A Raisin In The Sun
Introduction
A raisin in the sun introduces the reader to the life of a family in south Chicago called the Youngers. It opens with a with the younger family just about to receive a check for $10,000 and each member of this family has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with the money. In this text, I look into each main characters dream and how he or she wishes to achieve it as well as conflicting aspects of the dreams. I also look at whose dreams in my own opinion are most important.
A raisin in the sun
The first character I look at here is mama. As the matriarch of the family, Mama dreams of purchasing a house. She hopes by buying a house, her family members will have a bigger as well as a better place to live in and escape poverty. This she hopes to achieve by using part of the money for that purpose. When she buys a house in a white neighbor hood, the neighbors send a representative from their association and even offer the Youngers a monetary incentive to stay away. The Youngers however refuse this deal. Mama’s dream is part of what she had shared with her husband and she so badly wants to achieve it.We then have Walter who dreams of solving his family’s financial misery in the near future. This he hopes to achieve by investing some amount of money in a liquor store with his friends. However, Walter’s dream does not materialize as one of his friends, Willy Harris, runs away with Walter’s money.We then have Beneatha who dreams of becoming a doctor. To achieve this dream, an amount of money is set aside to see her through medical school. Beneatha also has dreams of perusing her roots to Africa and she receives a proposal for marriage from her Nigerian boyfriend though we are not told of what choice she made.
We however have instances when these dreams conflict. A good example of such an instance is when Beneatha is not so keen on joining the white world. She wishes the other members of the family were not so obsessed with the prospect of joining what in her own opinion is the world of whites (Guth et al. 2000). Another instance is when Walter’s wife discovers she is pregnant. She is scared of bringing financial burden upon her family and at some point she even considers procuring an abortion. Walter is silent on his wife’s idea.In my own opinion, I think Beneatha’s dreams are most important. What appeals to me most is her resolve to complete medical school and be a doctor as well as her interest in trying to trace her identity which she hopes to do by looking back to Africa as well as the past. To me, her medical ambitions are most important as they will not only benefit her family but the whole human kind.By competing medical school, of course Beneatha will have higher prospects of getting a well paying job which might prove beneficial to her family for a long time to come. Her sense of identity as an African-American, and dream of tracing her roots makes her reject one of her own suitors whom she considers insensitive to the issue of race.
Conclusion
A raisin in the sun ends with the Youngers’ future seemingly looking uncertain. What is refreshing though is their resolve to stick together as a family even in the face of adversity.
References
Guth, H.P, & Rico, G.L. (2000). Discovering literature. Prentice Hall
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