A Raisin in the Sun Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A Raisin in the Sun - Essay Example Mr. Younger (Big Walter) and Mrs. Lena Younger had once dreamed of home ownership as she reveals to Ruth in Act I, scene 1: â€Å"We was goin’ to set away little by little and buy a little place out in Morgan Park. Had even picked out the house †¦ you should know all the dreams I had about buyin’ that house and fixin’ it up; makin’ me a little garden in the back †¦ And didn’t none of it never happen† (Hansberry 69). Lena and her husband soon discovered that there wasn’t anything left over each week to save. That Lena and Big Walter struggled their entire lives to provide shelter for their children and could never manage anything greater than the small two bedroom apartment that they â€Å"wasn’t planning on living here no more than a year† (Hansberry 44) indicates the struggle they had just to survive. Their inability to attain the house of their dreams was not the result of a lack of effort but instead the resu lt of a lack of opportunity. To buy the house now would simply ensure the family remains slaves to the house. Lena’s daughter, Beneatha, feels the money should be spent on her medical education. As a doctor, she is assured to make enough money to support the rest of the family while they seek their dreams. However, the medical profession was not an accepted occupation for a woman so Beneatha’s success was not guaranteed and the money would be wasted if she fails. Beneatha feels bounded by poverty and her gender as expressed to Joseph Asagai in Act I, scene 2. She tells him â€Å"Go ahead and laugh – but I’m not interested in being someone’s little episode in America† (Hansberry 92). Not only race but gender serves to bind her into a cultural definition she constantly struggles against. Walter, Lena’s son, feels the best way for him to help the family succeed is to go into business for himself as only entrepreneurs make any money. This is