“A Raisin in The Sun” Withering Dreams

In “A Raisin in the Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry, dreams are a large part of the theme of the story. Almost every character in the play has one. Dreams are great things, but unfortunately with growth, dreams fade, and everyone has to experience it.

First, readers see Walter’s dream wither away. Before readers see it fade though, they have to see it grow. Walter dreams of being financially stable, enough so that he can support and allow his family to survive and thrive, and do what they wish. He seems to try hard to achieve that dream of his, but instead he falls short of it due to the fact that the money he out into his business got stolen. In the play, most characters felt like that even though he didn’t achieve his dream in that way, he achieved something just a good. That is his pride, work and humanity. Mama says Walter, “finally came into manhood” (Hansberry ). He ended up instead being proud of his family, rather than wanting a ton of money

Next, readers see Beneatha and her dreams. Beneath dreams of becoming a doctor and getting the equality for her and people like her. For the majority of the play, she seems to be achieving her dream, but unfortunately, just like her brother’s, it gets deferred. Her dream of becoming a doctor at that exact time got pushed back because of the loss of the money. Secondly, her dream for equality, specifically for her race as well as gender, got pushed back because women in that time period were meant to build a home, not a career like Beneatha wanted. She believed her dream got deferred when she was born the way she was, a colored female.

Lastly, readers see Mama’s dream. Mama’s dream was to move her whole family out of the small apartment they shared, into a new home that included a yard and garden. Her dream was deferred when the family first moved into the apartment. It continued while her and Mr. Younger couldn’t make enough money to move out. Fortunately, as well as unfortunately, Mr. Youngers death provided them with enough money to move out, and they did. In the end, Mama’s dream ended up being fulfilled, it was just after a lot of pushing back.

To conclude, anyone can see that “A Raisin in the Sun,” was a story full of dreams. Some dreams that got achieved and some that didn’t. As silly as it is to keep pushing your dreams back, it is more important that you eventually achieve the. Luckily, it seems like most characters eventually did reach the dreams!

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