Raisin How Does the Play

Raisin How does the play ultimately answer Hughes's question, "What happens to a dream deferred?" Which, if any, of the different "dreams" in the play is endorsed by the play as a whole? To what extent is the play's ending a happy one? In "A Raisin in the Sun" dreams deferred do not really explode, although such an explosion seems like a possibility when Walter's dream of a liquor store propels him to steal the money designated for his sister's education from his father's life insurance money.

But Walter is forgiven for his mistake by his family when he defends them against an attack by white racists who wish to pay the family for not moving into a home in a desirable suburb. When dreams die in the play, they merely make the dreamer stronger rather than cause destruction. Mama, against all hope, has held out for a dream of a home, and her dream comes true, despite its deferment for many years.

At the end of the play, Walter must still work as a chauffer, but he has found his manhood, and sense of self-respect in taking a stand against hatred, the type of pride he sought in owning a store. Also, his wife Ruth now has a place to raise her young son. Although treated unjustly by her older sibling, Beneatha has begun to question her desire to become a doctor, and is considering trying to get more in touch with her African roots instead.

She wants to fix things in a more meaningful fashion than merely physically. The end of the play is bittersweet, because it is uncertain if the family will be happy in the all-white suburb, or safe, and because so many of the character's individual aspirations still remain unfulfilled. The type of dream endorsed by the play is the type of real dream that holds fast, even in the face of adversity. That is why the dream of a home is the most durable of.