"MAMA: (Presently) Well-- (Tightly) Well-- son, I'm waiting to hear you say something... (She waits) I'm waiting to hear how you be your father's son. Be the man he was... (Pause. The silence shouts) your wife say she going to destroy your child. And I'm waiting to hear you talk like him and say we a people who give children life, not who destroys them--(She rises) I'm waiting to see you stand up and look like your daddy and say we done give up one baby to poverty and that we ain't going to give up nary another one... I'm waiting.
WALTER: Ruth-- (He can say nothing)" pg. 75
Even though the ending is good, its pretty horrible to watch this story unfold. To think that a married woman might have to consider an abortion out of sheer inability to afford another child is awful. When you're married, you're supposed to be able to have as many children as God gives you and live happily and comfortably with them, even if they give you strife sometimes. But that is not the case in A Raisin in the Sun. Instead, the adults in the house are all expected to put up a front that nothing is that wrong when they are around Travis, but they're all living with the burdens that a lower class life imposes on its subjects. While Ruth's struggle seems the worst, Beneatha and Walter have difficult lives as well. Both of them have a dream of being successful and it just so happens that their dream would mean the demise of the dream of the other. If Mama gives the money to Beneatha for her tuition, Walter won't be able to open the liquor store. If she gives the money to Walter, Beneatha probably won't be able to afford school and her dream of becoming a doctor will never be fulfilled. This story is pretty depressing when you get down to it. It kind of goes to show you how a hard life can make even members of the same family become enemies. Before they move into the new house at the end, all of the characters are basically walking on egg shells when in the presence of the other characters. Almost all discussions turn into fights. A story like this really makes you appreciate being able to afford little inconveniences and being able to solve your problems easily because its definitely not always as easy for everyone else.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
A Raisin in the Sun: The Generation Gap
"MAMA: Now--you say after me, in my mother's house there is still God." pg. 51
This play makes it very obvious that during the late '50s and early '60s there were a lot of changes in thinking that separated the younger people from the older, especially in African American culture. The older generation had depended so heavily upon religion to get themselves through times of strife and hardship. They had rode it out of slavery and into freedom and a new world. However, in these new times of higher education, philosophy, and free thinking, the younger generation who were going to college and realizing that they could form their own opinions had found religion and freedom were old ideals. They had instead turned their focus to reviving their culture, not depending on God for their success but themselves instead, and to attaining as much wealth as possible. In one instance in the story, Beneatha is finally fed up with her mother's constant thanks and praise to God that she finally just says it. She says that she does not believe in God and she's tired of Him getting all the credit for man's hard work. At this statement, Mama is so enraged that she just slaps her. While Beneatha thought her point was valid and reasonable, Mama could not understand how she could take something that had helped her so much in her life and been so important to her and throw it all away like that. The disagreement between Walter and Mama about the money is another example of how the younger and older generations were separated. Walter is so concerned with making more money. He supposes multiple business adventures and often verbalizes his dreams of making a better life for his family and being able to afford the things they want and need. After listening to his constant theorizing about how to make himself happier, Mama finally tells him that he is basically ungrateful. In her time, the main concern was triumphing over slavery and attaining freedom. Money didn't matter as long as they were free. But, in the new world, where African Americans had achieved that feat, it was no longer satisfying to live in the lower class, even if they were free. Money had become as important to them as it had been to white people for years.
This play makes it very obvious that during the late '50s and early '60s there were a lot of changes in thinking that separated the younger people from the older, especially in African American culture. The older generation had depended so heavily upon religion to get themselves through times of strife and hardship. They had rode it out of slavery and into freedom and a new world. However, in these new times of higher education, philosophy, and free thinking, the younger generation who were going to college and realizing that they could form their own opinions had found religion and freedom were old ideals. They had instead turned their focus to reviving their culture, not depending on God for their success but themselves instead, and to attaining as much wealth as possible. In one instance in the story, Beneatha is finally fed up with her mother's constant thanks and praise to God that she finally just says it. She says that she does not believe in God and she's tired of Him getting all the credit for man's hard work. At this statement, Mama is so enraged that she just slaps her. While Beneatha thought her point was valid and reasonable, Mama could not understand how she could take something that had helped her so much in her life and been so important to her and throw it all away like that. The disagreement between Walter and Mama about the money is another example of how the younger and older generations were separated. Walter is so concerned with making more money. He supposes multiple business adventures and often verbalizes his dreams of making a better life for his family and being able to afford the things they want and need. After listening to his constant theorizing about how to make himself happier, Mama finally tells him that he is basically ungrateful. In her time, the main concern was triumphing over slavery and attaining freedom. Money didn't matter as long as they were free. But, in the new world, where African Americans had achieved that feat, it was no longer satisfying to live in the lower class, even if they were free. Money had become as important to them as it had been to white people for years.
A Raisin In the Sun: The Prospect of a Better Life
"WALTER: ...Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs." pg. 33
The main story in the play, A Raisin in the Sun centers around a family who desires nothing more than a better life. While some of them have given up on this prospect, others are going out and searching for ways to make it happen. The two characters that stand out most in this outlook are Walter and Beneatha. At the beginning of the play, Walter has a normal job. It pays a small amount of money and doesn't satisfy his ambitious spirit. In one conversation with Ruth, he tells her about his plans to open up a liquor store with his friend Willy Harris. By her response of "Oh Walter Lee...", the audience can tell that it's not the first time some business venture like this has crossed his mind. And, he seems to have real faith in it too. But, it's easy for someone who feels so trapped in a hard life to have faith in anything but what they're doing. Walter's constant urging on his wife to consider his dream is just his own attempt to attain a better life. On the other hand, Beneatha is a black woman who has some rather unrealistic dreams for herself for the time period she is living in. It is evident that everyone in the family, whether they say it aloud or not, doubts her ability to be a successful doctor. Even though she has been quite studious and successful in school, it would be easy for the family to drop the extra expense that they see as going toward such an unprofitable venture. But, through Beneatha's complaints about the house and her thankfulness to her family that provides her tuition, it is easy to recognize her dedication to school and her dreams of becoming a doctor as a possible way to escape into a better life.
The main story in the play, A Raisin in the Sun centers around a family who desires nothing more than a better life. While some of them have given up on this prospect, others are going out and searching for ways to make it happen. The two characters that stand out most in this outlook are Walter and Beneatha. At the beginning of the play, Walter has a normal job. It pays a small amount of money and doesn't satisfy his ambitious spirit. In one conversation with Ruth, he tells her about his plans to open up a liquor store with his friend Willy Harris. By her response of "Oh Walter Lee...", the audience can tell that it's not the first time some business venture like this has crossed his mind. And, he seems to have real faith in it too. But, it's easy for someone who feels so trapped in a hard life to have faith in anything but what they're doing. Walter's constant urging on his wife to consider his dream is just his own attempt to attain a better life. On the other hand, Beneatha is a black woman who has some rather unrealistic dreams for herself for the time period she is living in. It is evident that everyone in the family, whether they say it aloud or not, doubts her ability to be a successful doctor. Even though she has been quite studious and successful in school, it would be easy for the family to drop the extra expense that they see as going toward such an unprofitable venture. But, through Beneatha's complaints about the house and her thankfulness to her family that provides her tuition, it is easy to recognize her dedication to school and her dreams of becoming a doctor as a possible way to escape into a better life.
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