George’s assimilation shows racism against his roots because when one feels the need to assimilate to the dominant culture, it is another way to show that they believe their original culture is unworthy of
Mr. Branch
English 10, Period 1A
15th October 2017
A Raisin in the Sun Character Analysis As an expat living in Shanghai and attending a school that teaches nothing of my ethnicity’s language or culture, it is easy to forget. It is easy to forget about my heritage and at times speak insensitively about them. In the play A Raisin in the Sun ’s playwright, Lorraine Hansberry explores the African American race and their gradual distance from their African roots. The Younger family illustrates a typical black household during the 60s. The majority of the family members held on to their traditional African roots by a feeble thread. None other than Joseph Asagai and Beneatha Younger have associations or have genuine interest of their …show more content…
Hansberry describes his whole attire with great detail, which she rarely does throughout the play. In the scene where George awaits for Beneatha to change from her traditional African clothing in to her “normal” clothes, he is described as wearing a “cashmere V-neck sweater over sot eyelet shirt and tie… finished off with white buckskin shoes” (Hansberry 83). This particular clothing attire irritates Walter Lee Younger. He asks George, “Why are you college boys wear them faggoty looking white shoes?” (Hansberry 83). The white shoes mentioned in this scene is clearly a new concept of style to Walter, who is intrigued yet resentful of his shoes. The detailed description of George’s clothing and his white shoes in particular symbolizes his integration in to the dominant culture. The white shoes and George’s sophisticated style are a representation of the more privileged and educated class: the white American race since the majority of students enrolled in schools were white. Therefore, George’s clothing style by incorporating and mimicking the American culture shows that he is an African American assimilationist who has moved on to the favored culture. George’s assimilation shows racism against his roots because when one feels the need to assimilate to the dominant culture, it is another way to show that they believe their original culture is unworthy of