Lorraine Hansberry’s play, “A Raisin in the Sun”, is about an African American family, the Youngers, who are surrounded by poverty, racism, and family conflict. The Youngers aspire to give themselves a better life to ultimately pass that down to future generations. Their conflict comes into play when the family receives an insurance check for $10,000 and has split decisions on what to do with it. Hansberry’s play suggests that poverty is a symptom of racism by using characters that seem to be of the typical racial stereotypes, and a setting surrounded by racial concepts. This play uses the racial stereotypes of a mammy, jezebel, profligate as well as the racial concepts of institutionalized racism, internalized racism, intraracial racism, and
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Mama is the mother of Walter and Beneatha, and acts as our racial stereotype of the mammy. She is the caregiver of the family and suits that role, but how Mama strays away from the mammy role is with her double consciousness. Hansberry writes Mamas stage directions to portray her double consciousness, “Still ignoring him and leaning on the table and changing to more comfortable shoes.” This illustrates her double consciousness because she has just come home from buying a house in a white neighborhood, dressed up to fit in to avoid the racism and show them that she can be like them even though she is black, but once she gets home she transitions into herself again (1542). Although Mama is the caregiver, she is independent and does what she thinks is going to best suit her future generations. Bennie is a young and beautiful African American women who is currently seeing two men, this description is what would classify her as the jezebel however, Bennie is also intelligent, fierce, and strong willed. Those characteristics of her make her not the jezebel. Bennie wants to use the money to go to medical school, and throughout the play she realizes she wants to get more in touch with her African American background. The two men Bennie sees are complete opposites. George is an upper-middle class man who could give Bennie a wealthy life similar to the …show more content…
After being approached by institutionalized racism through Karl Linder, a man from the community where their new home resides, who tries to bribe the Youngers to not live in their community because of their color, the family seems to have become closer in their relationships with one another. Even when Karl Linder threatens them if they choose to move in, the Youngers stick together in their decision to face this racist community for the good of their future generations. As Mama says, “I am afraid you don 't understand. My son said we was going to move and there ain 't nothing left for me to say (briskly). You know how these young folks is nowadays, mister. Can 't do a thing with 'em! (As he opens his mouth, she rises.) Goodbye.” This quote portrays the support and leadership Mama is finally giving Walter, making him more of the patriarch. (1573) Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun”, portrays an African American family who aspires to make their lives better in order to help their future generations even though they are in the midst of poverty, racism, and family conflict. After struggling through the racial stereotypes of the profligate, mammy, and jezebel, as well as racial concepts such as such as internalized racism, intraracial racism, institutionalized racism, and double consciousness, the family grew closer together along with each developing their own independence,
Mama is the mother of Walter and Beneatha, and acts as our racial stereotype of the mammy. She is the caregiver of the family and suits that role, but how Mama strays away from the mammy role is with her double consciousness. Hansberry writes Mamas stage directions to portray her double consciousness, “Still ignoring him and leaning on the table and changing to more comfortable shoes.” This illustrates her double consciousness because she has just come home from buying a house in a white neighborhood, dressed up to fit in to avoid the racism and show them that she can be like them even though she is black, but once she gets home she transitions into herself again (1542). Although Mama is the caregiver, she is independent and does what she thinks is going to best suit her future generations. Bennie is a young and beautiful African American women who is currently seeing two men, this description is what would classify her as the jezebel however, Bennie is also intelligent, fierce, and strong willed. Those characteristics of her make her not the jezebel. Bennie wants to use the money to go to medical school, and throughout the play she realizes she wants to get more in touch with her African American background. The two men Bennie sees are complete opposites. George is an upper-middle class man who could give Bennie a wealthy life similar to the …show more content…
After being approached by institutionalized racism through Karl Linder, a man from the community where their new home resides, who tries to bribe the Youngers to not live in their community because of their color, the family seems to have become closer in their relationships with one another. Even when Karl Linder threatens them if they choose to move in, the Youngers stick together in their decision to face this racist community for the good of their future generations. As Mama says, “I am afraid you don 't understand. My son said we was going to move and there ain 't nothing left for me to say (briskly). You know how these young folks is nowadays, mister. Can 't do a thing with 'em! (As he opens his mouth, she rises.) Goodbye.” This quote portrays the support and leadership Mama is finally giving Walter, making him more of the patriarch. (1573) Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun”, portrays an African American family who aspires to make their lives better in order to help their future generations even though they are in the midst of poverty, racism, and family conflict. After struggling through the racial stereotypes of the profligate, mammy, and jezebel, as well as racial concepts such as such as internalized racism, intraracial racism, institutionalized racism, and double consciousness, the family grew closer together along with each developing their own independence,