In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, four major characters struggle to hang onto their quest for the American Dream. Cramped in an apartment in the slums of Southside Chicago, the Younger family have discovered that the idea that hard work will purchase a house, a safe neighborhood, and a future for their children, is not working. Despite their perseverance as domestics or as a chauffeur, their chance for growth seems as dismal as the only natural light which "fights its way through" a single window in the kitchen(Hansberry 24). The author uses Langston Hughes' poem "A Dream Deferred" as a preface for her play. It captures the effect of each character's battle wit the dreams held up too long.

             In the first line of Langston Hughes' poem, it asks the question, "What happens to a dream deferred?" In A Raisin in the Sun, Mama's dream was to be able to move into a bigger apartment or house to fit the needs of herself as well as the rest of her family members. Her dream is deferred, and denied, as she faces many obstacles on her way to accomplishing that dream. She also wants to put her husband's money to good use and spend it wisely so that it will benefit her children and allow them to develop dreams of their own:.

             I remember just as well the day me and Big Walter moved in here. Hadn't been married but two weeks, and wasn't planning on living here no more than a year. We was going to set away little by little. and buy a little place out in Morgan Park. We had even picked out the house. (44).

             Throughout the story, Mama's only ambition was to do everything in her power to insure that her family will have everything they need to live a happy and meaningful life.

             In the second and third line of the poem, "does it dry up like a raisin in the sun," relates to mama because her dream dries up. Throughout the story, Walter shows his immaturity and selfishness, which is the result of the destruction of Mama's dream.