The Role of Gender and Race in Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hensberry Essay Example

that keep her eyes lit and full of interest and expectancy.

She is, in a word, a beautiful woman. Her bearing is perhaps most like the noble bearing of the women of the Hereros of Southwest Africa - rather as if she imagines that as she walks she still bears a basket or a vessel upon her head" Act 1, Scene 1, pg. 22. The strength of women is shown very well through other female protagonists in the play. Ruth is depicted as a woman who puts the family on the top of her interests just like Lena. She can sacrifice all of her needs and desires for the sake of the family.

When Ruth gets pregnant, she cares about the family and intends to make an abortion because she thinks her child might prevent the rest of the family from living happily. Beneatha is also described as a firm character because her greatest goal in life is becoming a professional, she wants to treat people and puts all of her efforts in achieving her goals. Even though she at times appears a little selfish and argues with Lena for the fate of the check because she needs to get money for her further education, this motive is dictated only by her desire to study.

She is extremely interested in all the classes and she is dreaming of becoming a very skilled doctor. Even though Beneatha can have a very prosperous future with George Murchison, she prefers to give him up for the man who she is really attracted to because he shares all of her values. This step requires a great strength of character but Beneatha performs

it because she can never betray her principles. With the female images in the play, the author emphasizes on the idea that women are capable of achieving lots of things and in some situations in life they can act with much more wisdom and strength than men.

Lena’s son Walter Lee is a complete opposite to all the female characters in the novel and his weaknesses make a great contrast in the play. Unlike the female characters who place the happiness of the family on the top of their goals, he appears to be a very selfish person who cares only about opening a liquor store. He has no pride of his race and believes that his wife and mother do not give him any credit or support, and that they are holding him back. Lena doesn’t understand how such a person could be brought up by her: "Something has changed.

You something new, boy. In my time we was worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if we could and how to stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too... Now here come you and Beneatha - talking 'bout things we ain't never even thought about hardly, me and your daddy. You ain't satisfied or proud of nothing we done. I mean that you had a home; that we kept you out of trouble till you was grown; that you don't have to ride to work on the back of nobody's streetcar - You my children - but how different we done become.

Act 1, Scene 2, pg. 62 Money rules Walter’s world and she doesn’t care what price he has to

pay for getting the money, he finds it normal even to sell alcohol in order to earn a good fortune. His attitude towards the family is shown in the very beginning of the play when before any normal, daily conversation can begin, Walter was asking about the mail. "Check coming today? " Act 1, Scene 1, pg. 6. Only at the very end of the novel Walter realizes that money doesn’t rule the world and one always has to care about his family in the first place.

The culmination of the novel occurs when Walter has a choice of either getting the money from Karl Lindner and destroy all the hopes for a happy future, or remember he is a man with pride who has to do everything to help his family. Walter finally comes to the decision that he cannot sell his family’s honor for money and he refuses which marks the beginning of the happy future for the family. Walter’s deed so much amazes everybody that Mama tells Ruth at once, "He finally came into his manhood today, didn't he? Kind of like a rainbow after the rain... "

Act 3, pg. 141. The topic of racism is also clearly depicted in the play and shows the author’s pride of her own race. Lena doesn’t regard her family as people of a lower society, therefore she decides that they can move into the neighborhood where only white people live and enjoy the benefits which they get. Beneatha believes that there is nothing more important for a person than knowing his roots, so she is very proud of her origin and very attracted to Joseph Asagai who

totally supports her values.

They both believe that assimilation is not a beneficial for her race because they should never forget their customs and traditions. Asagai says that “…assimilationism is so popular in your country. " Act 1, Scene 2, pg. 48. By introducing George Murchison into the play, the author makes an attempt to show that it’s not the race which shapes the difference between people but their outlook and values.

Even though George Murchison is black, he has very low morals, all the money which his family owns doesn’t give him any intelligence or high values and he even studies only in order to get a diploma. Even though Beneatha has the same color of skin with him, she feels how different they are, just like they can be different from white people who share the same values with George Murchison: "The Murchisons are honest-to-God-real-live-rich-colored people, and the only people in the world who are more snobbish than rich white people are rich colored people. I thought everybody knew that. "

Act 1, Scene 1, pg. 34. In the attempt to reflect the conflicts which racism causes, the play depicts the situation when Karl Lindner expresses his dissatisfaction that there are going to be black people living in his neighborhood and does his best to scare them away from the neighborhood. However, by refusing to take the money from him, the Younger family shows the strength of their characters and appears to be at a so much higher level of values than Karl Lindner is.

They realize that they can have all the blessings in the world because they have self-esteem and will never let anybody stand in

their way to achieve their goals. The end of the play shows that victory of high morals and strength over the human weaknesses and thus creates the prospects of a happy future. All contradictions have been overcome, so all the members of the family can finally put their mind at ease. The dreams of the family are going to come true and will never dry in the sun like a raisin. On the contrary, all the hopes are transforming into juicy grapes and shaping further prosperity of the Younger family.