A raisin in the sun - Essay Example

African-Americans suffered racial discrimination, which was present, since the times of slavery where they were subjected to inhumane acts by White people. The play, by Lorraine Hansberry, depicts the battles that African-Americans had to go through in the early 1900s in the fight for equality in society. Discrimination was promoted by White American supremacists who advocated for segregation of minority races in society. The black African-American population bore the greatest blunt of racial discrimination in the American society.

Segregation was effected in all sectors of life in schools, public transport, jobs and housing. The play highlights the Young family’s struggle with racial discrimination, and the hardship they went through for buying a house from a white man in a white neighbourhood. The play has a cast that is composed of Walter Lee who is unhappy with his current job and dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. He is a dreamer who believes that money can solve all of the family’s problems and buy them happiness.

Ruth is a character who is depicted battling poverty and domestic troubles frequently. She is also depicted as a peacemaker who is willing to do anything to protect her family. Beneatha is a character who displays feminist perspectives in the play. . She thinks that money is not something that makes a family happy. She is depicted as a nurturing mother and stands firm in her beliefs. As the head of the family, she demands that members of her family respect one another as well as take pride in their dreams.

Linder is the only white character in the play who acts as the representative for the white community. He goes to great lengths to keep black African-Americans out of the white neighbourhood. His actions are best depicted when he offers the Young family a deal to reconsider moving into his all-white neighbourhood. This shows his determination in ensuring that his neighbourhood is free from ‘blacks’ who are perceived as pariahs in society (Loos 213). The play addresses themes of the essence of dreams as a supposition that was famously proposed in a poem wrote by Langston Hughes.

He wrote about dreams that were neglected or postponed and ponders if those aspirations wither like raisins in the sun. This is illustrated by Walter’s desire to have money so that he can afford to cater for his family. The display of dreams and aspirations for a better life is not confined to one race, but it can be recognised in people of all backgrounds. The underlying motivation to yearn for a better life is universal irrespective of race, and it varies in different people. Walter’s notion of the American dream is the ideology of materialism which places much emphasis on the importance of money and the things it can acquire.

In play, Hansberry shows how Walter envies Charlie Atkin’s dry cleaning business because it makes an annual income of $100, 000. Walter is blinded by his desire to acquire riches and partners with people of questionable characters who end escaping with all of