Author: jadehagins

In reading “A Raisin in the Sun” By Lorraine Hansberry, focuses more on Bonds and conflicts between men and women, parents and children, old ways and new ways. Walter sees his wife, mother and sister especially, as women who need to be seen and not heard.  For example, According to Hansberry  “ a man ought to learn in life is not to make love to no colored women first thing in the morning”(27) in this example, Walter states not making love to colored women, he feels as though they are angry and evil. In the first two Act’s we see Walter as very selfish and doesn’t see no other way but his way. Another example is “ Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you are crazy about messing around with sick people then go be a nurse like other women or just get married and be quiet.”(38) In addition,These quotes show just how looked down on women were when it came to wanting to be something more than a nurse. Women were expected to bear babies and be a stay at home wife or be a nurse like every other woman. Most black women during this time period were expected to work as domestic servants in homes of wealthy white people. I found that women weren’t allowed to apply for certain jobs or colleges in the 1950’s. For example “Women were underrepresented both as students and faculty members at institutes of higher education, comprising just 21 percent of college students in the mid-1950s. Some schools banned women from applying or put restrictive quotas on how many they would accept.” In this jarring example, this evidence talks about the treatment women were given. Colleges had an amount of women to accept into their colleges, women weren’t seen as smart or worthy,  The main issue in the 1950’s was segregation in housing and education.  As for Black women in the 1950’s and 1960’s  who worked as domestics were generally treated as uneducated, poor, and child-like creatures.

In Act II of A Raisin in The Sun, we see more of Beneatha’s personality. We see how she is more free spirited than the rest of the characters and wanting to follow her own path, Walter, MAMA, and Ruth feel as though Bennie is quite disrespectful when it comes to them. The scene where Bennie cuts all her hair off Ruth states “ you expect this boy to go out with you with your head all nappy like that?” which Beneatha Replies “That’s up to George. If he’s ashamed of his heritage”(80). In the African culture women were not seen to have lots of hair, they would cut their hair to show an act of self-liberation and assertion of freedom. Looking back on the Introduction By Robert Nemiroff, he talks about how In 1959, when the play was presented, the rich variety of Afro styles introduced in the mid- 1960s had not yet arrived: the very few black women who wore their hair unstraightened cut it very short. When the hair of Diana Sands (who created the role) was cropped in this fashion, however, a few days before the opening, it was not contoured to suit her: her particular facial structure required a fuller Afro, of the sort she in fact adopted in later years.” But now in the modern world when a woman cuts her hair it is seen as a sign of strength and beauty. 

Benethea is a very strong willed and opinionated person, some would call her a feminist. In a Raisin In The Sun Bennie stated her opinion on god and how she feels like god shouldn’t be taking the credit for human kind’s work. For example Benethea states “it’s just that I get tired of Him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort.” MAMA who grew up praising god and believing in him felt as though Bennie was being disrespectful. In some cultures, in this case the African American culture, kids weren’t allowed to talk back to their parents or state their opinions. I think Bennie was just stating how she felt about God and basically saying he’s overrated and MAMA took that as her being disrespectful to her and the lord above, which caused Benethea to shut down. There is a power between a parent and a child, a parent is seen as the big bad wolf and having control while the child is seen as a puppy dog doing as it’s told without any explanation or back talk. For example in the parenthesis it states “ after there is only silence and the daughter drops her eyes from her mother’s face, and MAMA is very tall before her” (51). This quote justifies MAMA standing her ground and making it known that she is the parent and you should obey.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1.How come there’s this stigma that kids shouldn’t be able to speak their minds to their parents? 

2.How does the concept of the ‘American Dream’ unfold in A Raisin in the Sun, and how do the characters’ aspirations reflect the societal challenges of the time?

Works Cited:

Hansberry, Lorraine. “A Raisin in the Sun.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Raisin_in_the_Sun. 

Hi you guys, my name is Jade’ Hagins, I am a freshman here at Suny Cortland and I am majoring in Early childhood and childhood education. I am from the Bronx and my favorite food has to be homemade Ziti. I find cleaning as a comfort for me when I am overthinking. I love horror movies best on yet is The exorcist.