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A Raisin in the Sun

Summary:   In "The Raisin in the Sun", the reader will discover that Mama and Beneatha undergo such encounters that could change their lives forever. As matriarch of the Younger house, Mama is torn with financial decisions.

During life, people come across many encounters where they feel trapped or indecisive. In "The Raisin in the Sun", the reader will discover that Mama and Beneatha undergo such encounters that could change their lives forever. As matriarch of the Younger house, Mama is torn with financial decisions. As much as she would like to divide the money up among all of them, it wouldn't be enough to reach all of their set goals. A part of Mama would like to keep the money and spend it on something that they could all benefit from, like a new house. Beneatha is the most intelligent in the Younger Family, and knows that her academics can bring her good fortune in the medical field. There's a side of Beneatha that wants to come out and express herself. She wants to trace back her roots and where she came from and represent herself that way. However, there are some restraints that prevent her from doing so. Beneatha is "trapped" in a world that doesn't allow her to show her true colors. These two strong women have good intentions for themselves and for their family. However, they both don't take enough time to do something for themselves.

Mama worked hard for many years to earn this long-awaited check that she received. What she was going to do with the money was the question that raced through every member of the Younger families mind. There anxiousness didn't make the decision any easier on Mama. It placed her in between a rock and a hard place. She could either give the money to Walter to invest in a liquor store, give the money to Beneatha to pay for medical school, give money to Ruth and/or Travis, or keep the money for herself to either by a new house or go on a well deserved vacation. Whichever she chose, the family would fully support her decision. But Mama knew choosing one person to get the money wouldn't benefit the others nor bring them all complete satisfaction. Mama isn't one to tolerate disappointment. She works hard each and everyday to support this family that she loves with all her heart. She wants nothing but happiness for each of them, which makes this decision so difficult for her. She's trapped in a decision that could make or break her family, and its up to her decide the families future.

Beneatha plays a character that many young girls can relate to today. She's a young scholar that wants to pursue her goals in medicine and be herself all at the same time. However, the boy she dates sees her as a smart, beautiful, trophy girl; something she is not. Beneatha wants to express her heritage, represent her African culture and learn about who she is. He, on the other hand, thinks it's foolish and that she can be nothing but a doctor in training and beautiful eye candy. Beneatha is trapped between identities. She is torn on something she wants to be and something that other people want her to be. Regardless of what people think or say about her, Beneatha digs deep into her ancestry and shamelessly begins to dress in clothes from Africa and expresses herself through series of African dances. Beneatha presents herself without a care in the world because that's who she is, love it or hate it.

Mama and Beneatha are two strong women. Being an African American woman in the 1950's was difficult as is, nevertheless, they were African American working women. Mama worked to support a big family, while Beneatha worked to become a doctor. Many people have doubted these two women. Walter doubted his mother that she would regretfully use the money on something that would be a waste, making the pressure on Mama's decision more stressful. As much as the Younger's loved Beneatha, they sometimes doubted her ability to become a doctor. But no matter what anyone thought of these women, or no matter how trapped and indecisive they may have felt at certain points in their lives, they kept their heads on their shoulders and aimed them in the right direction.

Reader's can learn a lot from these two women. They can learn from the leadership qualities that mama possessed Individuality that Beneatha possessed, and the will power that they both expressed through the entire story. They didn't let their feelings of entrapment side track them from what was more important in life; their family. At times money might have seemed as the solution to their happiness, but in reality it was the cause to their family's chaotic arguments. But when you look back on the story, it was their love and care towards each other that helped to pull them out of the mess and unite them back together as the Younger fami