Giomar J. Rivera Mr.

Brennan College English Language 1 February-25-2013 The American Dream Introduction The American Dream is represented in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. In Chicago of the year 1959 a family known as the Younger family each had their own perspectives of the American Dream. They each wanted something. For example the character Walter Youngers perspective of the American Dream is money. He wants to open his very own liquor store. His dream however deferred. He trusts someone else with his money and as a result he loses it. This connects with the poem by Langston Hughes, A Dream Deferred because many of the characters suffer the pain of having their dreams deferred. What is the American Dream? The American Dream is different according to peoples opinions. In the story A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the character Walter believes that money defines the American Dream. His father Big Walter however believes that the American Dream is about freedom. The American Dream is obtainable if you work hard enough for it. You cant just sit down and wait for things to happen because nothing will be accomplished. You have to make things happen. In the expert The American Dream and the Public Schools by Jennifer

Hochschild and Nathan Scovronick it says individual success and collective good of all. This shows that it is obtainable to everybody. What happens to a dream deferred? When a dream is deferred it is crushed. When external facts keep us from achieving our dreams the consequences are lost hope. We lose all of our hope. We just give up. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the character Benetha wanted to be a doctor. She lost hope when Walter gave away her medical school money. A person can react in many ways to this. In the book A Raisin in the Sun Mama reacted very physical when her dream deferred. We can react with frustration. Which is most common or we can move on. We do end up giving up on our aspirations. The significance of the title A Raisin in the Sun is that its an alliterary allusion to the poem A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes. Or does it explode is a metaphor that represents the character Mama. In page 129 of A Raisin in the Sun it says Mama stops and looks at her son without reorganization and then, quite without thinking about it, starts to beat him. Here Mama explodes and beats Walter. Or fester like a sore( A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes) is another simile that represents the character Mr. Lindner. On page 116 of A Raisin in the Sun it says I am sure you people must be aware of some of the incidents that have happened in various parts of the city when colored people have moved into certain areas. This shows that Mr.Lindner is festering the Younger family with his way of words. The poem A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes says Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Things you do and choices you make can cause the load to increase which keeps you farther from your dream. Some factors that force us to defer our dreams are racial oppression and gender inequality. The character Benetha had to deal with gender inequality in her dream of becoming a

doctor. In page 38 of the book A Raisin in the Sun it says If you so crazy bout messing round with sick people-then go be a nurse like other women-or just get married and be quiet.... This quote was said by Walter. As you can see women had to deal with inequality. The Younger family had to deal with racial oppression. In page 116 of A Raisin in the Sun it says I am sure you people must be aware of some of the incidents that have happened in various parts of the city when colored people have moved into certain areas. This shows that the family had to deal with rejection because of their race. These issues can serve as barriers today but they are not as common. Back then it was very common for women and for black people to be treated like this. It is much different now. Or fester like a sore exemplifies barriers today. Money is a barrier in our lives now. Not having the amount we want festers us like a sore. Hope is something that keeps our heads up in times of desperation. To make our dreams a reality hope keeps us from giving up. Hope motivates us to move on and keeps our heads up. Or crust and sugar over--like a syrupy sweet exemplifies hope because its good and can also be bad. In conclusion the American Dream is represented in the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The Younger Family in the year of 1959 in Chicago each struggle to pursue their dreams. The character Walter wants to open a liquor store. Benetha wants to go to medical school and become a doctor. Lastly Mama wants the family to be happy. The family each had their own perspective of what the American Dream is. It is obtainable if you work hard enough for it. Hope is something that you need to keep for yourself in order to keep your head up. Do you have a dream that you want to pursue? What is your perspective of the American Dream?