Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

699 Words3 Pages
In the screenplay, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the theme of dreams is heavily explored. Essentially, the entire book is about dreams. The main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives, so their dreams are the only things that keep them going. The title of the screenplay refers to Langston Hughes’ poem he wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off. Do those dreams just shrivel up “like a raisin in the sun?” Every member of the Younger family has an individual dream, and each member approaches achieving their personal dream differently. Throughout the screenplay, the Youngers struggle to attain their dreams and much of their depression and happiness is directly related to attaining their dreams or failing to attain their dreams. The three main characters, Walter, Beneatha, and Mama, all struggle with their dreams and achieving their dreams. Walter Younger, the main character of…show more content…
Beneatha provides the perspective of a young, independent, female college student and has a great desire to become a doctor. This desire demonstrates her great ambition. Beneatha is working towards becoming a doctor by attending college to help fulfill her dreams. In order to realize her dream of becoming a doctor, she must rely on the money her family received from her father’s death and investments made by Walter. Beneatha prides herself on being independent. Sometimes Beneatha becomes outraged with one of her suitors, Asagai, because he once her to be less independent and consider marrying him. Once she realizes this dependence, Beneatha gains a new perspective on her dream. She is given a new energy on her way of attaining her dream. With this, she also becomes closer with her brother. Once she recognizes his strength and stops questioning his manhood, Beneatha is able to appreciate him and what he does for the Younger
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