Dreams and Idealism in A Raisin in the Sun

Introduction: The Play's Premise and Context

If you have read many African American plays focused on racism and how it destroyed the spirits of Black people, then A Raisin in the Sun would offer a much-needed respite. The play does not delve into victimization and instead focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the Youngers — a Black family struggling desperately to keep hope alive while caught in financially difficult times during the 1950s. The epigraph of the play comes from one of Langston Hughes's most famous poems, "Montage of a Dream Deferred," and even the title is derived from it. This is because the play's theme resonates with the poem's central question about the significance of dreams: do dreams serve as aids in times of crisis, or do people surrender their aspirations when faced with insurmountable odds? This question serves as the basic premise of the play and is effectively answered by the author through her different characters.

Lorraine Hansberry's play offers an interesting and original view of Black life in the 1950s. However, it is not so much about the life of Black Americans broadly as it is about the life of one particular family. Race does not make as much of a difference as one might expect, since the family is driven by the same hopes and fears as any family would be. Yet the social environment cannot be ignored entirely. This was a time of extreme racial prejudice, segregation, and division. The predominantly white society was not willing to accept Black Americans as equals, and poverty had only acted as a catalyst in that division, keeping most Black families restricted to poor neighborhoods. One such family was the Youngers, who resided in a cramped apartment on the South Side of Chicago — but this family had dreams and pride.

The Younger Family's Dreams and Financial Crisis

The play is fundamentally about the strength of one's dreams. The Younger family decides not to surrender their dreams in the face of stiff odds, and this resolve is what carries them through. The play opens with the family's financial problems. They are expecting insurance money, and each member believes that his or her dream could come true with that sum of $10,000. Beneatha wants to attend medical school and feels she can use the money to get a quality education. Walter, on the other hand, wants to invest in a liquor store. Mama eventually decides that Walter should keep the money and spend it wisely, since he has endured many misfortunes in his life. While the rest of the family does not approve of this decision, there is little they can do, as Mama is willing to take the risk. Mama herself had long wanted a new house.

When Walter invests the money, however, his plans go disastrously wrong. The man he invested with absconds with the funds, and the family is left with nothing. Walter now experiences even greater embarrassment and shame. He has not only destroyed his own dream but has burned everyone else's dreams to ashes as well. This is an enormous burden to carry. While we may feel angry at Walter for devastating the family, we cannot help feeling sad for his own broken dreams. He had wanted a better future for his son Travis — he had promised Travis that they would one day own a Chrysler that is "elegant" rather than "flashy," and would employ a gardener. He also predicted that once Travis went to college, his father would "hand you the world!" (625).

References

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Signet, 1987.

Hansberry, Lorraine. "A Raisin in the Sun." Plays of Our Time. Random House, New York, 1967. pp. 540–635.