Fatimah Alasadi

Dr. Cheli Reutter

English 3018

12 October 2023

Prompt 1: A Raisin in the Sun

Trying to pursue the American dream comes with many hardships and it's not as easy as

society makes it seem. The Younger family's journey to reaching their aspirations and being

prosperous in Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun" effectively portrays the challenges

that many African or minority families encounter in America. The play delves into themes such

as racial prejudice, gender roles, poverty, and family conflict. The plot focuses mostly on the

Younger family, who live in a small apartment in south Chicago during the 1950s, when

prejudice was at its peak. One day the Younger family receives a check for ten thousand dollars,

and they have to decide on how to spend it. Each family member has various takes about how to

spend the money, which causes some conflict. As we follow these people on their journey, we

find that every one of them has their own hopes and aspirations that they are unable to achieve

due to discrimination or financial difficulties. "A Raisin in the Sun" was really meaningful to me

since it is very comparable to my life as an Arab American attempting to reach the American

dream and having the same hopes and aspirations as the character Beneatha.

I had no prior knowledge of "A Raisin in the Sun" or any of the other plays we had read

in class. When I first started reading this play, I found myself connecting to every facet of it,

almost as if it had been written about my own family. That may sound strange, but my family is

experiencing the same things as the younger family, only at separate times. What makes this

play significant is how realistic it is about how difficult life was for families in the 1950s. Even
though the story takes place in a previous era, many of the concerns addressed in the play are

still relevant today. My connection to this play is that my father recently saved some money that

we now want to do something with. My mother wants to purchase a house like Lena in the play,

my brothers want to start a business just like Walter, and I want to utilize the money to pursue

my studies like Beneatha. Also, my family, like the younger family, endured a lot of

discrimination when they moved to the United States and lived in impoverished neighborhoods

in extremely small apartments.

To begin with, this play is really special to me because of how much I can truly relate to

the character Beneatha. She is pursuing a career as a doctor, while I am pursuing a career as a

Speech Language Pathologist. She is equally passionate about her African background as I am

about my Iraqi heritage. One of the scenes in the play that truly struck an emotional connection

with me was (act 1, scene 1), when Beneatha says, “I mean it! I’m just tired of hearing about

God all the time. What has He got to do with anything? Does he pay tuition?” Here, Beneatha

was angry with her mother for assuring her that her future aspirations of becoming a doctor will

be achieved due to "God willing." What's interesting is that I had an extremely similar

conversation with my mother regarding my future job when I was having difficulty picking a

major, and when I told her that I wasn't sure about going to Speech pathology school, she

answered, "Inshallah you will become a great Speech pathologist." Even though the Younger

family is Christian, and I am Muslim, the phrase "Inshallah" in Arabic translates to "If God is

willing," and I found it extremely meaningful to share some of the same religious views and

sayings. My mother, like Lena, is a very religious woman and through all the hardships we went

through, she always says that we have God on our side. Beneatha and I both became skeptical of
our faith and began to wonder if God was truly helping us while we were going through difficult

times, but we both had our mothers to guide us in the correct direction.

Furthermore, Walter and Beneatha's relationship is quite similar to my bond with my

older brothers, which is why this play means so much to me. My brothers are both older than me,

and they, like Walter, do their best to provide for the family. They both did not attend college

and, like Walter, are attempting to establish a business using my father's funds. Walter has a

dream that he is really enthusiastic about, but due to his financial difficulties, he has given up on

it. A scene in the play that illustrates Walters struggles is in (Act 1, scene 2) when he states, “I

want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy . . . "Look at me, Mama." He's telling

his mother why money is so important to him and how difficult it was to be a black poor guy in

the 1950s. This is relevant today, as many African Americans and minorities continue to struggle

to obtain good-paying employment and pay their expenses. My brothers, for example, have plans

and desires, but they either can't afford to go to school or don't have time to pursue them since

they're always working extra hours to help us survive.

Lastly, I notice many parallels between the discrimination and hardships the Younger

family underwent in the 1950s and the bigotry my family encountered while migrating to the

United States. It is extremely difficult for families without any ancestral money in the United

States to achieve successful and live comfortably in a racist society. Following some outside

research, I saw on CBS news in Chicago that "Arab Americans across Chicagoland experience

discrimination and inequities in all areas of life - from the workplace, to schools, to their

interactions with police" (Assad). The article goes on to present data on the prejudice that Arab

Americans encounter on a daily basis in the United States. As African Americans in a

predominately white society, the Younger family experiences a lot of racial discrimination.
Likewise, when my family relocated to a mostly white country, we experienced racism

everywhere we went. Additionally, much as my family is stereotyped as "Terrorists" due to their

race, the Younger family also faces stereotypes regarding their value and skills.

In conclusion, “A Raisin in the Sun” was a great read and film to watch. It gave me a lot

of insight into the difficulties that African Americans encountered in the past. I felt it was

beautifully written, especially the way the characters spoke and expressed themselves. The play

became more relatable and simpler to grasp after viewing the film. I am grateful that I was able

to connect with a narrative written so long ago.

 Works Cited

Assad, Samah. “Often Overlooked, Chicago Arab Americans Face Widespread Racism,

Groundbreaking Report Finds.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 13 Feb. 2023,

www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-arab-americans-widespread-racism-report/.

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Modern Library, 1995.

http://dvdesignrstoll.weebly.com/uploads/3/7/5/0/37507491/a_raisin_in_the_sun_act_ipdf

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