Preview

Beneatha In A Raisin In The Sun

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
463 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Beneatha In A Raisin In The Sun
Beneatha Younger is a strong-willed, independent, young woman who knows exactly what she wants and she’ll keep fighting till she obtains it. She dreams of being an African-American Doctor which is very rare in her day’s time. Conflict arises when her brother, Walter Younger, loses the money for Beneatha to go to medical school in a investment incident. She thinks very highly of herself and puts herself before others. Acting as a comedic element, Beneatha’s name itself is a play on words because she views everyone as “beneath” her. Because of this outlook she has, evidence shows it restricts her ability to offer love to everyone. Throughout the play she grows and learns in a positive way. Thanks to her two suitors, Joseph Asagai and George Murchison, who encourage Beneatha to listen to people and value their dreams. …show more content…
One thing Beneatha puts high on the trophy stool is her dreams while she considers other’s dreams to be way below on the ground. For example, Beneatha is speaking to her brother, Walter when she says “…Did you dream of yachts on …show more content…
She is very dedicated to her dream of one day becoming a doctor and puts it above everything, including marriage. Beneatha says to her sister Ruth, “ Get over it? What are you talking about, Ruth? Listen, I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet – if I ever get married. (1.1.268)” This is ironic because throughout the play Beneatha has two men persistently waiting to take her hand in a relationship that could lead to
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Who Is Cory In Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Who Is Cory In Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    In the story A Raisin in the Sun, written by L. Hansberry, the Younger family resides in a small, beaten down home. In this family, only one member is well educated. Miss Beneatha is attending school and plans to become a doctor. Her mother, Lena, receives a life insurance check from her husband who has passed. Lena uses part of the check as a down payment on a new house for the family. She gives the rest of the check to her son, Walter, trusting him to put a portion of the money back for Beneatha’s schooling. However, Walter is irresponsible and spends the entire check on himself (Hansberry, 1959). This situation is similar to the events of the play Fences, written by A. Wilson. In this story, a little boy named Cory is also part of a poor family. Cory dreams of becoming a professional football player. However, his father believes that because he is black, he will not be successful as a professional player (Wilson, 1987). In these stories, both Beneatha and Cory have high hopes for the future and the resources to act upon them. However, after the unforeseen circumstances in each character’s situation and the attitudes of society in the time period, Cory is…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Secondary Characters In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Secondary Characters In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    George and Joseph are Beneatha’s two boyfriends that are introduced in the beginning of the play. George is a wealthy, colored man, but Beneatha despises his character saying that ‘the Murchinsons are honest-to-God-real-live-rich colored people, and the only people in the world who are more snobbish than rich white people are rich colored people. (A.1S.1)’ His character shows how Beneatha hates assimilationists and how he has no pride in his heritage. Joseph is the opposite of George because he is accepting of his heritage. Beneatha is in love with Joseph because of this, showing how she herself is proud with her heritage and doesn’t care much for how rich her partner is. Both of these characters show us how Beneatha reacts to people…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Underneath
    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Underneath

    The book I most recently read is The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. The book is a fictional book where all creatures can talk to each other. The book has a strange way of telling its story. The story follows many points view, the cats, Grandmother Snake, the Alligator King, Ranger, Gar Face, and more characters. Somehow all of these characters stories tie up together. The book mainly follows the cat’s story.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Couch Upholstery's A Raisin In The Sun
    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Couch Upholstery's A Raisin In The Sun

    To start, Beneatha is a full of energy character but is also very soft-spoken. Her name has the word beneath in it, followed by the letter a. Beneath a soft spoken voice is someone full of pep. There was a famous explorer in the 16th century named Walter Raleigh, who was described as a very bold person. Maybe the author had him in mind when coming up with the names of characters for the play. Walter from A Raisin in the Sun is also bold and not afraid to take risks as we see with the liquor store (ultimately it ends up failing).…

    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun
    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Raisin in the Sun

    In A Raisin in the Sun the movie directed by Kenny Leon, the tone and attitudes of the characters set apart the movie from the book, written by Lorraine Hansberry, because of how they make the scene more powerful and impactful. In comparison, the movie gives a better understanding of the real emotions of the characters; however, the book helps the reader understand the importance of every word. Both of the works start out in 1959 on the Southside of Chicago where there is racial tension and living is a struggle.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Raisin In The Sun Rough Draft
    • 732 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Raisin In The Sun Rough Draft

    And Beneatha? She a strong, fearless girl, always arguin’ with Walter, them two always got themselves up in a knot. I know she want to be a doctor, and she wanna go to medical school! I got faith in my girl, she could do anything she wants, and I’m proud of her for steppin’ up! But I’m worried ‘bout her. She’s always changin’…

    • 732 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun
    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Raisin in the Sun

    1.) At the beginning of the play Walter Lee has breakfast with his son, and wife. As the meal continues you witness the deterioration of Walter and Ruth’s relationship. Walter expresses his dreams about owning a business which is an everyday thing for Ruth. She has grown tired of hearing. The disappointments of the ghetto, living with four other people, and being pregnant with a second child has gotten to Ruth, her hopes and dreams are crushed. Sadly, Ruth has succumb to reality and can only tell her husband to eat his eggs. The fact that Ruth cannot dream disappoints Walter, he finds this infuriating and often verbally uses Ruth.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mama Archetype Essay
    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mama Archetype Essay

    The demand for Beneatha to accept the God which Mama believes in regardless of her own personal views further highlights Mama’s traditional values and her lack of willingness to change them. This allows for Hansberry to show that Mama is not a progressive character which, particularly in the context of when the play was written, was done purposefully to portray Mama as the ‘Mammy’, archetype. Mama is therefore seen as an elderly woman, stuck in old traditions and bound by her past, showing that in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’; stereotypes are fleshed out rather than…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis
    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis

