A quest is simply defined as a long search for something, whether it be materialistic, rational, or metaphorical. Throughout African American literature, a thematic quest of self-discovery seems to be a common trend among authors. Dating back to the slavery, African American authors seemed to have greatly focused on the importance of ‘being somebody’, and making it in a world that seems so against equality. A Raisin in The Sun, a 1959 script written by Lorraine Hansberry, focuses on just that; making a man out of a mockery. Each character in Hansberry’s novel strives to overcome a generalized social stigma, and one particularly sets out on a quest for the American Dream. The achievement of the American Dream, focusing greatly on external finances and beyond, is a common quest that is greatly perceived through A Raisin in The Sun. The American Dream is a primary financial goal dating from early history to today’s time. Many members of the American society push to reach the standards of the “American Dream”; often sought through financial opportunities. In Lorraine Hansberry’s novel, A Raisin in The Sun, the Younger family struggles as a unit financially, restricting them from reaching a unified point of stability. Their strongest reliance for income is the insurance check they are to be receiving in the mail to compensate for the passing of Mr. Younger. While every character in the Younger family experiences their own kind of struggles, Walter Younger specifically advances
The American Dream can’t be real without… no racism, no sexism, equal rights, equal freedom, and the right to be apart of whatever religion you want to be apart of. The books “Fight Club” and “A Raisin in the Sun” can relate to now because of all these reasons said above.
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
More than a century after the Declaration of Independence, the American Dream was still alive and well. In the 1950s, Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun. This play is about a financially troubled African-American family and the problems they face as they try to achieve all of their versions of the American Dream. The play itself is centered around the American Dream and how hard it can be to achieve. The main character, Walter Younger, even says during the beginning of the play, “Sometimes it’s like I can see the future stretched out in front of me—just plain as day… Just waiting for me” ( Hansberry 75). As Walter says, his American Dream is the future, and he can almost see what it holds for him. He knows what he wants to accomplish and have, but he has not reach that point in his life when he
In Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun,” she uses the Younger family to show that as characters strive to reach their dreams they often disdain the determinations of others but they may eventually learn to care one another in effort to better their lives. 'A Raisin in the Sun' by Lorraine Hansberry is a play about a family in the late 1940s that struggles through lack and discrimination to find the American Dream. American Dream the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. This message explores their hopes and dreams. As it shown in the book that everybody wanted to pursue their own dreams and goals. They weren’t thinking about anybody else but their self. The absence of the American Dream does infiltrate much of the play. Each main character in the play seeks to appropriate the "American Dream" in their own lives. The family consist of the Mama, the deeply Christian grandmother; her son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth and son Travis; and Beneatha, her daughter.
Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun features an African American family in the late 1950’s as they look forward to achieving their individual dreams in the era where racism and economic hardship among African Americans was the norm. While Hansberry doesn’t directly mention well-known events in the civil rights movement, she illustrates the realistic struggles an African American family would have faced during this time. In the introduction of the play, Robert Nemiroff illustrates several themes and issues that are addressed throughout Hansberry’s play. One of the subjects Nemiroff mentions is the “value systems of the black family”(Nemiroff, “Introduction,” 5-6). A main value that Hansberry illustrates throughout the play is the
No matter what you perceive The American Dream to be, it is possible to attain it and be successful. The American Dream is whatever your dream of success perceives to be. Hansberry shows how hard it was for colored people to find their
The promise of America is that anyone, from anywhere, can live a free and prosperous life in the United States. As President FDR once said "We are all bound together by a hope of a common future rather than by reverence for a common past". He and many others believed in the American Dream, that has drawn hopeful masses of people to this country in search of "a better life". Although some believe that the American promise is still achievable, America no longer provides access to this dream. It has evolved to be a pursuit of money not liberation, and the discrimination of groups of people has masked the fundamental ideals that the dream is based upon. The American Dream is rooted in equality and success, and has become about riches. Everyone
The American Dream, although different for each of us, is what we all aspire to achieve. In Lorraine Hansberry's, play, A Raisin in the Sun, each member of the Younger family desperately hopes for their own opportunity to achieve the American Dream. The American Dream to the Younger family is to own a home, but beyond that, to Walter Younger, it is to be accepted by white society.
Centuries ago, Americans were fighting for their freedom from Britain. Then, the American dream was to have freedom. To American then, being free and having their own individual country was enough. Up until a few decades ago, African Americans were fighting to have equal rights. They thought this was all they needed and they would be truly happy. Somewhere over the course of time; happiness had a new meaning for all Americans. Now material possessions are what it takes to be happy. The American dream is to be rich.
The United States is recognized as the “land of the free” and home of the “American Dream.” According to James Truslow Adams in Epic of America, the American Dream is defined as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” It is based on the foundations of the Declaration of Independence: the rights to Liberty, Life, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Amadeo, What is the American Dream?). People have the right to pursue their dreams and acquire a better life through sheer effort and motivation. At the time of the American Dream’s creation in 1931, the main people were white male property owners. The rights were extended to slaves and
A dream is not something you should just experience when you drift asleep, but it should be a reality when you have woken. The American Dream is something people push for, it takes blood, sweat and tears to become a reality. If that means, waking at the crack of dawn or laboring late at night, doing long hours, for the dream…... it will happen. Even if the dream is simple as love the unique thing about it is, everyone has a chance to have something good in life and everyone should push towards it. The Raisin in the sun is primarily all about the American dream and the trails that it take for it to be fulfilled. Each character has the own personal desire, and strives to reach their dreams. Mama’s American dream, of buying a home is affected by her traits of compassion, pride, and integrity. Mama's always dreamed of a home of her own. She says, 'Well I, always wanted me a garden like I use to see sometimes at the back of the houses down home. This plant is as close as I ever got to having one.'
“Check coming today?” The Life Insurance check that Mama will soon be receiving is the source of all the dreams in the Younger family. A major argument that Lorraine Hansberry makes in her play A Raisin in the Sun is the importance of dreams. Dreams are what each member of the Younger family is driven by. Mama wants to have her own home in a nice part of town; she does not want her children growing up in a place with rats. Walter wants to have a successful business so he can surpass the poverty that has plagued his family. And Beneatha wants to get a good education, become a doctor, and marry a nice man. Dreams are especially important to the Younger family as they come from a poverty laden family and desire to live the “American Dream.”
A Raisin in the sun shows the hardship many needed to face in order to attain this notion of the American Dream. The play did more than simply show what everyone faced, she shows the struggles that many African Americans families had to face when trying to achieve the notion of the American Dream. She does this by showing the environment that many African Americans lived in when there was bombing in the neighborhood or when white people would force African Americans who finally bought a home, out. Lorraine also shows the struggles of the characters of the play 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 by becoming a Doctor and trying to do activities that men usually do.While American Dream is quintessential to America because you’re able to go from nothing to something, this notion is unique to African-American since the society work against them even with having the same aspiration because of the prejudice they faced from the society.
The 1960s was a time in which America underwent great change and development. This change instilled an optimism in some African-American citizens for the future. Despite the fact that racism was still alive in America many had hopes and dreams for a better future. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, ‘A Raisin In The Sun’ she greatly emphasizes that dreams can inspire and frustrate but ultimately their lasting effect can change the dreamer positively whether that be receiving a dose of reality and changing for the better or be it finally achieving dreams and goals.
A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, depicts the struggles of an African American family in the 1950s. The Youngers are a poor African American family of five living in a run-down, one-bedroom apartment. Mama, or more formally known as Lena, is the head of the family who lives with her two children. Her son, Walter, is married with a child who both live with them. Her daughter, Beneatha, dreams of pursuing medicine instead of a husband. Soon, an opportunity to escape poverty arises in the form of a $10,000 life insurance check from the patriarch of the family. From buying a house, paying for medical school, and investing in a business, each member of the family has a different plan for the money. When Walter discovers his wife is pregnant and wants an abortion, he says nothing to change her mind. With this, Lena decides to use some of the money for a down payment on a house and gives the remainder to Walter to take to the bank. Walter is supposed to deposit some of the money to pay for Beneatha’s medical school but instead, Walter gives all the money away. Without the excess funds, the Youngers rely on the strength of family and dreams. The American Dream is embodied in the lives of Lena and Beneatha Younger in A Raisin in the Sun.