A Comparative Analysis of Mama and Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun

【Abstract】： A Raisin in the Sun， a play written by the African American woman writer Lorraine Hansberry， has received enormous applause from the audience as well as the critics since it was first produced in 1959. Different from other African American literary works delineating the tough living situation of African Americans， this play pays more attention to the efforts black people have made for a better life. In this play， Mama is a representative of traditional diligent black women while Beneatha represents a new female generation full of dreams. In portraying such characters， Hansberry demonstrates the ambition to fight for a higher social status of black women. This consciousness of higher status is a prelude to the subsequent women’s liberation movement in the 1960s.

【Key words】： A Raisin in the Sun， character，Mama， Beneatha

Introduction

A Raisin in the Sun， a play written by Lorraine Hansberry， has received enormous applause from the audience as well as the critics since it was first produced in 1959. “The events of every passing year add resonance to A Raisin in the Sun. It is as if history is conspiring to make the play a classic” praised the New York Time.When civil rights movement and women’s liberation movement took place in 1960s， readers came to realize its significance in predicting the revolution in black men and women’s consciousness in the following years after its presence. In this sense， this play appears to be more valuable as time goes on.

The story was a simple one telling about events happening in the black Younger family. The family all struggled strenuously to improve their living condition and to realize their dreams. When Mama received the insurance money， each family member saw the money as a chance to fulfill their personal dreams. Mama paid down payment of a house in the white community with part of the money. When the rest of the money was lost by the son Walter， the family went into quarrels and conflicts， and finally moved to the white community chosen by Mama. Mama believed that black people could only survive through honest work while Walter was craving for business planning to open a liquor store just like white people did. Conflicts between them exposed the generational differences between the old generation and the younger one. However， as the female representatives of two generations， Mama and her daughter Beneatha displayed not only different opinions about work， but also distinct ideas of religion and marriage. The ambition showing in Beneatha foretells the feminist liberation movement in the coming years. This paper intends to find feminist characteristics through a comparative analysis of Mama and Beneatha and thus to testify the foresight of Hansberry to presage the revolution in the next decade after the play’s presence.

Differences between Mama and Beneatha

As disadvantaged African American descendants， every member of the Younger family was supposed to take a laborious job and obtain meager wages for their miserable live. However， Beneatha did not accord to the rules while Mama conformed to the principles exactly. Mama is， according to Hansberry： \"The Black matriarch incarnate： The bulwark of the Negro family since slavery； the embodiment of the Negro will to transcendence.”

Different Attitudes Toward Dreams

Mama was a perfect model of the old Black generation， working hard and fearful of dreams. After experiencing so much torture and suppression by herself， she would not like her son to take risk of losing every penny he had got as well as his job as a chauffeur. She had tasted the bitterness of broken dreams which seemed very likely to realize at the beginning. She told Ruth about how she planned when she first married Old Walter：

I remember just as well the day me and Big Walter moved in here…wasn’t planning on living here no more than a year.…But lord， child， you should know all the dreams I had ‘bout buying that house and fixing it up and making me a little garden in the back ---And didn’t none of it happen.

In the past， Mama had also fanciful plans about her future life but none of them was carried out though all of these plans were regarded as easy to be realized at the beginning. She planned to “set away little by little”， but in reality she was disheartened little by little. So in the play， she tried to keep her family away from the disappointment； the only way of avoiding getting hurt by a broken dream is not to dream. Maybe it is the reason why she opposed Walter’s plan to open a liquor store.

In contrast， Beneatha was brave in dreaming to be a doctor and trying novel things like horse-riding and guitar. In her own words， it served as a way to express herself. In intending to become a doctor， she did not only go against her brother’s will， but also higher than social expectancy for a black girl to be a nurse. Her strong determination to be a doctor was shown in many scenes. When Mama told her not to dislike her chaser George because he was rich， she argued：

MAMA You must not dislike people ’cause they well off， honey.

BENEATHA Why not？ It makes just as much sense as disliking people ’cause they are poor， and lots of people do that.

RUTH Well， she’ll get over some of this---

Beneatha Get over it？ What are you talking about， Ruth？ Listen， I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet---if I ever get married.

MAMA and RUTH If？

Although Ruth didn’t complete her statement， it was reasonable to infer that she did not take Beneatha’s doctor dream seriously regarding it as some kind of fantasy that should be come over. Even so， Beneatha was rather determined in her own choice by declaring it proudly. Considering their present living condition---a family of five crowded in a little apartment and short of money for child’s tuition fee， Beneatha was bold in pursuing her dream with her family urging her into marriage.

