The Differences Between Beneatha, Lena, and Ruth
Beneatha is an intellectual as she goes to university and is more educated than any other member Younger family. Her views and personal beliefs have distanced her from Mama, who is more conservative. Beneatha’s dream is to be a doctor and she finds hard to find her identity as a black woman who is well-educated. Lena is Beneatha’s and Walter’s mother and is he head of the family. She is highly maternal, moral, and religious. Her goal is to move up the world. She states that “Oh—So now it’s life. Money is life” (Hansberry, 8). Lena wants to use her husband insurance money to make a down payment for a home with a backyard to match her ambition. Throughout the book, Lena states that “Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really do change” (Hansberry, 16). Ruth is caretaker of younger’s small apartment. She is facing troubles in her marriage but hopes to rekindle her love with Walter. Her troubles are illustrated by the quote “Yes I would too, Walter. (Pause) I gave her a five-dollar down payment” (Hansberry, 23). At this point she was pregnant and had consulted the doctor for an abortion. Whereas she is around thirty years, the weariness in her face makes her appear older. She is in a constant battle with domestic troubles and poverty, yet she is a woman who is emotionally strong. Indeed, her pessimistic nature helps her to survive the harsh times.
The Play’s Theme
The Raisin in the Sun is essentially about dreams since the main characters encounter hardships whilst trying to handle the oppressive situations that surround their lives. The struggles of the Younger family are epitomized by the quote made by Walter “I don’t want nothing but for you to stop acting holy ‘round here. Me and Ruth done made some sacrifices for you – why can’t you do something for the family?” (Hansberry, 38). The title of the play is reference to a statement that Langston Hughes used in a poem where he narrated about dreams that were put off or forgotten. He queries whether those dreams disappear like a raisin in the sun. each member of the Younger family has an individual and discrete dream. In particular, Walter wants to get money so that he can buy things for his family. He states that “Just tell me, what it is you want to be—and you’ll be it” (Hansberry, 44). This quote illustrates Walter’s desire to provide for his family, especially building a bright future for his son. On the other hand, Beneatha wants to be a doctor while Lena wants a bigger home with a backyard. The Youngers find hard to accomplish these dreams in the course of the play, and most of their happiness as well as sadness if directly associated to their achievement of, or failure to, realize these ambitions. By the conclusion of the play, they realize that the dream of a home is the most important since it brings the family together. Lena states that “Walter Lee – it makes a difference in a man when he can walk on floors that belong to him” (Hansberry, 48). She simply wanted a bigger house to be close to her children.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Samuel French, Inc., 1984.