10. A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry. 1959/2011. 160 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Come on now, boy, it's seven thirty!

The Younger family had a lot of dreams, but those dreams are dying fast. The whole family--Mama (Lena), Beneatha, Walter Lee, Ruth, and Travis--are losing hope, losing faith. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, is angry, disappointed, frustrated. Ruth (his wife) is tired--exhausted really. The thought of bringing a second child into this world is almost too much to handle. Beneatha is restless and yearning for something that she can't even name or put into words. Mama (Lena) is stretched thin and weary. She sees the mental, emotional, spiritual state of her grown children and she doesn't know how to fix it, how to make everything right. She's got the weight of the world on her shoulders--and she's still grieving. Travis, well, it's not so much that he's struggling with hope. He's got the most hope and resilience of anyone in the family. It's just that the adults want SO MUCH MORE, for their own sakes, of course, but also for Travis. They see the world and ache at what the future may hold for Travis. 

The play opens with the family at a crossroads. Mama (Lena) Younger is about to receive the life insurance money after her husband's death. (Though his death occurs BEFORE the play opens, he is not forgotten.) $10,000--what can the family do with that much money. What is the BEST use of that money??? It is Mama's money, and Mama's decision. But the whole family can't help reviving their own private dreams for a moment or two. And this is where some discontent bubbles up perhaps.

This is a family in crisis. Things simply can't continue as they are.

I first read this one in college. I can't remember if it was as an undergraduate or graduate or both. I took an African American literature class, AND, I took a twentieth century American plays. So it's certainly possible I read it twice. But it has been twenty years--give or take--since I last read it.

It is a powerful read. The emotions pack a punch. Here is a family hurting, struggling, arguing, speaking harshly with one another. There is SO much to feel. One also has to consider that this is a glimpse of a family. There's obviously complex dynamics between ALL family members.

One thing that strikes me is that ALL the family (perhaps with the exception of Travis) is well-fleshed out and oh-so-achingly-human. Not one member of this family is perfect, flawless. My personal favorite, Mama, is not flawless (though I love her dearly). All are broken--whether from the outside in or inside out hardly matters. They have choices to make. Will they continue to tear each other down OR will they come together and stand together.

 My absolute favorite scene is between Beneatha and Mama:

“Beneatha: Love him? There is nothing left to love.

Mama: There is always something left to love. And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing. (Looking at her) Have you cried for that boy today? I don't mean for yourself and for the family 'cause we lost the money. I mean for him: what he been through and what it done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain't through learning - because that ain't the time at all. It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in hisself 'cause the world done whipped him so! when you starts measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is.”

I think it is heartbreaking to see Mama (Lena) grieving and aching for her son and daughter-in-law. Mama does not want to see her grandchild (her unborn grandchild) destroyed (aka aborted). The idea that her family is so full of despair that they cannot see anyway forward is breaking her to pieces. Something has to happen.

I do wonder if the play is (as) well received today by readers. Would modern pro-choice readers be like Ruth has every right to have an abortion. It is none of Mama's business. She is being oppressive trying to shame her son and daughter-in-law. Would they also see Mama as oppressive in her relationship with Beneatha? Would they cheer on her atheism? Be like her mother has no right to tell her daughter that she *has* to believe in God so long as she lives in her mother's house? 

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews