Prior to World War II a family living in South Side Chicago is filled with aspirations to make it out of property. Did I mention this is a black family ? A hard working family that is very enthusiastic about achieving what they may think is the American Dream. Is the American Dream really what they make is seem. Compared to reality the American Dream is limited to what they know. In this play Hansberry has made Most of the characters fueled by aspiration and hope.
There’s Walter Younger who is a dreamer. Walter wants to be rich and concocts plans to acquire wealth with his friends. He wants to invest his father’s insurance money in a liquor store venture. Then there Beneatha Younger who is the sister of Walter. Beneatha is very intelligent at the age of 20 she attends college and is more educated than the rest of her family. Some of her ideology has pushed her away from her mother. Beneatha wants to be a doctor and has trouble determining her identity as a well-educated black woman.
Lena Younger(“Mama”) who is the mother of Walter and Beneatha mother. She is the matriarch of the family. Mama is religious and maternal. Mama wants to use the insurance money as the down payment on a house so she can fulfill her dream of her family moving up in the world. In addition Ruther Younger who is Walter’s wife and mother of Travis’s. Ruth is a housewife who takes care of their small apartment.
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Walter and Ruth have a bumpy relationship but hope to rekindle their love. Ruth is only thirty but her weariness makes her seem older. Always fighting through property and domestic trouble she continues to be a strong women. Last but not least there is Travis Younger the son of Walter and Ruth. Travis often earns allowance by doing simple things such as carrying grocery bags. Travis likes to play outside with the other children, but he has no bedroom and sleeps on the living room sofa.
In the play Hansberry portrays the American dream as living your individual dreams. The title of the play references a conjecture that Langston Hughes famously posed in a poem he wrote about the dreams that were forgotten or put off. He wonders weather those dreams shivered up “like a raisin in the sun.” All the members of the family have their own dream. The Younger family struggles to achieve these dreams throughout the play, and majority of their happiness and depression relates directly to the failure of attaining their dreams.
The Younger families dreams are very common that time period. During the 1940’s and 50’s the American Dream was nothing more than a stable family. The entre younger family wants to get a job that pays well to provide everything their families need. After World War II the American Dream slightly shifted. To work force was becoming more open to women. This is why I believe Beneatha wants to become a doctor. I believe Beneatha’s view of the American is pretty accurate to what the American Dream is. However the rest of the families dreams are very subpar compared to the American Dream. Mama only wants a new house thats and Walter wants Liquor store which is really hit or miss form a financial aspect.
As you can tell the family all have their goals and needs the money to achieve their dreams. We can link this to the plant Mama tends to and the families aspirations. The plant needs a good foundation and a solid and consistent amount of both sunlight and water. The families foundation being Mama brings stability to the family. The water and sunlight act figuratively is something that the Youngers need. With a plant, if it does not have these two essentials the plant cannot grow or be sustained. Like the plant, the family also are missing the elements with the water being money and the sunlight being hope. They see their circumstances as they are and is just going to be a reality because of the lack of income in the household. The family sees that without more financial help they function properly in their current state.
The Younger Family’s Dreams are all limited by what they have been exposed to. There is a famous saying that you can only dream of what you know. This is why most of the family’s dreams seem so basic. We really can’t fault them for not knowing there is more to life than liquors stores and living in the suburbs. This also brings the question what has Beneatha been exposed to that makes her wanna be a doctor. I say this because at this time female doctors were rare let alone a African American one.
Throughout the entirety of the play Walter expresses he wants to own a liquor store. Owning a liquor store is Walter’s American Dream. He thinks by owning a liquor store he will be able to provide for his family and have an increased income therefore lifting them out of poverty. However as you can see Lena has a different view of the American dream. Lena Younger’s dream is to buy a new house. She feels owning a liquor is un-Christian.
In Lena’s eyes success is keeping the family close. During her lifetime Lena has experienced many hardships. From the death of a baby to not being able to move up the social ladder because of race. Lena also is very controlling where she thinks her ways are the best ways. This is due to her have kept control of the family. An example of this control is seen when Beneatha says “There is no God” and Lena forces her to renounce.
The common factor about the American Dream is everybody deserves something and everyone should attempt to get it. 100% of Americans want financial success. This also goes for the Younger family. The effort Walter makes to become somebody exhibits how economic, race, and prejudice problems interrupts the role of a black man in his family.
The most common factors in the Younger’s American Dream is financial stability and the accepted by white people. This is evident in the story when Lena Buys a house with the insurance check in a white neighborhood. Although she accomplished her dream hotly after buying the house a representative of the community named Karl Linder who incites that the family should to be staying there.
In the 40’s and 50’s the American Dream was related to material things. Is was believed that owing things would bring joy into a families life. This belief affects the Younger family greatly.
