Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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Nobody is equal. While we like to pretend that we treat everyone fairly, people always find themselves being judged, isolated, and mistreated. In A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, we see a glimpse of what it is like to be a member of the minority. The story follows the Younger family, a hardworking group of individuals who spend their lives serving others to keep themselves out of poverty. Beneatha, the youngest daughter of Lena Younger, is an ambitious woman who is determined to become a doctor. Tuition bills are not the only thing holding her back, however. Beneatha struggles with rising above the expectations set forth for her because of her race and her gender. Being a black woman in a world filled with successful white…show more content…
She is attacked by an onslaught of criticism, but none hurts her so much as the biting words of her boyfriend George. When she explains that her cutting off her hair is her way of symbolizing her heritage, George snaps “Let’s face it baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch of raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts!” (Hansberry 81). It burns to hear her so-called boyfriend insult her in this way, as her heritage is very important to Beneatha and she takes much offense to it being slandered in such a way. She rants about George's ignorance and it becomes evident that his statement has greatly injured her pride, as she considers her people's past an extension of herself. Beneatha then brings up surgical operations of the past, and she clearly defines a connection between the surgeons of her history and her own aspirations of becoming a doctor. By insulting her heritage, George has also deeply hurt Beneatha as she takes her people’s past personally. However, Beneatha quickly moves on and pretends that she is unaffected by his words, proving that she is able to maintain her pride and that she will not let his opinion get in the way of her success, both in becoming a doctor and embracing her…show more content…
Moments after they walk through the door, George starts nagging Beneatha about how she talks too much, saying things like “Guys aren’t going to go for the atmosphere - they’re going to go for what they see” (Hansberry 96).This goes against all that Beneatha believes in; she thinks that intelligence and personality are what is important, not looks. George refuses to hear her out when she tries to explain this to him, and he insists over and over again that men want nothing more than a pretty face. Beneatha strongly disagrees with this point of view, and it pains her to spend time with someone so shallow. George leaves hastily after Mama arrives, without so much as a “bye” from Beneatha. Beneatha vaguely explains the situation to Mama, who tells her “you better not waste your time with no fools” (Hansberry 98). Beneatha happily scurries away, her pride restored. Later in the novel, Beneatha intends to marry Asagai, a kind man with similar views who loves her for who she is, not her body. In the end, Beneatha overcomes the shallowness of George Murchison, and is successful in finding true love with the perfect man for
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