The American Dream and Raisin in the Sun

As J. Charles Washington notes, Mama and Walter have two different versions or ideas what the American Dream means in Raisin in the Sun. For Mama the dream is simply about change and doing what is necessary to protect and preserve one’s family. Her version of the dream “sets her at odds with her son Walter,” whose dream is much more influenced by the white Americans he sees: their opulence and prosperity, their ability to be upwardly mobile (Washington 113). Walter dreams of wealth; Mama dreams of family. The American Dream for them is manifested in different ways, yet, in the end, it is the dream of family that wins out and that shows how the materialistic American Dream is empty if it is not accompanied by the family and the heart

Washington describes Mama’s dream “as a second-class version of it reserved for Black Americans and other poor people. Considering all the obstacles she has had to face as a Black woman, one can hardly fault her for what she does. Nevertheless, her dream is unacceptable to Walter, who will have nothing less than the complete American Dream”—i.e., the Dream in which prosperity and wealth are the main attributes (114). The family is far from that, however, and it shows in the beginning of the play, when Travis is described as being “asleep on the make-down bed at center” in the family living room of the one bedroom apartment (Hansberry 27). The fact that the boy is sleeping there in the family room instead of in his own bedroom represents the reality of Walter’s life: his family is poor—they have barely enough room in the home for one child—let alone two. The idea that Walter may be bringing another baby in under the roof is one that adds tension to the play, as another mouth to feed is a threat to Walter’s dream of prosperity. It is not a threat, however, to Mama’s dream of taking care of the family. When it comes to family, being together and there to support one another is what matters most.
This idea is personified in Travis, who has none of the materialistic ambitions of his father. When he wakes up in the morning, Travis tells his mother that he needs to pay the teacher the fifty cent fee. The mother scolds Travis—but it is not his fault that the family owes the fee. Travis asks if it would be all right if I he went and asked grandma for the money—and his mother reprimands him once more. Travis then hits upon another approach: “Could I maybe go carry some groceries in front of the supermarket for a little while after school then?” (Hansberry 32). By seeking to help out instead of sulking and by seeking to do what he can to contribute, Travis represents the heart that Mama is wishing to preserve in the family because no Dream is worth anything if there is no heart in it. Travis understands that his family is poor but he does not get angry about it or hold it against them. He loves them all the same and offers to make himself useful so that he himself can earn the money by carrying groceries for people. The child’s genuine good spirit contrasts with his father’s self-centered spirit and ambition to get rich quick.
Or to put it another way, the American Dream that Walter holds in his own heart is not good for the heart. As Brown puts it, the play is “based on an acceptance of the dream ideal—spiritual and material fulfillment in America—and, simultaneously, on a realistic recognition of those (like Walter Younger) whose dreams, or hopes, have dried up” (240). These dreams of Walter’s, however, do not stay all dried up—they just change. In the end, he realizes that what matters is family—not some better material existence. What matters is caring for others and putting one’s loved ones first. Mama’s purchase of the home with a portion of the inheritance represents the goodness and love of life that one must have if one is going to dream big. Mama does not want to see her daughter have an abortion and kill the life inside her—for the abortion would only bring regret and nightmares. Life has to be loved and nurtured—and a dream without that recognition is empty and hollow. Thus, the play seems to suggest that so long as the American Dream is rooted only in materialism, it is destined to be forever empty and hollow, just like Walter’s failed ambitions.
