Beneatha wants to become a medical doctor in the play, A Raisin in the Sun. This is a progressive choice for a black woman in the 1950’s because of the lack of opportunity for blacks to achieve their dreams. Her desire to become a doctor requires some of the inheritance her father leaves her mother when he dies. This becomes a conflict with Walter, who wants the money for a liquor store. No one...
Beneatha wants to become a medical doctor in the play, A Raisin in the Sun. This is a progressive choice for a black woman in the 1950’s because of the lack of opportunity for blacks to achieve their dreams. Her desire to become a doctor requires some of the inheritance her father leaves her mother when he dies. This becomes a conflict with Walter, who wants the money for a liquor store. No one really thinks Beneatha’s dreams are serious or obtainable, except for Mama Younger, who ends up giving Beneatha a portion of the inheritance. It is at college that Beneatha meets Asagai, a student from Africa who changes her life. Beneatha becomes more self-aware, starts questioning race relations, and becomes a more independent thinker who begins to embrace her African roots. Even though she has a rich boyfriend, George, who will take care of her, Beneatha wants more. She even speculates that she will go to Africa with Asagai and practice medicine there. Beneatha’s character in the play shows the rising awareness of African American woman who are searching for their purpose and identity on the cusp of the Civil Rights Movement.
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