Review of "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play that premiered in 1959 and tells the story of a family in the South Side of Chicago who financially struggles to support their family and emotionally struggles to defer their dreams. Anticipating a $10,000 check arriving for the family following their father’s death, the family plans what they will do with the large sum of money, and this decision is left to Mama, the “head of the family.” She uses the money to purchase a new house in Clybourne Park, and most of the novel centers around this decision.

Walter, Mama’s son, feels jealous and emasculated that his mother is responsible for their finances and serves the role of “head of the family.” Mama promised Walter when he was younger that he would become the “head of the family” when he grew older, but she still holds this title. Walter dreams of opening a liquor store and begs Mama to let him use some of the insurance money to help him do that. When Mama instead uses a large portion of the money to purchase the new house, Walter becomes even angrier and bitter about feeling powerless in this family– a power he thinks he should have as a man. His wife, Ruth, has to absorb and not react to his outbursts of rage; she keeps her strength. When Ruth becomes pregnant, she demonstrates her resilience and stability despite her husband’s and Beneatha’s criticism. Beneatha, the younger sibling, is ambitious-- simultaneously the most naive and the smartest. While Ruth keeps calm because she has been taught as a woman to restrain herself from expressing her genuine emotions, Beneatha expresses herself fully, even trying different hobbies and activities just for the sake of trying them. Beneatha wants more than what she has at home– she dreams of becoming a doctor and helping others. Ruth is happy with her life at home protecting the family and keeping them afloat. Mama is happy with just being alive and free. The generation difference between the characters causes their different personalities and desires. Although he is married to Ruth and of the same generation as her, Walter is more similar to Beneatha in his ambitiousness because he is a man. He uses his anger and rage to compensate for not having money, power, or much of a career.

Mama eventually gives Walter the remaining money from her husband’s insurance check after spending some of it on the house. Walter feels surprised and honored by this decision, but it gets to his head. In an attempt to invest his money into a liquor store, Walter gives it to a sketchy business dealer who steals it from the family. The loss in money causes a loss in the family’s hope for a better future. They no longer have the one thing that made everyone feel like they could escape their present situation. Mama could help care for the family more, Ruth could have money to look after her new baby, Walter could have money to buy a liquor company, and Beneatha could have the money to go to medical school– and it is all lost.

This play's devastating and hopeless tone adds to the characters’ desperation for a better life. The characters struggle together to create a better life for themselves, but nothing can be done with the money lost. While the characters may differ in desires, personalities, and ambitions, what the characters in A Raisin in the Sun all rely on is money.