Still, it is Walter who makes the final important decision of the play: he learns the lesson that Mama has been trying to teach. The family’s decision to stay in the home rather than take the white man’s buyout to stay out of the white neighborhood indicates that the Dream has changed for Walter. He is no longer interested in putting money first. He is interested in doing what is best for his family. The buyout would give him the money he has dreamed of getting his hands on, but it would also mean that his Mama’s dream is dashed and that his family is without dignity, respect or a home. The buyout represents the racist culture and the people who feel threatened by a black family being in the same neighborhood. The buyout represents on the one hand the fraudulent American Dream of prosperity that comes at the cost of selling out one’s own soul. It represents the temptation to throw off the Dream of the Family, which is the real American Dream that matters most—because without the Dream of the Family, there is no America. Walter has learned from his earlier mistake in the play and is no longer willing to go on chasing the materialistic version of the American Dream. Instead, he will support and maintain his dear Mama’s dream, which is the dream of family—the better dream. Having lost one small fortune already on his ignorant get rich quick scheme, Walter is not going to repeat the same mistake twice. Thus, he places his family’s real, clear and obviously important interests ahead of his own materialistic desires. The Family Dream supersedes his earlier American Dream. He becomes the heart that is represented earlier in the play by his son Travis.
While it may seem confusing an contrary to the common perception of the American Dream that the play should end on seemingly ambivalent or ambiguous note, the reality is that the meaning is quite clear. The Youngers do not need to justify themselves to anyone. They do not need to beg or ask for inclusion. They do not need to represent themselves as victims. They make a decision and that decision is to have dignity and respect for themselves—and so they agree that they will do what is best for them and move in to the house.
Brown explains this transition in this manner: “The point is not that Lorraine Hansberry rejects integration or the economic and moral promise of the American dream, but that she remains loyal to this dream ideal while looking, realistically, at its corruption in the United States” (240). In other words, Hansberry does not permit her characters to be sucked downward into the hateful vortex of materialistic and ultimately empty ambitions. She permits Walter to deviate down that path—but she brings him back to the straight and narrow path that leads to the happier ending—an ending in which the family is all together, as one. As Matthews points out, it is not the ideal ending, perhaps—for there is still much work to be done in terms of integrating the family into the American community—but at least the family is still united. That is what matters for Mama, and Mama is the one with the right vision to guide the family forward.
Thus, the American Dream is manifested in different ways in the play and does not have to be considered as only appearing in one form. There is the materialistic form to be sure—and then there is the social form, in which the Youngers feel that they can live in a white community without being bothered: this is another type of Dream—not a bad one but somewhat of an unfortunately unrealistic one, given the nature of the era and the fact that Jim Crow culture was still very much alive at the time. The Dream of equality is manifested in this desire of the Youngers to live in the nice house in the nice community—and that side of the Dream is not grounded in materialism, the way Walter’s dream is earlier in the play. Instead, it is grounded simply in the desire to see the family live well and safely together in a home that has room for all.
In conclusion, Raisin in the Sun reflects a variety of different manifestations of the American Dream throughout the play. There is the American Dream of wealth and prosperity that Walter dreams of. There is the American Dream of family and safety and togetherness that Mama dreams of. There is the American Dream of heart and unity that Travis represents. And there is the Dream of inclusivity and equality that the move into the neighborhood represents. While the move does not go quite according to plan and there is some resistance in the form of the offered buyout, the move does go through and the Youngers learn that all these different manifestations of the American Dream are not going to happen all at once or even at all. Thus it is important to find the best Dream or the most important one and to fix on pursuing that one. The Dream that Mama identifies as most important is the dream of family—and Walter comes around to understanding the importance of this dream as well. It is the one that matters most if a family is going to make it in America.
Works Cited
Brown, Lloyd W. "Lorraine Hansberry as Ironist: A Reappraisal of A Raisin in the
Sun." Journal of Black Studies 4.3 (1974): 237-247.
Hansberry, Lorraine. Raisin in the Sun.
http://khdzamlit.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261956/a_raisin_in_the_sun_-_lorraine_hansberry.pdf
Matthews, Kristin L. "The Politics of “Home” in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the
Sun." Modern Drama 51.4 (2008): 556-578.
Washington, J. Charles. "A Raisin in the Sun revisited." Black American Literature
Forum. Vol. 22. No. 1. School of Education, Indiana State University, 1988.