Lorraine Hansberry, the author of A Raisin in the Sun, supports the theme of her play from a montage of, A Dream Deferred, by Langston Hughes. Hughes asks, What happens to a dream deferred? He suggests many alternatives to answering the question. That it might dry up like a raisin in the sun, or fester like a sore. Yet the play maybe more closely related to Hughes final question of the poem, Or does it explode? The play is full of bombs that are explosions of emotion set off by the frustration of the Younger family, who are unable to grasp the possible reality of their dreams.
The family shares the dream of having a better life but compete against each other for the insurance money given to Mama after her husbands death. The son of Mama, Walter, dreams of being a rich black man by investing the money in a liquor store. His sister, Beneatha, wants to use the money to finish school, so she can pursue her life as a doctor. Mama would rather use the money to buy a home and leave their run down house in the ghetto.
Their frustration is obtained from their dreams being deferred and the emotions burst like an exploding time bomb. Walter is a struggling father. He wishes for only the best in his family. He dislikes being a chauffeur because he feels as if he is a servant in a century of freedom. The only thing keeping him together is his dream of the riches he will amount to once the insurance money comes. Once the check comes, he can only think of investing the money into a liquor store:
WALTER: You wouldn’t understand yet, son, but your daddy’s gonna make a transactiona business transaction that’s going to change our lives That’s how come one day when you ’bout seventeen years old I’ll come home I’ll pull the car up on the drivewayjust a plain black Chrysler, I think, with white wallsnoblack tires the gardener will be clipping away at the hedges and he’ll say, “Good evening, Mr. Younger. ” And I’ll say, “Hello, Jefferson, how are you this evening (II. ii pg. 109)? ” However, his family is not to keen on the idea of investing the money in a liquor store and Walter cannot fathom why.
His frustration builds and he eventually releases it against his family: Walter: Who the hell told you, you had to be a doctor. If you so crazy bout messing round with sick people; then go be a nurse like other women; or just get married and be quiet (I. i pg. 38). Beneatha is an intellectual. Twenty years old, she attends college and is better educated than the rest of the Younger family. Some of her personal beliefs and views have distanced her from conservative Mama. She dreams of being a doctor and struggles to determine her identity as a well-educated black woman.
She realizes her brother, Walter, dislikes the idea of spending the insurance money on the college tuition but is determined to be successful in her life: BENEATHA: What are you talking about Ruth? Listen, Im going to be a doctor first Im going to be a doctor! (I. i pg. 50) Beneatha builds her frustration upon the doubts of her brother. When Walter loses the money, he scatters the dreams of Beneatha ever becoming a doctor, and she declares that he has ultimately scattered the dreams of the family: BENEATHA: Well we are dead now. All the talk about dreams and sunlight that goes on in this house.
Its all dead now (III pg. 3). Beneatha loses all faith in her brother and dreams and focuses on misery she will face in the future. Mama seems to be the only one left holding onto the hopes of a better life. She dreams for a new house with a garden and she is ecstatic when she can finally put a down payment on one: MAMA: we maybe could meet the notes on a little old two-story somewhere, with a yard where Travis could play in the summertime (I. i pg. 44). However, Mama punishes Walter and Beneatha both verbally and physically when they threaten her fundamental pillars of hope, faith in God and the memories of her husband.
Her frustration in her children builds and when Walter loses the money she bursts in despair. She beats Walter senselessly in the face and reminds him of his fathers suffering: MAMA: I seen him night after night come in and look at that rug and then look at me the red showing in his eyes the veins moving in his head I seen him grow thin and old before he was forty working and working and working like somebodys old horse killing himself and you- you give it all away in a day (II. iii pg. 129)! )
Their dreams appear dead, lost and dried up, until they learn to cooperate with each other. They believe that they can succeed if they stick together as a family and resolve to no longer defer their dreams. Ultimately, the Youngers move out of the apartment, fulfilling the family’s long-held dream: WALTER: we have decided to move into our house because my father- my father- he earned it for us brick by brick (III pg. 149) Their future seems uncertain and slightly dangerous, but they are optimistic and determined to make the dream a reality.