A Raisin in the Sun
Everyone in America wants to achieve some sort of financial success in their life. Sometimes living in a capitalistic society entices many to become too materialistic. Greed is the characteristic that many Americans then attain. This isall in pursuit of the American dream. For most Americans, this high status is very difficult to achieve. In Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman, we see howdifficult it was for Willy Loman and his sons to achieve this so called American dream, and these people were proud white Americans. In Lorraine Hansberry's ,A Raisin in the Son, she examines an African-American's family's struggle to break out of the poverty that is preventing them from achieving some sort of financial stability, or the American Dream. It focuses on Walter's attempt in "making it," or "being somebody." She also analyzes how race prejudice and economic insecurity affect a black mans role in his own family, his ability to provide, and his identity. What Hansberry is trying to !illustrate is how Western civilization has conditioned society to have materialistic aspirations and how these ideals corrupt the black man's identity and his family. Many black men have to deal with a systematic racism that effects their role in society.
Joyce, James. "Eveline." Literature and the Writing Process Elizabeth MacMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. 4-6. a link to their African antiquity. This is illustrated when Asagai gives Beneatha a robe and some records from his native land. He was giving Beneatha a representation of her African heritage, that she so desperately wants to know. She makes this effort so that she can find her identity. Of everyone in the family Beneatha is the only person that has a strong sense of racial pride and she makes an attempt to steep her self in the culture of her forbears. Asagai trys to enlighten Beneatha about her African roots. For example he indicates to her that straightening her hair is unnatural and he also considers it "mutilation".(64) Asagai believes that she should be proud of her afrocentricity, but he blames this hair processing on assimilation, which is so popular in America. Sharply, Beneatha replies that she is "not an assimilationist." Neverless Asagai symbolizes the substance of character that Walter will never know, and what George wants to reject; Africa. Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature and the Writing Process Elizabeth MacMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. 61-66. He longs for the socioeconomic advantages of the affluent people and assimilates to their ideas and this is what has warped Walter Younger. h his materialistic attitude and his educational supremacy. When Ruth asks George what time is the show, he doesn't simply just answer with the time. Since he is so narrowly concerned with scholarly matters he replies, "It's an eight thirty curtain. That's just Chicago, though. In New York standard curtain is eight forty".(82) This attitude is also evident when George calls Walter "Prometheus"(86). Goerge is cognizant of Walter's limited education and is aware that Walter wouldn't know who Prometheus was. It's an insult to Walter's intelligence, and unfortunately George's education creates a barrier between him and his community (black folks). George's behavior reveals his insecurities and inability's as a black man in AmeriKKKa, or he wouldn't have to denigrate members of his own race. Unlike Walter and George, Asagai doesn't have any American Dreams. He knows exactly who he is; an Afrikan studying in Canada, visiting America. Black Americans could perhaps think of Asagai as ! Steinbeck, John. "The Chrysanthemums." Literature and the Writing Process Elizabeth MacMahan, Susan X
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1721
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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