Beneatha Character Analysis

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

In A Raisin In the Sun Lorraine Hansberry uses everyday objects-a plant, money, and a home to symbolize a family's struggle to deal with racism and oppression in their everyday lives, as well as to exemplify their dreams. She begins with a vivid description of the family's weary, small, and dark apartment in Chicago's ghetto Southside during the 1950s. The Youngers are an indigent African-American family who has few choices in their white society. Each individual of the Younger family has a separate dream-Beneatha wants to become a doctor, Walter wants to open a liquor store, and Ruth and Mama want a new and better home. The Youngers struggle to accomplish these dreams throughout the play, and a major aspect of their happiness and

Beneatha, being somewhat of an outcast, understands that she does not have to follow the status quo of her society by becoming a housewife, so she decides to work hard in order to become a doctor. Beneatha wants to fulfill this dream because she realizes that she enjoys helping people, as she explains to Asagai after the money is stolen, “That was what one person could do for another, fix him up — sew up the problem, make him right again” (III.i.900). Beneatha wishes to help people by taking care of them and ridding them of their problems. She does not want to become the typical, by standing woman that is not able to help if there is a dilemma. Even after Willy runs off with all of the money, Asagai offers Beneatha a way to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha reveals this wonderful opportunity to Mama as they exit their apartment, “To go to Africa, Mama -- be a doctor in Africa”

Everybody in this world has their own dream of being successful, In the play “Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry shows that. Throughout Lorraine’s life she had to deal with segregation and racism, which put her in a difficult situation of becoming successful. This book shows a character named Beneatha stand out about her beliefs and goal. In the play Beneatha shows that she believes in herself, she’s independent and she’s optimistic.

Not only is she black but she’s a woman so in the 1950s the whole world was against her. “I know―because that’s what it says in all the novels that men write. But it isn’t. Go ahead and laugh―but I’m not interested in being someone’s little episode in America[...] (page 64)” Beneatha is a feminist and a resilient character but every male figure in her life treats her dream like a joke and a phase. She is belittled by her own brother who tells her to just be a nurse. She is belittled by George Murchinson her boyfriend who tells her that she’s too pretty for thoughts and that her dream is just a girlish fantasy. Even Asagai treats her as lower to himself. But Beneatha has dreams. After seeing a child named Rufus get his face split open and thinking he’d never be put back together, she saw him later all fixed up by doctors. This was a life changing moment. From then on Beneatha wanted to be a doctor and she is working as hard as she can to get there. This money is crucial for Beneatha. In order to become a doctor she needs to go to medical school but in order to go to medical school she needs money. Half of the insurance money was supposed to go towards her college education but instead her brother lost it

The Younger family was aware that there were not many female doctors during that time. They also knew that women did not aspire to be a doctor but they would rather settle to be a housewife or nurse. Walter Lee supports this claim in act one scene one by saying, “Ain't many girls who decide….to become a doctor” (36). This family represented other African American Families, therefore it is right to say that other families were aware of this issue. Walter continues, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? … go be a nurse like other women—or just get married and be quiet”(38). As stated earlier, women were expected to marry well to become housewives or, if they were interested in the healthcare professions, they were only allowed to be nurses. This traditional mindset was expressed continually throughout this play by several characters, almost all of the characters with the exception of Beneatha. Beneatha was determined to become a doctor, although her character was fictional she was not the only Black female who aspired to become involved in the medical profession. Women who shared similar values to those of Beneatha achieved major milestones which created a path for women to come to

The play by Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun, presents an African-American family living in poverty in the 1950’s. The family receives ten thousand dollars from deceased Mr. Younger’s insurance; the money is supposed to be distributed in buying a house, Beneatha’s education, and Walter’s liquor store investment. However, Walter invests wrongly and loses more than half of the money, forcing Beneatha to consider moving to Africa to pursue an education. Beneatha Younger’s struggle with segregation while pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor demonstrates that education can be obtained with determination and discipline.

Every person who comes to America has a common motive, with underlying details causing their motives to differ. Some come to America with the hope of freedom from the difficult lives they face in their home countries, while others will arrive because of the various opportunities for success that America has to offer. But most of all, many believe the country can give them the chance to find who they are and figure out what their goals are their new life. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun surrounds a black family in the southside of Chicago, known as the Younger’s. The play gives insight on the life of the family, and the many difficulties they face as each family member tries to achieve their American Dream. Beneatha Younger, the daughter

“ 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

Beneatha is very independent and stubborn. Most people don’t believe that a young, black woman is fit to be a doctor. She has options to speak and wants people to listen to her. This reminds me of myself.

Throughout Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, we see the positive and negative effects of chasing the American Dream. Hansberry expresses her different views on the American Dream through the characters and she portrays the daily struggles of a 1950 black family throughout A Raisin in the Sun. In this play, she is able to effectively show the big impact that even small decisions can make on a family. Hansberry shows the many different attachments that come with the fulfillment of this American Dream. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, each family member has their own pursuit of happiness, which is accompanied by their American Dream.

Beneatha is chasing her dream by her wanting to become a doctor. Beneatha was a very pretty, nice, and a thoughtful person. She didn’t care about others and what they thought of her. Beneatha try's everything she can to be a doctor. "I am going to be a doctor, I'm not worried about anything else" (Hansberry 50). She values her family's views but her desire is to become a doctor first and live happy. Although, she is trying to chase her dreams she try's new things. She also shows how understanding she is when

Beneatha Younger encounters many tribulations in life. One main tribulation she constantly fights with is identity. Beneatha doesn't know what to do with herself, and she's very indecisive on what hobby she's truly passionate about. Hobbies such as photography, horseback riding acting lessons, and now guitar lessons. Secondly, Bennie dreamt of being a doctor to help heal and make a difference. Though when Willy stole the money, she uncovered the dark side of humanity. Beneatha uncovered that humans are evil, selfish, and greedy. Therefore, she found it pointless to heal people if they'll do evil things. Beneatha lost her faith in humanity and no longer desired to become a doctor because she thinks that being a doctor wouldn't make a difference.

Beneatha wanted to help people. She was the only one in the family to go to college. She had a dream to become a doctor. Beneatha felt like she wanted to help people when they were the most vulnerable. She also wanted to travel to Africa and learn about her background. Beneatha demonstrates her passion to help people when she said this, “That was what one person could do for another, fix him up – sew up the problem, make him all right again. That was the most marvelous thing in the world…I wanted to do that. I always thought it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know – and make them whole again. This was truly being God…I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. It used to matter. I used to care. I mean about people and how their bodies hurt…” Beneatha wants to be able to help people when they can not help themselves. . That is her dream. She wants to be there for the people who do not have many people there. She wants to put in the extra work in school in order to do this. She wants to be able to make a difference in her family. She also wants to be a successful black doctor. There were some successful black doctors during this time, but not many. None that the Younger family actually new. Beneatha is a strong willed woman whose intention in no way disappeared no matter what was going

Beneatha is an independent woman with great ambition. She always stands up for her beliefs and ideas no matter how contradict others. Beneatha is a fox, she is clever and, a quick thinker, she stays true to herself. When talking about her future Beneatha states, “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… I couldn’t be bothered with that. I am going to be a doctor, and everybody around here better understand that” (Hansberry, page 32). Beneatha is already sure of herself and what she wants to be in life. This encounter between her family is a defining moment for her character it shows how serious she is about her future. She also is not afraid to speak about her beliefs no matter the consequence. For example, ”God is just one idea I don’t accept. It’s not important. I am not going out and be immoral or commit crimes