A Raisin in The Sun - Desires

             Some critics of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun have said, "The members of the Younger family have unrealistic and unattainable dreams." This is quite an accurate statement about these characters. Hansberry's views shown in this play were radical at the time it was produced; therefore, the characters had dreams that were unattainable during that time.
             A Raisin in the Sun is set in the 1950s, which is essential to the argument that the main characters of this play have hopes and dreams that they cannot realistically attain. Walter Lee's desire to own a liquor store is quite a lofty vision for the times, since African-American people had almost no rights because of the separatism that existed during most of the 1950s. Even if he managed to own a liquor store, it would most likely not be successful and be plagued by a seemingly endless onslaught of race-related vandalism. The Younger family would also face this problem if they moved into the predominantly white neighborhood as Mama desired. Karl Linder serves to show that the community felt the same about the Youngers as most Caucasians during 1950s did. Of all the Younger family members with delusions of grandeur, Beneatha is by far the most naive. In the middle of the twentieth century, it was still unheard of for a woman to be a doctor, let alone an African-American woman. All the family member's dreams were all quite ahead of their times, and if the play took place at least ten years later, they would not be so far-fetched.
             Hansberry succeeded in writing a revolutionary portrayal of an African-American family, and helped start the wheels of change. At the time, the aspirations of the Younger family were unattainable, but when the audiences saw this, it probably inspired them to make the changes necessary so these characters could be happy. For this, Americans should thank Hansberry, and look at the idealistic dreams in a more positive light.
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