What happens to a dream deferred? In the poem written by Langston Hughes detects what could happen to dreams that are not pursued or maybe even dreams that don’t come true. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry which also discuss dreams and how they can change throughout time. Both Langston Hughes and Lorraine Hansberry write about the effect of dreams and pursuing happiness. Neither of the two directly spells out racism but by reading the two together they are talking about the dreams of African Americans and how their dreams are harder to achieve and sometimes they just shrivel up like a raisin in the sun or maybe it just sags like a heavy load Hughes writes. The realities of dreams during this era in time for African Americans were slim. In Hansberry’s play we know that blacks are not equal to the whites. The main theme in both pieces of work is about the dreams and ambitions that everyone possesses and to be able to overcome society’s views and live a life that you want for yourself, regardless of what anyone else says or does. Broken dreams can be extremely hard for anyone but more so if you are already expected to fail.
A Raisin in the Sun becomes about dreams as the main characters try to overcome obstacles in their own lives to achieve their dreams. The title of the play is perfect because of all the dreams and failures that are mixed throughout the play will the Youngers dreams shrivel up “like a raisin in the sun.” The American dream is thought to be a pursuit for material prosperity, working to pay for nicer cars, bigger homes but what people start to miss is the family time that they are working so hard to make stand out. In the play this is what happens to the characters, as they try to achieve the American dream they lose track of what is most important. Mama in the play wants her family to rise from poverty and live in a better and bigger place, one in a white neighborhood because in her mind that is better. Mama takes care of her family and wants nothing but pure happiness for all of them and wants to instill values in their lives. The insurance money that the family has received, Mama made sure to put a down payment on the house in the white neighborhood. Mama’s youngest child Beneatha wants better for herself but sometimes struggles with her identity. Throughout the play Beneatha starts to realize that she isn’t as independent as she once thought and even though Mama put aside some of the money for Beneatha to go to school, she decides to marry and move to Africa. Walter wants to use the insurance money so that he can open a liquor house and prove that he can provide for his family. Walter believes that money buys happiness and he is on a mission to do just that until Willy, who is the one who convinced him to invest in the liquor house runs off with the money. Walters’s dreams are now gone with the money. It seems that everyone’s dream is shattered now. In the end they end up getting the house and they all learned that the truest dream of all is family. The theme of the play is, a family divided does no one any good, but a family that is united can move mountains.
