The American Dream and Raisin in the Sun Essay

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As J. Charles Washington notes, Mama and Walter have two different versions or ideas what the American Dream means in Raisin in the Sun. For Mama the dream is simply about change and doing what is necessary to protect and preserve one’s family. Her version of the dream “sets her at odds with her son Walter,” whose dream is much more influenced by the white Americans he sees: their opulence and prosperity, their ability to be upwardly mobile (Washington 113). Walter dreams of wealth; Mama dreams of family. The American Dream for them is manifested in different ways, yet, in the end, it is the dream of family that wins out and that shows how the materialistic American Dream is empty if it is not accompanied by the family and the heart

Washington describes Mama’s dream “as a second-class version of it reserved for Black Americans and other poor people. Considering all the obstacles she has had to face as a Black woman, one can hardly fault her for what she does. Nevertheless, her dream is unacceptable to Walter, who will have nothing less than the complete American Dream”—i.e., the Dream in which prosperity and wealth are the main attributes (114). The family is far from that, however, and it shows in the beginning of the play, when Travis is described as being “asleep on the make-down bed at center” in the family living room of the one bedroom apartment (Hansberry 27). The fact that the boy is sleeping there in the family room instead of in his own bedroom represents the reality of Walter’s life: his family is poor—they have barely enough room in the home for one child—let alone two. The idea that Walter may be bringing another baby in under the roof is one that adds tension to the play, as another mouth to feed is a threat to Walter’s dream of prosperity. It is not a threat, however, to Mama’s dream of taking care of the family. When it comes to family, being together and there to support one another is what matters most.

This idea is personified in Travis, who has none of the materialistic ambitions of his father. When he wakes up in the morning, Travis tells his mother that he needs to pay the teacher the fifty cent fee. The mother scolds Travis—but it is not his fault that the family owes the fee. Travis asks if it would be all right if I he went and asked grandma for the money—and his mother reprimands him once more. Travis then hits upon another approach: “Could I maybe go carry some groceries in front of the supermarket for a little while after school then?” (Hansberry 32). By seeking to help out instead of sulking and by seeking to do what he can to contribute, Travis represents the heart that Mama is wishing to preserve in the family because no Dream is worth anything if there is no heart in it. Travis understands that his family is poor but he does not get angry about it or hold it against them. He loves them all the same and offers to make himself useful so that he himself can earn the money by carrying groceries for people.

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The child’s genuine good spirit contrasts with his father’s self-centered spirit and ambition…

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…unfortunately unrealistic one, given the nature of the era and the fact that Jim Crow culture was still very much alive at the time. The Dream of equality is manifested in this desire of the Youngers to live in the nice house in the nice community—and that side of the Dream is not grounded in materialism, the way Walter’s dream is earlier in the play. Instead, it is grounded simply in the desire to see the family live well and safely together in a home that has room for all.

In conclusion, Raisin in the Sun reflects a variety of different manifestations of the American Dream throughout the play. There is the American Dream of wealth and prosperity that Walter dreams of. There is the American Dream of family and safety and togetherness that Mama dreams of. There is the American Dream of heart and unity that Travis represents. And there is the Dream of inclusivity and equality that the move into the neighborhood represents. While the move does not go quite according to plan and there is some resistance in the form of the offered buyout, the move does go through and the Youngers learn that all these different manifestations of the American Dream are not going to happen all at once or even at all. Thus it is important to find the best Dream or the most important one and to fix on pursuing that one. The Dream that Mama identifies as most important is the dream of family—and Walter comes around to understanding the importance of this dream as well. It is the one that matters most if a family is going to make it….....

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