    The family has gone through hard times, but the biggest fight happens when Walter is planning on accepting money from The Man. Mama is disappointed, but she loves him still. Beneatha is so angry she says “There is nothing left to love.” Mama rebukes her for her comment, and this scene displays the fierce love Mama has for her family. Even though they do not agree with Walter’s plan to give in, the whole family suspects and hopes he will come to his senses and make the right decision. They have faith in him, even though to this point he has not made the best choices. Internally, the choice was difficult, but especially because his son is present, Walter makes the right choice and preserves the dignity of his family. Throughout the play, the family loved and supported Walter, even when he made very bad…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between The American Dreamer And A Raisin In The Sun
    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Similarities Between The American Dreamer And A Raisin In The Sun

    Beneatha unlike Walter, was supported by her hard working family and with that developed a sense of entitlement that was demonstrated in many ways throughout the play. She struggles with her identity as an African American woman due to other characters opinions of who she should be. She doesn’t see the world as her family does and does not wish to become someone’s wife and caretaker. She wants to be independent and is constantly criticized about her dream of becoming a successful doctor instead of a homemaker of some sort. She’s criticized by Walter in the beginning of the play for wanting to become a doctor and in response to that criticism, Beneatha says sarcastically, (Hansberry)“Well – I do – all right? – thank everybody! And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all! (Pursuing him on her knees across the floor) FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Raisin In The Sun Feminist Analysis
    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Raisin In The Sun Feminist Analysis

    In both Tennessee Williams movie entitled “A Street Car Named Desire” and Lorraine Hansberry’s play entitled A Raising In the Sun, the women in both works although similar in their portal of weak counterparts to men both physically and mentally, both authors William’s and Hansberry portray their leading ladies uniquely. In Williams’s rendition of “A Street Car Named Desire” his leading ladies Blanch, who is portrayed as a weak women who does not understand and is portrayed as a failure in what a true southern belle and wife are; whereas, her sister Stella is the epitome…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Raisin in the Sun Essay
    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Raisin in the Sun Essay

    The role of the younger aged woman in the raisin in the sun addressed as Beneatha Younger is the first stage of development of feminism. Her character would be described as hard headed, bratty, self-centered , most of the time she acts like a teenager despite the fact she is twenty years old, she has respect for Mama but has an atrocious attitude toward everyone else. Beneatha's main goal is that she has to better than everyone to make herself look better, she is going to college to become a doctor because she wanted the ability to cure and in the beginning she wanted Mama's money to use for college. Also Beneatha doesn't believe in God because she dread the credit God gets for the achievements of the human race, her relationship with George Murchison was an familiar refrence of to the marriage of Ruth and Walter Lee Younger Junior, who relationship is majorly corrupted that they don't like talking to each other and fight frequently. It is difficult for Beneatha to make her dream come true because people like George and Walter Lee Younger Junior try to convince Beneatha that it is impossible for a black women like herself to become a doctor. "Guy aren't going to go for the atmosphere-they're going to go for what they see. Be glad for that."(Hansberry p.96) which is what George said to Beneatha…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A raisin in the sun
    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A raisin in the sun

    Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was born May 19, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois the youngest by seven years, of four children. Her father, Carl A. Hansberry, is a successful real estate broker, and a civil right activist. Her mother, Nannie Perry, is a schoolteacher who entered politics and became a ward committee woman. When Lorraine was eight, her parents moved to a white neighborhood where the experiences of discrimination led to a civil rights suit that they won. The granddaughter of a freed slave and deeply committed to the Black struggle for equality and human rights, Lorraine Hansberry became a spokesperson for black Americans. Her writings reflect her fight for black civil rights, which is reflected by her views against racism and sexual and statutory discrimination. A Raisin in the Sun was first produced in 1959. The play personified many of the issues which were to divide American culture during the decade of the 1960s. Lorraine Hansberry, the playwright, was an unknown dramatist until she achieved unprecedented success when her play became a Broadway sensation. Not only were successful women playwrights rare at the time, but successful young black women playwrights were virtually unheard of. Within its context, the success of A Raisin in the Sun is particularly stunning. She used plot characters and setting to embody the struggles Blacks had to overcome while facing discrimination and an underlying desire to succeed beyond conception. The play occurs during the late 1950s, a time when many Americans were prosperous and when some racial questions were beginning to be raised, but before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is an excellent theory to analyze A Raisin in the Sun since needs and wants are the basics to human survival. Its core is that of humankind equality which crosses geographic, racial, gender, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds. The situational setting of A Raisin in the Sun makes Maslow’s theory of Hierarchy of…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Raisin In The Sun
    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Raisin In The Sun

    March 11, 1959 was the first Broadway debut of Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. The play was considered a racial milestone of the time. Stated by The Washington Post, “Its impact on an artistic level had a power like Brown v. Board of Education or Jackie Robinson. It was a moment in theatrical history both epic and serene” (Washington Post 1). A Raisin in the Sun is about a 1950’s African-American family trying to reach their dreams and obtain a better life for themselves. Lorraine Hansberry uses this play as a way to show the struggles of African-American families trying to move towards a better life.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beneatha Identity
    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Beneatha Identity

    Unlike the rest of her family, Beneatha looks beyond her immediate situation in an effort to understand herself as a member of a greater whole. In the play Beneatha is the most educated of the Youngers, she sometimes seems to be obnoxious and self-centered. Beneatha is concerned about what she’s going to do with her life and doesn’t believe in god because, She feels like god shouldn’t be the reason we do good things and why do we always look for him, when we need help. Additionally why do we only rely on what he thinks of us and why does he always take credit for our accomplishments. Beneatha struggles with culture identity, deciding which man is right for her and figuring out her dreams.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics