In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family’s world is critical to their lives and dreams. 1950s Chicago is depicted as a society of racial discrimination and economic difficulties in which the Youngers struggle through the harsh truths that put their desire for a better life in jeopardy.
The play opens with the Youngers living in a narrow, rundown apartment in a poor neighbourhood. The physical environment echoes their economic struggles, making an oppressive environment that represents the members’ deferred dreams. Tensions within the family are evident with the cramped living conditions,, which only highlight their environment and how it affects their everyday lives.
Walter wants to be the head of the family and lead it to a higher status in the socioeconomic standards of their surroundings (Hansberry 23). Walter’s shabby apartment ultimately represents his emasculated identity, and his fantasy of running his own liquor store becomes a realization of escaping the entrapping poverty that lies all around them. Economic opportunities are very limited in their current neighbourhood, which further fuels Walter’s desperation and triggers his involvement with risky ventures, such as investing in the liquor store as a platform to escape their economic limitations.
Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor was also greatly affected by her surroundings. One of the biggest challenges to her aspirations is the prevailing need for more educational resources and opportunities in their current neighbourhood (Hansberry 15). Beneatha feels prompted to question her identity and seek to know herself better in the environment, which is characterized by a lack of intellectual stimulation. Her desire to become a doctor is not just her aspiration but a call to action against the constraints imposed by their environment.
Mama’s decision to buy a house in a predominantly white neighbourhood further illustrates the force of environment upon the Youngers. Moving to a better neighbourhood would be like taking a symbolic escape from racial segregation and economic inequality. 19 Among these difficulties, though, the racial tension in 1950s Chicago, represented by Mrs. Johnson’s announcement of a Black family being blown up from their new home (Hansberry 67), becomes one more complicated element for their decision. Firstly, the Youngers’ understanding of their immediate surroundings is dictated by the racial pressures external to their residential space, from the nature of racial discrimination that they encounter outside their immediate living space.
The coming of Lindner, representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, poses a direct challenge to the Youngers’ effort at endeavouring to better their surroundings (Hansberry 103). The proposition by Lindner for the Youngers to sell their house back to the association demonstrates how much racism is entrenched in society. The external pressure that the Youngers face from Clybourne Park serves to accentuate how difficult it was for them to move beyond the racial barriers their environment presented them with. The fact that Walter first wants to accept Lindner’s offer indicates the predominant control of external circumstances over making decisions in the family.
The economic problems of the Youngers are intensified as Walter gives the remaining amount of insurance money to Willy to invest in a liquor store. However, the ruthless drive for financial stability shows that youngsters must resort to risky endeavours influenced by their environment, which restricts their opportunities (Hansberry 117). Their impoverished surroundings directly lead to the financial crisis. Ruth’s pregnancy brings another dimension to the family’s struggles (Hansberry 89). That another mouth to feed increases the economic strain on the Youngers makes Ruth’s contemplation of abortion symbolic of the desperate conditions they encounter. The lack of access to proper healthcare and family planning resources in their environment contributes to the family’s moral and ethical dilemmas.
In conclusion, “A Raisin in the Sun” vividly illustrates how the Youngers’ environment shapes their lives and influences their dreams. The physical and social constraints imposed by their impoverished neighbourhood, compounded by racial discrimination, contribute to the deferred dreams and struggles of the family members. Through the characters’ experiences, Lorraine Hansberry masterfully portrays the interconnectedness of environment, race, and economic hardships in shaping the lives of the Youngers.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun: A Drama in Three Acts. Random House, 2002, khdzamlit.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261956/a_raisin_in_the_sun_-_lorraine_hansberry.pdf.
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