Beneatha the Younger, one of the few characters presented in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, has a unique mind from every other character: she hungers for intellectualism and thirsts for uniqueness. Her struggles to achieve these desired characteristics embody the difficulties that ambitious women – real or fictional – also face. Beneatha shows her character through her actions in some parts of the play.
Beneatha possesses intellectual dreams, something women strive to pursue freely. In a conversation with Mama, a very religious woman, Beneatha asserts that she is satisfied with God and accepted the faith of mankind. She asserts that “God is not the only one moved – He is the only man and it is He who works miracles!” (Act 1, Sce 1). His emphasis on human endeavors suggests intellectual dreams of becoming a physician. His desire to be a doctor stems from a childhood incident where he noticed that a boy had his face cut open in a rock fall and appeared almost unharmed after being taken to hospital. Beneatha invests an incredible amount of energy towards her education, but the future loss of the insurance money means that she will have difficulty financing her college education. Thus his feelings of frustration and melancholy are apparent and understood.
Her individual dreams, another problem women face, are exemplified in an African tribe in a scene she shares with her brother Walter Lee. He sings phrases from African languages, and decides to have an afro natural African hairstyle. Her inability to conform to the role of a more stereotypical woman is also evident in her refusal to kiss George – a man who wants her to be “a pretty – simple – urbane girl… not a poet.” (Act 2, Scene 1.) Mama’s sudden compassionate behavior once Mama shows that she understands why she doesn’t want to have a relationship with George refers to her desire for uniqueness.
The intellectual and identity barriers women are trying to overcome face the same problems Beneatha the Younger faces in A Rasin in the Sun With confidence and pride, these problems can be overcome – it shows that all women can do the same!
Works cited:
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Westport, CT. 1959
