Discuss racial discrimination in A Raisin in the Sun.

A Raisin in the Sun is a three-act drama focusing on an African American family

subjected to the emotional stresses of living in a cramped apartment while confronting prejudice
and economic hardship. The theme of racial discrimination is quite prominent in the play.
Hansberry tells the lives of the members of the Younger family and explores how the fact of their
race inhibits them from accomplishing their dreams.

This social fact is clearly reflected in the play through the character of Walter Younger.
Walter realises how the colour of his skin is limiting his choices in life. He tells his mother,
Mama sometimes when Im downtown and I pass them cool-quiet-looking restaurants where
them white boys are sitting back and talking bout thingssitting there turning deals worth
millions of dollarssometimes I see guys dont look much older than me . He is jealous of
businessmen who can afford a high standard of living, as he is just a mere chauffeur for his white
employer, Mr. Arnold. He is tortured by the fact that men of the same age as him have more of a
chance in the world because of their race. Even his father had spent his entire the life working
hard without achieving anything, work[ing] himself to death.

The character Beneatha, who enthusiastically experiments with ideals in college on her
way to being a doctor, is defined by a desire to find and express herself without that self being
compromised by assimilationist forces in society who want her to deny her African heritage. She
considers the culture they live in oppressive and refuses to give in to it of fear that it will erode
her heritage. Unlike her brother who constantly bemoans his fate, Beneatha strives to prove that
she could make her dreams come true. She refuses to acknowledge the reality that many people
share Walter's opinion that she should either get married or be a nurse like other women. One of
her suitors, Asagai, inspires her to get in touch with her roots. Asagai, who is a native Nigerian,
is very proud of his heritage, and Beneatha hopes to learn about her African heritage from him.
After he playfully teases Beneatha about her mutilated straighten hair, she chops off her locks.
Her new close-cropped and unstraightened hair signifies her embracing her African heritage.

During the play, Lena Younger, the family matriarch, receives her late husbands
insurance check. The ten thousand dollar insurance check of much dispute is used partly to put a
down payment on a house in Clybourne Park. The other members of the family express their
doubts as Clybourne Park is a predominantly white neighbourhood. Lena, who perhaps knows a
little more about what might happen once they move where they arent wanted, makes this bold
decision to do something big and necessary despite its risks. This prompts a visit from Karl
Lindner, a representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association. He offers money to
the Youngers to sell their house. Lindner doesnt threaten, as Beneatha later explains to a
panicked Lena, they dont do it like that anymore. He talked Brotherhood. In fact Lindner
frames his polite and sneaky plea for segregation under the greater good. A man, right or
wrong, he says, has the right to want to have his neighborhood he lives in a certain kind of
way, asserting that everyone is more comfortable living with their own kind and that race
prejudice simply doesnt enter into it.

Furthermore, this play shows that even the African Americans can be prejudiced to their
own kind. In the first act, Walter complains that coloured women [d]ont understand about
building their men up and making them feel like somebody. He blames them for the failure of
their kind; he even goes out to state, We one group of men tied to a race of women with small
minds. Walter takes out his frustration on his own race, claiming that his fellow African
Americans are to blame for their own misfortunes, that they are a race of people that dont
know how to do nothing but moan, pray and have babies. Through Walters character,
Hansberry shows us the complex perspectives that exist within the black community. In another
incident, Benetha teases Ruth and Walter about their old-fashioned dancing. However, she adds
in the idea of "old-fashioned Negro" dancing. This word choice perpetuates the racial
distinctions and separations. Within both races, people seem to label themselves by their colour.

Hansberry also explores racial discrimination through Beneathas other suitor, the
wealthy African American, George Murchinson. In the great debate on assimilation that runs
through the play, George represents the total opposite point of view of Asagai. Whereas Asagai
thinks that African Americans should be more in touch with their African roots, George thinks it's
a waste of time. His family is well off and is perfectly happy to assimilate into white America.
Beneatha tells Mama, "The Murchisons are honest-to-God-real-live-rich coloured people, and
the only people in the world who are more snobbish than rich white people are rich colored
people". George scoffs at Beneathas intention of learning her heritage, telling her, your heritage
is nothing but a bunch of raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts". George is very ignorant
and is heavily assimilated into the American culture.

To conclude, A Raisin in the Sun is more than a simple play based on the life of a
contemporary late 1950s family. It is a play that makes us take a closer look at how the African
American society was living at the time; its difficulties, injustices, discontent. Characters like
Karl Lindner and George Murchinson are exactly the reason why racial discrimination was so
prevalent, as they are two characters who conform to the segregation of that time. It is ultimately
people like Beneatha who will lead the fight against racism, and provide a better future for the
non-white citizens of America.