Asagai's A Raisin In The Sun

In a carefully worded essay I will discuss the aspect of ‘race’ as a hindrance to the

As we see from her first entrance, Beneatha is a loud and outspoken character. She is a single young female living in a home with Ruth and Mama. Quite similar as characters, they share traditional values and believe women should care for the wellbeing of their family. Ruth and Mama take pride in doing domestic service work as their source of income and are continuously seen putting their children’s needs before theirs. Hansberry uses Beneatha’s character to contradict these values and introduce a character with modern feminist views. Beneatha fiercely fires back to anyone who questions her life goals. She is constantly found bickering with Walter about her dream of becoming a doctor. She is reminded by him that “girls” shouldn’t be doctors. Beneatha voices her feelings on male dependency when she mentions to Mama and Ruth “Listen, I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet - if I ever get married”, and they respond with a shocked “if!”(50). The idea of a woman not wanting to get married was shocking to Mama and Ruth. Beneatha feels that she does not need to be dependent on a man; she has one goal, to become a doctor. She does not need a man in her life, she feels perfectly

During the 1900s many black families barely had enough money to pay for the basic necessities needed to live. At times some families would receive a significant sum of money, something they were not used to getting. Deciding on how to spend this money is what caused problems among some families. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, she argues that there are times when in a state of financial instability and where money is a necessity to completing one’s dream that some family members choose to put their dreams over others when suddenly given the opportunity. After Mama’s husband died she was bound to receive an insurance check that would be used by the Younger family. Before even receiving the

A Raisin in the Sun skillfully exemplifies many aspects of ‘black’ culture, especially how different ‘black archetypes’ may make different decisions based on how they see race and themselves within a culture. This is impertinent as a plot device in the play, and in the culture itself which the play is expressing. Black men at the time were forced to consider themselves into a certain way both for themselves and their families, and this play show’s how that unnecessary consideration can affect their decision making and overall desires. There are three ‘black man’ archetypes given in the play; Walter, George Murchison, and Asagai, and they are all similar in the fact that they are black men, but differ in how they believe black men should act, especially when it comes to family and heritage.

A Raisin in the Sun is a drama that is a “Man vs. Society” type story. Walter Younger is the protagonist of the story even though he isn’t a traditional hero, evident by him stealing Beneatha’s college fund. Almost every protagonist is sympathetic, just because they are put in the spotlight and the audience wants to sympathise with him or her. Walter is the man and the societal issue he

Similarly, Hansberry continues this idea in the opening scene of Act two. This scene opens with Beneatha dressed in traditional Nigerian robes, dancing to Nigerian melody, and singing along with the record. Walter soon joins her and the entire house becomes involved in Beneatha’s enjoyment. By opening the second act as such, Hansberry presents aspects of African culture in an uplifting and celebratory fashion, thus further connecting her characters with their African roots. She evens implies the awareness many young blacks have of their past through the character, George Murchison. The critic Anne Cheney points out: “even George Murchison…has an awareness of his African past” (Cheney 59). She continues to examine the comparisons Hansberry makes regarding Lena to the “earth mother.” Furthermore, Cheney argues that through Asagai, Hansberry refutes the stereotype of Africans with “a bone through his nose, or his ears.” Hansberry contradicts this stereotype by characterizing Asagai instead as a down-to-earth

She goes on dates with George but finds him boring and is offended that he finds her dreams of being a doctor stupid. She is a strong independent woman who is at the brink of being a full thrown feminist and is not at any time giving into the pressures of society to marry the richest man she can find. George is an African-American who shows no interest in his African roots, he does not like talking about Africa or talking to those who advocate it. George has completely assimilated into the American culture to gain the respect of the white people being one of the African-American families who cracked on the pressures of society assimilate. George’s wealth was not something that swayed Beneatha, his wealth sure could assist her in pursuing a medical career but she did not want to be tied by any boundaries. Asagai was different from George because he did not want to marry Beneatha to tie her down, he wants to marry her to set her free.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry features a set of characters that are not only complex in every way, but also vastly important to bringing out the intricacies of the play. One example of this is the contrast of George Murchison and Joseph Asagai. These two foil characters have similar roles in the plot; they are both non-white men of around the same age with the same amount of education. The two men also play a role in the life of Beneatha Younger as possible love interests. However, despite their similarities, their most important aspects are what set them apart from one another and highlight the most profound themes of the play.

A Raisin in the sun shows the hardship many need to face in order to attain this notion of the American Dream. The book did more than then just show what everyone faced, she shows the struggles that many African American families had to face when trying to achieve the notion of the American Dream. She does this by showing the environment that many African American lived in when there was bombing in the neighborhood or when white people would force African American who finally bought a home, out. Lorraine also shows the struggles of the characters of the book like Walter who struggles with the decision he makes and the contradictions that stop him from achieving his goals of being wealthy or when Beneatha goes against the norms of society

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.

Nobody in the play is as influential on Beneatha as the people she dates. George is the first person she goes one a date with. He comes from a very wealthy African-American family he looks and dresses preppy. Her family loves him, but she is not serious about him. Beneatha says,”...I couldn’t ever

The story of this play is simple and the majority of African-Americans faced such issues in the 1950’s, living on the south side of Chicago, struggles with poverty, dignity and dreams of a better life. Wanting better for your children and trying to fit in, while maintaining family values. A Raisin in the Sun is an excellent example of the relationship between family values and conflict. In this play it portrays: values and purpose of dreams, the need to fight for racial discrimination and the importance of family.

Though there was a heightened sense of tension over civil rights in the late 1950s when A Raisin in the Sun was written, racial inequality is still a problem today. It affects minorities of every age and dynamic, in more ways than one. Though nowadays it may go unnoticed, race in every aspect alters the way African-Americans think, behave, and react as human beings. This is shown in many ways in the play as we watch the characters interact. We see big ideas, failures, and family values through the eyes of a disadvantaged group during an unfortunate time in history. As Martin Luther King said, Blacks are “...harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what

Beneatha Younger, the younger sister of Walter Lee, was considered an assimilationist during Act one Scene two of, “A Raisin in the Sun.” Joseph Asagai, an African student from Nigeria that Beneatha fancied, had several thoughts on assimilation, including how Beneatha was an assimilationist. As said by Asagai, “You wear it well. . . very well. . . mutilated hair and all.” (Page 28) He is referring to her hairstyle with the robes a Nigerian woman would wear that he brought her. Asagai is saying to Beneatha that her hair looks destroyed and unnatural because it

Continuing to fight the societal norms and her traditional family, Beneatha makes many choices her family considers as radical. She decides to grow into her heritage by changing her straight, “mutilated hair” into a more traditional, natural afro (Hansberry 1789); this symbol works into the movement of the time that Black is Beautiful. She also dances around in traditional African clothing, becoming more aware and prideful of her own sense of culture. Beneatha also shocks her family by being disconcerted with the idea of marriage, even after Asagai asked her to “marry him today and go to Africa” (Hansberry 1824). Once again,