Gracie Anderson Ms

Gracie Anderson
Ms. Brew
English 9
April 3, 2018
Dreams
Dreams. Mama, Walter, Ruth, and Beneatha all lived together in one house their entire life, but each one of them have had different dreams. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the characters show how their dreams were created and how their dreams were “deferred” or forgotten. Walter Lee, Beneatha, and Mama all had many different ideas about dreams, but in the end they all realized that with family things will work out. In the novel A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry shows the hardships of being a black family in the year of 1959 and how their dreams might not happen because the color of their skin.
” I got me a dream ” (33). Walter comes out and tells people his dream about owning a liquor store and to be the man of the house again. Walter needs something of his own to make himself proud and his family proud. His dream got deferred when Willy steals the money from him, which makes Walter feel empty and he loses all of his pride and dignity. Mama, is a woman that can play the role of a man in this time period. All mama needed was her family and her plant. Her plant has been with her since they moved into there house and it has been through all the ups and downs that the family has been through. This plant is keeping Mama’s spirits alive and telling her that there is still hope and strength for her family. Mama wanted a nice house for Travis to grow up in, that would set him up for a good future: “we had even picked out the house — looks pretty dumpy today. But lord, child, you should know all the dreams I had ’bout buyin that house and fixing it up and making me a little garden in the back.” Mama doesn’t want it for herself she wants it for her family. (44-45). Beneatha Younger is a strong independent woman that is focused on following her dream no matter what people tell her. In the year of 1959 there were not many women that held the important role of being a doctor, Beneatha wanted to change that and follow her dream. “To be a doctor ” (34). Beneatha wants to help people and care for people like her mama has cared for her. Her dream gets deferred when the family is struggling with money and the $10,000 is going to the Mama’s dream of owning her own house. “To go to Africa, Mama — be a doctor in Africa : Asagai realizes how much this means to Beneatha and gives her the chance to follow her dream.
In the end, the family realizes that it is more important to do what is best for the family instead of there personal goals. This play is just a glimpse of what life was like for a black family in the year of 1959. Hansberry shows that dreams don’t always happen right away, but if you don’t give up their will be the right outcome. Although all the dreams were important they didn’t all happen as planned, but in the end the family stuck together and they learned that family is the most important thing in life, not money.