Morality and Race in A Streetcar Named Desire and a Raisin in the Sun - Assignment Example

A Streetcar Named Desire and a Raisin in the Sun A streetcar named Desire and A raisin in the sun are two of the greatest literary works produced by Tennessee Williams and Lorraine Hansberry, respectively. Both plays shed great light on familial values along with the existence of a fine line between dreams and fantasies that is told through the hardships faced by the protagonists. “A raisin in the sun” tells the story of an African American family that strives to stay together despite clashes between personal ambitions and racial discrimination. On the other hand, “A streetcar named Desire” is based on a woman named Blanche Dubois and her constant battles with reality and her over-dominant brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski. “A raisin in the sun” and “A streetcar named Desire” are both based familial strife but the messages and conflicts are essentially different and roots from diverse sources. For instance, in “A raisin in the sun” the author highlights the ordeal of an African American family that wishes to feel a part of the society by buying a bigger home in a White neighborhood with the insurance money that the family is supposed to receive after their father’s death. However, the eldest son Walter thinks that the money should be invested in a business venture such as Liquor store to double their money whereas, the sister wishes that her Mama will give pay her tuition to help her become a doctor. (Hansberry, 1959, Act 1. Scene 1) Whereas, “A streetcar named desire” evaluates an entirely different aspect of family that follows a woman named Blanche Dubois, who stays with her passive sister Stella and her brutish husband Stanley. “Home” is a recurrent motif in both the plays, though in the former plot the family yearns for a place of their own but, Blanche and Stella has lost theirs to foreclosed mortgage, but Stella is unaware of it; penniless, Blanche is forced to stay with her sister and brother-in-law, who comes from a less affluent background and hence, is the greatest source of strife between Blanche and Stanley from the first moment they lay eyes on each other. Stanley’s mistrust of Blanche is evident throughout the play and is confirmed when Blanche admits that she lost their homestead due mortgage settlement and it was not because of her sister. In this scenario, Blanche is not completely an innocent party or a victim but she reciprocates Stanley’s distaste with condescension and puts on a virtuous show in order to win favor of other men. Stanley is bent on discovering Blanche’s past and even goes on to read her personal mails in order to get to know her secrets. He believes the only way he can dominate and gain an upper hand over her sister-in-law is to find a way to malign and mortify her. (William, 1947, Scene 2) Unlike the patriarchal structure portrayed in Williams’ play, “A raisin in the sun” describes a unit that is headed by Mama; the matriarch, who is the main source of conflict in her family. She is the primary decision maker that causes her son to feel insecure and emasculated because he possesses no say in major family matters particularly the Insurance money that Mama wishes to use to buy a new house whereas, Walter wants to invest in a liquor store with her friends. This aspect is evident when Walter asks his wife Ruth to propose the idea of investing in a liquor store to Mama instead of talking to her himself. Mama is a nurturing character in the play but it is also hinted that she is a devout Christian because of which, her values and beliefs often come in direct conflict with her feminist and independent minded daughter Beneatha. She condemns Beneatha perceptions and beliefs about God, she often voices out her opinions that often gets her in trouble with Mama; in one scene Mama gets up and slaps Beneatha across the face for talking disrespectfully about God. Furthermore, Mama also begins to worry when Ruth is contemplating an abortion that is forbidden in Catholicism and as a result the conflicts are deepened. Stanley and Walter the two main male protagonists in the plays exhibit the same insensitive behavior towards the women in their household but Stanley’s character is way more intense and brutish. Walter on the other hand, is a misguided man who has the best of intention to care and provide for his family but his methods are often warped and things do not always go his way. Stanley Kowalski embodies animalism and narcissism in his personality that is ostensible with the kind of people he associates with. He dominates his wife both emotionally and physically but despite the abuse his control over Stella is overwhelming that has kept the marriage from falling apart but the turbulence in their marriage is intensified because of Blanche. However, unlike Walter his insensitivity stems from a superiority complex whereas, Walter is just busy thinking of ways through which he can easily make enough money that can solve all his problems and can give his family a better life. The women in his family, especially Mama do not agree with Walter’s idea and keeps on reiterating upon the importance of dreams and at least trying to make them come true. Mamas dream is to own a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood where her grandson Travis can play around and have the space that none of Mama’s children could have during their childhood. (Domina, 1998) Blanche on the other hand tries to persuade her sister into leaving her husband running away with Shep Huntleigh; one of Blanche’s former suitors who she believes will be able to help her and Stella out of their situation, if Stella is willing to leave her husband (William, 1947, Scene 4). Blanche has questionable morals when it comes to sex because having been cheated on by her husband with a man and his husband’s subsequent suicide left her with a void in her life. Her sexual liaisons with younger men were only a way to cope with the loneliness in her life and it in some way enabled to hold on to a semblance of youth and relive her younger years. The discovery of these actions not only strained her relationship with Mitch but even her sister to the point that her sister does not believe her when she tells her that Stanley had raped her. (Skiba, 2009, 9-13 & Williams, 1947, Scene 11) In the end Blanche loses her mind and is institutionalized but Stella still does not believe Blanche’s accusation. This aspect of the play actually depicts the helplessness of a woman when it comes to her husband. For Stella, Stanley was not only an emotional but a physical support as well and with her child it was not that she could not believe her sister in fact she would not believe her sister because that would put her marriage at stake. Whereas, in case of Mama’s family they each member set their differences aside and understand that every family has differences but if they learn to stick together they can overcome any problem they are faced with. In the end, Walter accepted his manhood and began shouldering all his responsibility and he only realized that once he was conned by his friends and only his family stood by him. Beneatha accepted herself as she was and with the help of her Nigerian boyfriend she started taking pride in her race and also finally starts to sort out her differences with her mother and everything ends with a happy note. Whereas, Tennessee Williams have tried to depict a darker side of human behavior and a man’s role in a household; it is the moral double standard of the characters that creates conflicts and clashes between people but Lorraine Hansberry depicted individual values, dreams and ambitions to gives rise to such clashes. (Hansberry, 1959, Act 3) In conclusion, both of the authors have raised crucial questions regarding one’s identity but both these questions are asked with regards to morality and race respectively. In the end survival is difficult but we all need to make compromises to achieve what we want; dreaming is a part of being human but one should not get deluded by these dreams and should not let them turn into fantasies that causes people to lose their grip on reality and personal independence is important for one to fulfill his or her ambitions. References: Domina, L. (1998). “Understanding A Raisin in the Sun: a student casebook to issues, sources and historical documents”. Greenwood publishing Hansberry, L. (1959). “A Raisin in the Sun”. Samuel French Inc Plays. Skiba, M. (2009). “The character of Blanche Dubois in A streetcar named Desire”. Grin Verlag: P.p 9-13 Williams, T. (1947). “A streetcar named Desire”. Signet, Paperback edition. Read More