Abeku Wie-addo

ENG 4C
Ms. Selvaggi
November 27, 2014

Analysis of dreams in Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun

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Dreams are undeniably a stage of unconsciousness. Our perceptions of dreams are
what are different. Many argue, dreams are a way for God to speak to us, others say
dreams are what you make of them. In literature today, a variety number of writers
intertwine dreams with their novels simply because its highly relatable. Lorainne
Hansberrys play A Raisin In The Sun illustrates the high influence of dreams. Many of the
characters within the play dream of prospering for oneself. For better or worse. The
theme of dreams in A Raisin In The Sun can be explored through the comparison and the
contrast of the dreams of idealistic characters, realistic characters, and the symbols of
dreams in the play.
Many of the characters in the play present themselves as idealistic characters. Two of
the many characters that make idealism clearly evident are Walter and Mr.Asagai. Walter
is categorized as an idealistic character for the reason of him dreaming big but not having
the work ethic to support it. You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventythousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be bout thirty thousand, see
(Hansberry, 33). Coming from the Southside of Chicago in a time like this, its out of the
ordinary for an African American male to speak of such huge numbers, making him an
idealistic character. From this quote the author also illustrates that Walter will try to make
something out nothing. The nothing being the money neither he nor his family has. Mr.
Asagai is another character who is presented as idealistic. Throughout the play he
constantly reminds the Younger family of the good things life has to offer; that theres a

better side to Southside. And it is very odd but those who see changes-who dream, who
will not give up-are called idealists and those who see only the circle we call them the
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realists! (Hansberry, 134). Just by explaining the difference between idealists and
realist, Asagai understands that hes an idealistic character because he basically describes
himself without him knowing it. With the absence of Asagai in the play the Younger
family would be lost in terms of looking at the bigger picture. Through Benethea, Asagai
teaches her things that matter the most in our world; love, culture and family. In
comparison of both characters they both will do whatever it takes to obtain their dreams.
In contrary, Walter is the selfish one of the two. Walter is willing to sacrifice his familys
insurance money for his selffishs reasons. On the other hand Asagai is willing to make
sacrifices for Benethea so her dream of being a doctor could flourish in Nigeria.
Realistic characters are often perceived as negative characters due to their inability to
see beyond whats in front of them. Two characters who fit in the category as realistic are
Ruth and Mama. Ruth continuously reminds the readers shes a realistic character by the
realness of her lines. Cause we dont have it (Hansberry, 30). Here Ruth reminds
Walter that they dont have money to be giving away simply because they dont have a
surplus of it. If Ruth were to be an idealistic character like Walter, there would be no sort
of direction within the household. Ruth can be considered as a second head for Walter.
She tends to pinch him back into reality whenever he gets out of hand with his dreams.
George M. is also a realistic character. George hasnt contributed much to the play but
remind Ruth how much she is to value the important things in life like Mr. Asagai and his

preaching about love and culture. Lets face it, baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch
of raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts (Hansberry, 81). Here, George is
completely crushing the influenced dreams of Bennie; showing his realism.
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George is unable to see the finer things of life but is stuck in the two dimensional mind
state hes in. Little does he know, he is slowly pushing away the girl of his dreams to
someone who values her inside and out. Its clear that the inability to think outside of the
expected damages you some way or another. In comparison to both realistic characters,
Ruth and George both share the characteristic of being aggressive. Aggressive in the
sense of crushing peoples dreams or making it hard for them to prosper. On the contrary,
both characters differ from one another when looking at why theyre realistic characters.
Ruths realism is beneficial because she tries to help Walter make wise decisions.
Georges realism is very deconstructive; putting people down every chance he can get.
Throughout the course of the play there has been many symbols showing their relevance
to dreams. Many of them, people neglect because theyre small, little do they know they
have a huge significance. One symbol that has a huge significance within the play is the
money. Mama and Walter have a disagreement on the importance of money which leads
Walter to say Because its life, Mama! (Hansberry, 74). Here, Walter passionately tries
to convince Mama that money is life. Its clear that money is a symbol due to the fact that
it takes over somebodys perspective, let alone his life. Money has changed the complete
atmosphere in the household since the Youngers have a couple of idealists present.
Another symbol in the play that people often neglect is Beneathas hair. Before Benteatha

makes the the table turning action of cutting her hair, she and Asagai speak about the
importance of natural beauty making him comfortable to say and is it ugly to you that
way? (Hansberry, 62). Her new, radical afro represents her embracing of her heritage.
Beneathas cutting of her hair is a very powerful social statement, as she symbolically
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declares that natural is beautiful. Beneatha opts for a style that enables her to more easily
reconcile her identity and her culture. Beneathas new hair is a symbol of her antiassimilationist beliefs as well as her desire to shape her identity by looking back to her
roots in Africa. However both of the symbols have a great affect on the characters within
the play, whether it is positive or negative.
In conclusion, A Raisin In The Sun can be explored through the comparison and the
contrast of the dreams of idealistic characters, realistic characters, and the symbols of
dreams in the play. By exploring the play, its understood that dreams affect many people
positively or negatively. Its clearly evident that dreams do take a toll on peoples train of
thought, later highly influencing their actions. A question that comes to mind is: where
will your dreams take you next?

Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin In The Sun. New York:
Random House,1959. Print