Character Analysis Of Beneatha In A Raisin In The Sun

Character Analysis â€Å" 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†¦show more content†¦During the beginning of the play, she essentially pretending that race is irrelevant and that her chances of getting into a medical school is just as good as anybody else’s. She takes pri de in being her own person rather than focusing on her race. Beneatha is probably one of the most independent and individual characters in the play. She does not worry about the prejudice her community has about her. She is confident in herself, her abilities, and her intellect. She tries to be independent by not allowing anybody to help her. When she first hears about the insurance money she does not want any help from it. When Walter suggest that mama could use a little bit of the money to help Beneatha out with the cost of college, Beneatha responds by saying, â€Å"I have never asked anyone around here to do anything for me† ( Hansberry 281). Beneatha refuses help from others, because she feels that doing everything on her own will make her a stronger woman. She presumes that asking for assistance for anything in life will make her weaker. She does not understand how dependent she is on others until she starts dating George Murchison and joseph Asagai. 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 everShow MoreRelatedThe Matriarchs of the House in A Raisin in the Sun by Loraine Hansberry814 Words   |  3 PagesIn A Raisin in the Sun by Loraine Hansberry, the three strong-willed women of the story have varying opinions, views, and beliefs on life. The story is set in the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. The Younger’s are an African-American family that has struggled to survive financially for many years. With a large injection of money from Mr. Younger’s death, the family struggles to make a unanimous decision on what they will use the 10,000 dollars for. The three major female characters differ in a varietyRead MoreDreams Deferred in Lorraine Hansberrys A Rais in in the Sun736 Words   |  3 PagesHansberry’s classic play, A Raisin in the Sun, culls its title from the infamous poem â€Å"Dream Deferred† by Langston Hughes, and both works discuss what happens to a person when their dreams -- their hopes, their aspirations, their lives -- are endlessly put on hold. For this analysis of the dreams and character of Beneatha Younger in Raisin, I would like to pull on another dreamy poem of Langston Hughes’ entitled â€Å"Dream Boogie.† Like all the characters in the play, Beneatha has dreams that are dear toRead MoreEssay on Dreams Deferred in Hansberrys A Raising in the Sun1902 Words   |  8 Pagesambitious students must sacrifice another facet of their lives in order to achieve their academic goals. In A Raisin in the Sun, many of the characters must give up something important to them to achieve their own idea of success. Everybody has his or her own dreams. Although some people may have homogeneous aspirations, no two are exactly the same. Hansberrys play, A Raisin in the Sun, reflects this concept by expressing that each character’s idea of the American Dream is distinct in its own wayRead MoreThe Last Critic That Will Be Evaluated844 Words   |  4 Pagescritical analysis is titled A Raisin in the Sun: Anniversary of an American Classic. Wilkerson’s critical analysis discusses the â€Å"various social, historical, and artistic factors that have contributed to the play’s contemporary relevance and popularity, with particular focus on script revisions.† (Wilkerson 442) Wilkerson states that critics claimed that plays about the Black experience were seen as unattractive and of temporary or limited appeal to the theatre audiences. A Raisin in the Sun was differentRead MoreAnalysis Of A Raisin In The Sun1185 Words   |  5 PagesArianna Williams-Smart English 1B Professor Quinn Final Essay The epigraph to A Raisin in the Sun is Langston Hughes poem called A Dream Deferred which was written as an example of life in harlem. The lines are a introduction to the white societys actions to take away equal opportunity from black citizens. Hughes main point is that there could be consequences when peoples frustrations build up or accumulate to the point where they have to either surrender their dreams or allow strenuousRead MoreThe Roles Of Sexism And Dreams1377 Words   |  6 Pagesget married and be quiet...† (38). Walter Younger, one of the protagonists of the play, makes this sexist comment towards his sister, Beneatha, and her desire to become a doctor. Walter belittles Beneatha’s dream by implying that women are only fit for supporting roles just like their mother, Mama Lena. Debuted on Broadway in 1959, the dramatic work, A Raisin in the Sun, is composed by Lorraine Hansberry, who depicts the issues of sexism and dreams. Considering these themes, how can we explore the presenceRead MoreA Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry2035 Words   |  8 PagesLorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is a remarkable play written in 1959 by an African American author about an African American family. This time period was in the early days of the modern awakening of civil rights awareness. It was a timely play challenging the then current stereotypical view of a black family by depicting a realistic portrayal of a specific black family with aspirations, hopes, dreams, dignity, and ambition as would be expected from all families regardless of race. TheRead MoreA Raisin In The Sun Archetypal Analysis1452 Words   |  6 Pagesunique to that particular person, but can rather be an emotion that is universally felt by others that have encountered similar situations and in turn may result in those people forming the same mentality and character. Correspondingly, any piece of work can be approached through an archetypal analysis that e nables one to gain insight into the conventional and universal experiences within the society of which that form of literature is based upon. These repeating and shared experiences are especially prevalentRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Lorraine Hansberry s A Raisin990 Words   |  4 PagesCharacter Analysis: A Raisin in the Sun The play A Raisin In the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry is a classic, revolutionary play written in the times of segregation and discrimination of skin tones. Throughout the story, the Youngers display how they are just like an ordinary family; everybody has their own special personality. This caused many conflicts when it was time to decide what to do with the check coming in the mail for ten thousand dollars. Walter Lee Younger, the son and oldest child of mamaRead MoreAmerican Dream in a Raisin in the Sun4319 Words   |  18 Pagesothers want him to be or think he is. In trying to reajust his nature in order to harmonize his life with other people’s view, he twists his own identity and becomes somebody else than who he is in actual fact. This is what we notice through the character of George Murchison who despite his belonging to a certain race, tried to behave like a member of another race because he didn’t have a great sense of Africanness Sometimes, because of the conception they have of other people, they would try to