The Raisin In The Sun - Research Paper Example

The original play tackles the transformational processes of the various challenges of an older generation of working destitute black Americans compared to a younger generation. The movie, thus, gives cultural insight of generational straggles between conservative forces (evil) and transformational forces (good). This paper will discuss how embodiments and characterizations of good and evil are represented in the script and the film. It will also provide arguments served by the films interpretations of these forces.

The paper will finally explore reviewer’s reactions to the film’s manifestations of good and evil arguments with regard to the films interpretations. The play tells a story of a younger family who lives in South Side, Chicago, in a crowded one-room apartment. The family is faced with a lot of antagonism with regard to how money inherited from Lena’s husband should be utilized by the family with each family member having a different proposal. For instance, Lena prefers using the money to buy a family house in the neighborhood; Walter Lee wants the same money to be given to him to start a business with his friends who are planning to open a liquor store which, he believes, will give him good returns.

Beneatha, on the other hand, hopes to be given the money to enable her pursue her education. The result of these forces pulling in different direction creates an awareness of conflict between the forces of good and evil among the play’s characters as each attempts to win the battle. The forces of sexism are very much evident in the film as portrayed by Walter Lee. He opens the play with a discussion with her wife, Ruth, arguing, “Black women are the most backward of all women in the world (Green 1).

” He says that this is due to the fact that they do not provide support to their fellow black men. This shows how male chauvinists expect to be given support and are looking down upon women. This also provides the supporting rhetoric for Water Lee as a patriarchal head of the family. This is an evil force that despises women in the society and feels that they are the voice of everything. In fact, the manner at which he calls these women looks like an abuse, especially calling them the most backward people in the world.

The film depicts Beneatha as a new black voice, an ambitious girl who aspires to become a doctor despite what the society perceives. She is influenced by new ideas which put her at cross roads between joining black bourgeois status and black poverty. In the film, Beneatha suffers a lot from patriarchy and sexism in her quest to achieve her dreams (Green 1). Her ambition and aspiration of becoming a doctor, not a nurse, confronts the limitations of psychology that sexist and racist society has for black women.

This puts her at loggerheads with adults who challenge her for conforming to their “beliefs” with regard to what role a woman play and how they are expected to behave (Poitier and McNeil 1). The question that may be asked is whether she is a feminist or not. However, throughout the film, she does not reveal any control over her own life since most of the time she depends on others for survival. In this case, Beneatha is depicted as a good character in the society with passion and aspiration to transform her life.

On the other hand, the adults who challenge her dream represent the evil forces, as they do not want to see her pursue her education. As the film begins,