A Raisin in the Sun

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The title of the play references a conjecture that Langston Hughes famously posed in a poem he wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off. He wonders whether those dreams shrivel up “like a raisin in the sun.” (Hansberry) Every member of the Younger family has a separate, individual dream—Beneatha wants to become a doctor, for example, and Walter wants to have money so that he can afford things for his family. The Youngers struggle to attain these dreams throughout the play, and much of their happiness and depression is directly related to their attainment of, or failure to attain, these dreams. The quote, “Walter: [W]e have decided to move into our house because my father—my father—he earned it for us brick by brick. We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that’s all we got to say about that. We don’t want your money.” (Hansberry) shows how by the end of the play, they learn that the dream of a house is the most important dream because it unites the family. Regardless of everyone’s desire to spend the money on something differently, they come to realize that there’s nothing more important than a house that symbolized a United family.

At end of the play, the family realizes that regardless of their social background and race, the only goal that really mattered at the end of the day was the goal of being able to maintain a close family. The Youngers struggle socially and economically throughout the play but come together in the end and realize that their dream of buying a house was the most important. Mama strongly believed in the importance of family, and she tried to teach this value to her family as she struggles to keep them together. Walter and Beneatha learn this lesson about family at the end of the play, when Walter must deal with the loss of the stolen insurance money and Beneatha denies Walter as a brother. Even facing such trauma, they come together to reject Mr. Lindner’s racist overtures. They are still strong individuals, but they are now individuals who function as part of a family. When they begin to put the family and the family’s wishes before their own, they merge their individual dreams with the family’s overarching dream.

In conclusion, regardless of the circumstances that the Younger had to suffer through, they were able to realize the true value of a dream. Dreams could turn into nightmares, but as long as you realize that the most important goal in life was to maintain a United family, no money mattered.