Different Attitudes Toward Marriage

As for marriage， Beneatha expressed different idea from her mother again and violate the social expectancy again. For Beneatha， marriage was not a mandatory mission to complete， she could choose to marry or not according to her own will. In her opinion， the thing that she had to do and would success is to become a doctor. However， Mama regarded marriage as a necessity for women. It was disgraceful for a woman not to marry in her life. Beneatha rejected the chance of being the wife of the rich George but chose Asagai from Nigeria because she was looking for her own identity which possibly was related to Africa according to her. In Asagai’s opinion， Beneatha was the same with any other girl both white and black he had met since they all talked much about not surrendering to men. Whereby it was reasonable to conclude that this feminist awareness was a typical trait of the younger female generation and the black and white girls were in the same position for the first time. As an educated girl， Beneatha was curiously conscious of the relation between African American folks and the African culture. Beneatha believed that it was African culture that had made her the way she was but not the American culture. She tried to acquire more knowledge about Africa. But for Mama， the only relation between black people and Africa was the black skin and the only thing she knew about Africa was Tarzan. She endeavored to obtain recognition in American society by buying a house in white people’s neighborhood. Mama made great efforts to ensure her children the best life she was able to give in the cruel American society while Beneatha found peace and identity in her fascination about Africa. When Walter lost the money Mama entrusted with him including the money which was supposed to be saved in the bank for Beneatha’s future study， Beneatha chose to go to Africa with Asagai. In this sense， she completed her dream both of marriage and of identity.

Different Attitudes Toward Christianity

Another matter Mama and Beneatha disagreed on was the matter of religion. As an old habit formed in previous hard times， Mama intended to own every achievement attained to the power of God. God had served as a hope for the future once upon a time when people could barely survive through hard work and didn’t gain many rights. The trust in the omnipotent God was actually a reflection of people’s incompetency in controlling their own destiny. But now the situation was different for Bennie who grew up along with the increasing rights for black people. Bennie was aware of individual’s force in fighting for what they want. She hated that human’s efforts were taken up by God in those Christians’ eyes. In order to clarify people’s contribution， she defied her mother and said：

It’s all a matter of ideas， and God is just one idea that I don’t accept…I am not going out and be immoral or commit crimes because I don’t believe in God…h(huán)ere simply is no blasted God---there is only man and it is he who makes miracles！

After such utterance， Mama slapped her across the face. In this speech， Beneatha well explained the reason why she didn’t believe in God. The distrust in God would not push folks into immoral or illegal deeds. And all this achievements made by human being succeeded only because people had fought for it strenuously. In her opinion， men was the most important factor behind every significant success instead of God. But for Mama， God was the only possible subject giving them courage and strength to live on in those dark days. By speaking in such way Beneatha challenged Mama’s authority as a parent and the authority of God as a religion set in the family for the past several decades. Mama was just subconsciously protecting a belief which originated all strength safeguarding her through toughness . Comparing to Mama’s worship in God， Beneatha’s faith in human strength displayed the awakening and growth of self-esteem and self-pride in younger black community. It was exactly this faith in human strength that pushed thousands of black people into the fights for an equal status to white people in the following decades.

Conclusion

As female representatives of two generations， Mama and Beneatha adopted distinct ways of viewing the world. Mama desired to obtain everything she wants through hard work prescribed by the society. She inherited the old values of the old generation. God was sacred and no one should challenge his authority. In contrast， Beneatha appeared to be completely different from her mother. She was ambitious to dream of something that were deemed as suitable only for white folks. Her confidence in human power enabled her to pursue her dream of being a doctor. The most conspicuous aspect shown in her character was the seeking for identity. The awareness of African identity inspired her to acquire more knowledge about Africa and predestined her decision to go to Africa. Through the depiction of Beneatha， Lorraine Hansberry indicates the awakening of feminist awareness and specifies the concrete feminist ideas. In this sense， A Raisin in the Sun is significant in predicting the feminist movement in the following decades after the play’s production.

參考書目：

Hansberry， Lorraine. The Raisin in the Sun. New York： Vintage Books， 1994.

Hansberry， Lorraine .\"The Origins of Character\" （Address to the American Academy of Psychotherapists， New York， 5 October 1963

Nemiroff， Robert. Introduction to The Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry， 5–16. New York： Vintage Books， 1994.

Wilkerson， Margaret B. “’A Raisin in the Sun’： Anniversary of an American Classic”， Theatre Journal， December 1986.

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