Essay Sample on Dreams in A Raisin in the Sun

Do you want to have a successful life? Well following your dreams is the way to do that. Dreams are very important, they have many values and purposes. Throughout real life and the book “A Raisin in the Sun” dreams affect how we live in numerous ways. When we chase our dreams and are successful our life improves, but when we don’t our life can get worse. When we work hard for our dreams, the dream won’t be the only objective you complete, you become a better person on the way, and get better at many things. There is a value and purpose of dreams in the Raisin in the Sun as well as in today's society because dreams give your life purpose, dreams influence your life in a wide range of ways, and without dreams, your life doesn’t get anywhere.

Everyone has dreams and goals for themselves in life and a big part of obtaining your dream is having the motivation to work hard for it. If you don’t have motivation. For example, Olga Roman in “How to Find Motivation and Never Give up on Your dreams'' says,  “You feel motivated and excited when you just start with your goals.” When you have a dream and you start to work towards it, you are motivated to get that dream, and that motivation can spill over to other aspects in life, and you’ll be more motivated to do other things. (Roman) Plus having a dream isn’t just for adults, anyone can gain motivation and obtain their dream, which is stated in the article “Begin and End with a Dream” by the Legacy Project. (Legacy) This is also shown in the book “A Raisin in the Sun” because everyone in the Youngers' house has a dream, no matter their age. Travis has a dream of a bigger house with his own room, Bennie dreams of becoming a doctor, and Walter dreams of owning a liquor store. Although Travis might not be able to obtain his dream on his own he can still work towards his dream like everyone else is.  In addition, when you have the motivation to accomplish your dreams, you are a generally happy person. The article, by Fulford D, “Looking Forward with Optimism”, says that the sense of accomplishment we get from achieving our goals makes us feel positive and happier about the future. (Fulford) I feel that in life being happy is part of our purpose, so being motivated and accomplishing dreams and goals is important for our happiness. Similarly, in the book “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter is sad when Mama says she isn’t going to give him the money for his liquor store. Walter's dream is to have that liquor store, and getting the money is a part of that, so when Mama says she isn’t going to give him the money he gets upset. But later in the story when he gets some money for his liquor you can see his attitude switch and instantly become happy because one of the goals that would build up to getting the liquor store was accomplished. So from this, you can see that when you accomplish goals and dreams your attitude towards life gets better. 

If you have a dream and you accomplish that dream, that influences your life in many different ways. Whether it be you earn more money, you eat healthier or you simply feel better about yourself. A change you might experience from achieving your dream is that you become a better person. From the article “Why Goal setting will Change your life”, Jame Steele says “When we set goals and achieve them our passion and self-esteem are higher. This gives you a more positive outlook on life and the people around you. Your sense of purpose and control also grows.” Once you achieve your dream and or goals you just feel better about things. For example, you might be less stressed or just happy that you got your dream, so you look at the world differently. You look at it with more happiness than sadness, and it makes you feel good.(Steele)  This ties into the book “A Raisin in the Sun '' because Walter isn’t a bad guy but he isn’t the nicest person at the beginning of the book. But when Mama gives him the money, so he can buy the liquor store, he starts to look at the world differently and he feels like he is going to be able to start providing for his family, so he is feeling good about himself. Then Walter takes his wife out on a date, which furthermore shows that he is happy because his dream of owning a liquor store is falling into place. In addition dreams can influence how you are looked at from others, and they influence the real you. When you work towards your dreams it shows people what you are capable of, and how hard you are willing to work to get your dreams. The article “What Are Your Hopes and Dreams” by  Tuolumne County Educators states, “They’re(dreams) an expression of your potential and give voice to your talents.” As you work towards your dreams the talents you have show, and those talents are the real you. While working for your dream you’re showing people the real you, and that gains many people's respect(Tuolumne County Educators). This is shown in the book “A Raisin in the Sun”  when Mama buys the new house. She gains the respect of Ruth and Travis because she followed her dream of getting a better house. This action might have shown Travis even though there is discrimination he can follow his dreams like his grandma. Additionally, when you follow your dream it sets off a chain reaction of people wanting to follow their dreams because they saw you succeed in following your dreams. The article “11 Reasons Why it’s Important to Follow Your Dreams” by Catherine Alford, she says “If you decide to go and pursue your dreams, you will give hope to others who want to do the same. You can serve as their example and their reason why they should give it a try. You can help them, coach them, and encourage them to keep going.” This means that when you follow your dream, people will see that and want to follow their dreams. When one person follows their dream, people see that and want to succeed like them so they follow their dreams. Then another group of people see them and they want to work towards their dreams. With all those people working towards their dreams, it would influence so many people's lives, and make them better(Alford). There is a similar action in the book “A Raisin in the Sun” when walter talks about businessman 

When you have dreams your life changes and gets better in many ways, but what happens when you don’t have dreams? Without dreams, your life doesn’t go anywhere. First of all you aren’t successful in life without dreams. A Harvard business study for the article “What happens when you don’t set goals” by Tammy Guest, says “Only 14% of people actually set goals for themselves. That 14% is 10 times more likely to achieve a level of success than people who do not set goals. Out of that 14%, only 3% take the time to write them down. That 3% is 3 times more likely to be successful than those who didn’t write them down.” So when you don’t have a dream, everyone who has a dream and has written it down, has a 30% higher chance of being successful than you are(Guest). So without a goal you are already setting yourself up to not be successful in the future. Similarly in the book “A Raisin in the Sun” Walter has a goal, so he is ahead in that aspect, but he doesn’t write it down and really figure out the tiny details. If he would’ve done that he would’ve learned that maybe going into business with a bunch of dunks isn’t a good idea. Plus he would’ve figured out that maybe they should’ve tried to get their alcohol selling license the right way instead of taking a train to a guy who was going to sell it to them in a shady way. 

Conclusion: When you have dreams for your life, it has a purpose, dreams influence your life in a wide range of ways, but without dreams, your life doesn’t go anywhere, it just stays where it is, that is why there is a value and purpose of dreams in the Raisin in the Sun as well as in today's society. When you have dreams, you have objectives to fill your day with, and you are productive because you want to get to your dream. You are motivated to get things done throughout the day because you want that dream. Plus there isn’t a specific age you have to be to have a dream, anyone can have one and work towards it. Dreams also influence your life in a wide range of ways, you can become a better person, you also show people how hard you are willing to work to get your dreams. It shows people the real you, and what you're passionate about. When you don’t have dreams though, your life can’t get anywhere, and you aren't successful. In addition, you lack confidence when you don’t have dreams, your life doesn’t improve, and you personally don’t get better at anything. Dreams are important because they shape your future. If you follow your dreams and are successful your future will be bright. But if you don’t set any goals and dreams for yourself you can fall into a hole and it is hard to get out of that hole. If you work hard towards your dream, your life will change in many ways, and your dream won’t be the only objective you have earned. You will be a happier person, you will know who you are, and more importantly, you’ll have a good life.