A Raisin in the Sun Theme Analysis Essay Example

The suffocating desire to be financially stable, nevertheless the inability to pursue dreams due to finance, mixing with fear inflicted by a world of ever-evolving obstacles creates a dark cloud above any person encumbered with poverty. Tack that onto fearing a society that denies simple human rights solely because of the amount of melanin in their cells, and hurdles take shape beyond the comprehension of most. To expand on such a thought, and to introduce some critical ideas, a theatrical piece was created. A Raisin in the Sun is a fictional representation of a black family struggling to thrive in a ghetto part of Chicago, demonstrated through a play written by Lorraine Hansberry and directed by Daniel Petrie. Hansberry uses this narrative to illustrate the theme that it is important to fight for healthy values and ideals. This concept is shown throughout the text via the display of the benefits caused by fighting for one’s positively influenced values which include helping to maintain healthy relationships and aiding overall stability. She also draws notice to consequences derived from chasing damaging ideals.

The author introduces the relationship benefits of healthy moral values to exhibit how such values are important to fight for. The suggestion that working toward healthy values improves relationships is implemented in Act 2 scene ii when mama decides to entrust the excess money with Walter as a test. She said “Monday morning I want you to take this money and take three thousand dollars and put it in a savings account for Beneatha’s medical schooling. The rest you put in a checking account—with your name on it”(107). Even after Walter argued with her about how the money should be used for a long time before it came, Mama’s values allowed her to give such a generous and risky amount of money to her son as a display of love, while making sure the other family members were taken care of. Walter was thrilled and all of this improved Mama’s relationship with her family due to her humble perspective, the author uses this to further illuminate the idea that fighting for good moral values positively impacts relationships. Another instance of this is shown after Walter loses the money and his sister Beneatha becomes enraged. After complaining, Beneatha tells mama,  “Love him? There is nothing left to love”, to which mama responds “There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing”(144). Despite the loss of the moneybeing disappointing every party involved, mama raised her children to strive on positive principles. She keeps the family together through these values and reiterates how they should act to one another even when things get hard. This is important to include because it’s a shining example of the relationship benefits of acting on positive tenets. It speaks to the concept that everyone should fight for healthy morals throughout the trials of life.

Furthermore, Hansberry uses instances of improved overall stability to support the idea that enduring life with healthy values and ideals is imperative. An instance of this is the reveal of Mama’s main motive for buying the new house. She says to her grandson Travis, “[I] went out and [I] bought you a house! You glad about the house? It’s going to be yours when you get to be a man”, to which he replies “Yeah—I always wanted to live in a house.”(92). This shows mama’s base of reasoning for buying the house, she wants her grandchildren to have the life her son craves so deeply. So instead of taking a vacation or buying something for herself, mama makes the decision to supply her family with what will give them the greatest chance of success. It greatly improves their chances of sustaining any composure.  This is used to express how fighting for the right ideals will improve overall stability. It pushes the point that life often requires stability within one’s self, because when the world crumbles around you (like her children fighting and everyone having these high monetary expectations), you are sometimes your only resource. It shows that this kind of stability comes from practicing sturdy moral values, as Mama demonstrates. Another sample of this theme in the text is “And perhaps … perhaps I will be a great man … I mean perhaps I will hold on to the substance of truth and find my way always with the right course…”(135), spoken by one of Beneatha’s suitors, Joseph Asagai. After Beneatha torments her family with words of hatred for her brother for stealing her dream, Asagai virtually tells her that if she can’t fight for herself then she’s a lost cause. He points out that she didn’t earn the money so she has no reason to be upset, and states that he wants to live a life to be proud of, one of good moral code. This snippet was introduced by the author specifically to alter the perspective on how a person’s ability to thrive on healthy principles impacts their overall stability. While Beneatha is strong and independent, she is naive and Asagai is used as an example to prove moral intent changes everything about someone’s situation. 

 Hansberry conveys once more the idea that healthy ideals are imperative to fight for, by displaying the negative effects of poorly influenced values. An instance of this is in Act 2 scene iii, when Mr. Linder from the neighborhood welcoming committee goes to the Younger’s new house, offering to pay them to leave. The reason he gives for such an insulting offer is “... It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities”(118). Put simply, Mr. Lindner claims that everyone in the neighborhood including the newcomers would just be happier if colored folk would stay in black communities, to which the head of the house Walter kicked Mr. Lindner out. By inserting such a bold act, the author displays how being taught to act on values founded on fear is unhealthy, and harms the healthy ideals of other people. The Younger family’s reaction is valid and Hansberry uses this to emphasize the damaging effects of unhealthy principles, pushing the point that healthy values are important to strive for. Another exhibition of the consequences of fighting for unhealthy ideals is shown in Act 1 scene i of the film when a police officer confronts Walter and Bobo for parking in the street. While Walter says “yes sir”, and goes to move his vehicle, Bobo says “but we’ve only been parked a few minutes”, to which the police officer writes him a ticket. Had a white man argued his parking was reasonable, it’s implied he would likely not have received a ticket. It also emphasizes that many white folks hate black people standing up for themselves, which is an example of the negative effects of unhealthy values on other people. This sample of the narrative was included by Hansberry to further illustrate the negative impact of being raised to act on unhealthy morals such as always treating people with one skin color worse than those of a variant hue. 

In essence, the author does an incredible job of conveying the theme that it is essential to live by healthy moral principles. She does this by showcasing the benefits of fighting for such codes through positively impacted relationships and better overall stability, as well as conveying the pessimistic effects of attempting to thrive on unhealthy and negatively influenced values. These ideas are used to further the concept that societal norms including but not limited to racism can damage the people of a society, and that the extent to which one acts on their moral code dictates the success of their ability to conquer obstacles. These tools are used to bring the audience to the conclusion that it’s important to fight for what they believe in as long as it is derived from a positive influence, and perhaps compel them to act on such a revelation.