A Raisin In The Sun Beneatha Character Analysis

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In the play, “A Raisin in the Sun”, by Lorraine Hansberry, each character represents the struggles black people and humans as a whole went through. A young adult struggling with her identity,
Beneatha is deciding whether or not she should stick to her African heritage or assimilate with the white people, like everyone else. Walter, her brother, is struggling to take the place of his deceased father and become the man of the house. Mama wants to support her children in their dreams, but does not want to go against her traditional morals and values. Ruth is trying to support her husband’s ideas for the use of the money and make Mama happy at the same time. Hansberry shows how the black people struggled in the 1950s and why it's important …show more content…
“I don't flit! I – I experiment with different forms of expression... People have to express themselves one way or another.” (22). Beneatha does not want the color of her skin and gender to stop her from pursuing her dreams, so she tries different activities like guitar and acting. Mama and the rest of her family don't understand the want to be different. They want her to marry George Murchison so she can finally have money and become a housewife. “Listen, I'm going to be a doctor. I'm not worrying about who I'm going to marry yet- if I ever get married.”(23). Beneatha wants to be a doctor and is not going to let anything hold her back. She does not want George for his money; she does not love him and he does not appreciate her for who she is. “Oh, don't be so proud of yourself, Bennie- just because you look eccentric” (48). Asagai wants to embrace what she loves and help her learn about her African heritage. By the way she fixes her hair, he recognizes she is struggling with her identity. He comments on it and she says, “I am not an assimilationist.” (33). Beneatha is in school to become a doctor and Asagai supports her and in the end decides to go back “home- to Africa” with him and embrace the struggle as a black person (91). He helps her see the struggle is worth it and encourages her to fight it with …show more content…
Blacks still struggle with racist comments and prejudices today but many improvements have been made since the 1950s. Asagai makes a statement about why it is important to struggle. It is important to struggle because it is human nature to and we discover the truth that way. He also asks, “What good is anything?” We give things purpose so we can fight for them and believe in them. That is what the characters in this play all did. They kept struggling and were rewarded with moving into a better house in a white neighborhood. The play does not go onto say what happens to them there, but at least we know they made it that far. Change is a scary thing but once we get past it we are
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