Dreams and Goals in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
This essay examines how Lorraine Hansberry uses the contrasting dreams of three central characters in A Raisin in the Sun to explore themes of ambition, practicality, and personal growth. Lena's pragmatic desire for a family home, Beneatha's idealistic goal of becoming a doctor, and Walter's unfocused yearning for wealth each illustrate a different relationship between dreaming and doing. By comparing these characters, the essay argues that dreams are essential to personal success not simply because they are achieved, but because the pursuit of them builds character and reveals who people truly are.
- Introduction: Dreams as a Path to Self-Discovery: Thesis introducing three characters' contrasting dreams
- Lena's Dream: Practicality and Family: Lena's realistic goal of a family home
- Beneatha's Dream: Idealism and Purpose: Beneatha's noble pursuit of becoming a doctor
- Walter's Dream: Ambition Without a Plan: Walter's unfocused desire for wealth and quick schemes
- How Dreams Shape Character and Life: Dreams require vision and planning to succeed
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What makes this paper effective
- The essay uses a clear comparative structure, moving systematically through three characters whose contrasting approaches to dreaming illuminate the central argument.
- Direct quotations from the play are integrated to support claims about each character, grounding the analysis in textual evidence rather than plot summary alone.
- The thesis — that dreams matter because they build character, whether or not they are achieved — is stated early and returned to in the conclusion, giving the essay coherent shape.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates character-based literary analysis: each body paragraph is organized around a single character, identifies that character's dream, evaluates how they pursue it, and connects their approach back to the essay's central claim. This technique keeps the argument focused while allowing for meaningful comparison across paragraphs.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a thematic introduction that introduces all three characters and states the thesis. Three body paragraphs follow, each devoted to one character — Lena, Beneatha, and Walter — in descending order of practicality. A concluding paragraph synthesizes the comparisons and reinforces the argument that vision and planning are as important as the dream itself.
Introduction: Dreams as a Path to Self-Discovery
Dreams and goals make life worthwhile. Dreams help individuals discover who they are, and their achievement helps make the world go round. Yet achieving those dreams is not always easy, and this is something that Lorraine Hansberry explores in her play A Raisin in the Sun. The main characters in this play all have very different dreams and very different ideas about how to achieve them. Lena is practical in that she wants to use the insurance money to invest in something from which her family can benefit for many years. Beneatha is also realistic in that she knows if she ever stands a chance at becoming a doctor, she must complete college. Walter, on the other hand, is the least practical when it comes to his dreams. He only knows that he wants more money but has no plan to obtain it. He would rather jump from one ill-conceived scheme to another rather than reflect upon his goals and desires. These characters represent many of the people we know today — some are realistic and practical, while others simply have no vision. Through Lena, Beneatha, and Walter, Hansberry shows how dreams are significant to personal success, whether or not they are ever actually achieved, because they build character.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Vol. II. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company. pp. 2202–63.
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