A Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis

Twenty year olds are blinded by the endless opportunities that make the sacrifices of others seem invisible to them. Beneatha Younger, a twenty-year old woman in Lorraine Hansberry’s drama, A Raisin in the Sun takes her family’s generosity for granted. Beneatha is a confident, open minded, young adult who focuses on becoming a doctor, rather than contributing to her family’s income. The Younger family sacrifices a great deal so that Beneatha can experience guitar lessons, take photography and stay in school. Sadly, Beneatha, independent yet self centered, focuses on herself rather than the sacrifices her family makes for her success.

There is a moment in A Raisin in the Sun when Beneatha is put in the position to question her identity in a way she has never done before, through her hair. This moment approaches when Asagai, a Nigerian man from the Yoruba tribe that Beneatha originally sought out because she was questioning her identity, teases her about her “mutilated hair” (Hansberry 513). Beneatha is taken aback by the remark and immediately questions her identity. This is shown in Lorraine Hansberry’s stage directions when she wrote “she looks back to the mirror, disturbed” (Hansberry 513). This moment influences Beneatha to cut her hair. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha Younger defies hair standards established by American society and becomes her own advocate for discovering her identity as an African American by embracing her natural hair, which creates for herself a sense of empowerment and self-love.

In A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha is an African American woman in the 1950’s who is determined to put her education first and one day become a doctor. Ruth tries to convince Beneatha to marry George because he is a rich man; however, Beneatha responds that “[she’s] going to be a doctor. [She’s] not worried about who [she’s] going to marry yet-if [she] ever gets married” (Hansberry, 1959, p. 936). After this discussion, Beneatha’s discipline and mindset is revealed. Beneatha clearly shows that she is more committed to her education than any other aspect of her life.

“ A Raisin in the Sun” is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry about the life of an African American family during the era of segregation. The play starts off with the Younger family receiving a 10,000 dollar check from Mr. Younger’s insurance policy. The family argues over what they are going to do with it. Mama wants to buy a house with it, Walter wants to invest in a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to use the money to go to medical school. The contrast of the characters’ personalities fuels the conflict and drives the story forward. Beneatha is a young college student and the sister of Walter. She has a dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha is a dynamic character who is easily influenced by her family and the people

It is a common experience: a woman dates a man who is rude to everyone except for her. He makes her feel special, but a few months later, he becomes an abusive, controlling boyfriend. Walter Younger from the play “A Raisin In The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, while not an abusive person is a milder example of this phenomenon. He is the father in a large African American family, and lives with his mother, sister, wife, and young son. His father has recently died, and his mother, Lena, receives an enormous check from their life insurance. They need this money, as they live in a small house and need to move to a larger one, but Walter wants to invest the money into opening a liquor store instead. Although the play seems to revolve around him, Walter

Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” touches on many issues African Americans faced in the early to mid-twentieth century. One can analyze Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” from many angles, and come away with different meanings. While Michelle Gordon focuses more on segregation and housing discrimination that plagued African Americans on Chicago’s Southside in Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”, William Murray emphasizes on Southern Pride and heritage. This paper will show contrasting views from Murray and Gordon in their critique of

In life people have ups and downs; the characters in A Raisin in the Sun experience many highs and many lows. Throughout the story there are many decisions that the characters toss around and debate. Mama, the mother of the family, receives $10,000 which is a very large sum of money for their family. It is up to Mama to decide where the money should go. The Characters in the story developed and their true desires are shown through the choices they make. The characters are faced with many obstacles and these hurdles reveal their character and help to shape the overall plot. In Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the struggle to overcome oppression in order to actualize one’s dream is revealed through the character developement of Walter, Beneatha, and Mama.

While Watchman and Raisin come from different backgrounds they are similar because they take place during the same time period that deals with gender roles and family. During this time in the 1950’s it was not usual for the women to stay home and the men be the head of the house. Although when times were rough family is always there for support.

In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter Younger wants to be a “real man”. His dream is to become successful in business and make his family rich. However, when all his money is stolen, he becomes very pessimistic, abandoning the ideas of morality and dignity. At the end of the play, his son Travis inspires him to value his family’s pride over materialism. Over the course of the play, Walter’s view of manhood changes from someone wealthy and successful to a person who has pride and believes in human dignity.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many African Americans began migrating to Chicago from the South. Much of the black population lived in the Southside of Chicago in what was known as the Black Belt. Here housing was poor, and black families were treated unfairly by their landlords. Many families tried to leave the Black Belt and move into white neighborhoods, but chaos ensued. In A Raisin in the Sun, we follow the story of an African American family living in the Black Belt. The family, the Youngers, face several hardships throughout the play, but they seem to pull through. One interesting character of the Younger family is Beneatha. She is the youngest girl of the family and probably has the highest goals of all the family. Throughout the play, we see that Beneatha is quite touchy, a little bit ignorant, yet

Many African American come with a dream but instead they have to fight for it. Which took an African American individual to end the inequality to change the view of the world . In, “A Raisin in the Sun” it talks about how Beneatha is embracing in her african culture. In “I too sing America” it is about African Americans and how people in the world are treating them like they do not belong. ’Both want to be free about their lives without anyone being judge by anyone but they do go in different ways.

Every teenage girl has felt that her parents don't understand her. This is the trouble highlighted in A Raisin in the Sun that Beneatha Younger faces with many people in her life, not only with her parents. In the play by Lorraine Hansberry, identity is shown through Beneatha’s ambitions and the conflict needed to get there. Beneatha experiences identity conflict through impulsive decisions, a love for her African heritage, and despite family quarrels. Through a search for her impetuously developing identity, Beneatha has disagreements with her friends and family, as well as inner struggles.

The Benefit of Finding Oneself: an analysis of Beneatha Younger When you think of an ambitious and motivated young woman in the mid-twentieth century, some envision a hardworking mother for her children, or a businesswoman trying to succeed in her field; but would you imagine a young woman of color pushing her way through medical school to become a doctor? Beneatha Younger, a member of the family featured in the novel A Raisin in the Sun, is trying to do just that. With financial help from her mother, brother, and sister-in-law she has been able to grow intellectually in order to find her true passion, which has been a difficult feat; as an outgoing, open minded woman who seems to follow herself and her own dreams, at times it seems that she is only thinking of her own personal benefit. In reality, she very strongly prioritizes the growth of her community in the aspects of culture and wellness, but simply not specifically her close family.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun Beneatha Younger is portrayed as the well educated and determined African American in the play. Beneatha is a very passionate woman determined to find out about her African heritage and become a doctor. Her dream, since she was a child and saw her friend get hurt, is to cure people. She wants to fulfill the “American Dream” by becoming a doctor which was very hard for an African American woman to do in the 1950’s. Later one once she grows older and goes to college, her dream is also to find out about her African heritage.

In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is trying to achieve the American Dream, which is “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American”(cite dictionary.com). The Youngers are a black family living in a poor part of Chicago. They inherit ten thousand dollars because Mama’s husband died. Mama is the matriarch of the Younger family. Each family member has their own idea about how to use this money to fulfill their dreams, and the play uses the decisions of the family members and other characters to show the reader that people’s actions are not always motivated by what they appear to be. Mama wants to use the money to buy a house in a white neighborhood, because she thinks it is a better environment for her family than their current living conditions and will benefit her family. Although there are a number of people in A Raisin in the Sun who appear too want to help the Younger family, Mama shows through her decision to buy the house that she is the only person that is looking out for the best interests of her family.