The Idea of Classic Housewife in A Raisin in the Sun Essay Example

📌Category: A Raisin in the Sun, Plays
📌Words: 966
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 17 April 2022

In the 1950s women were expected to settle down with a man and live a docile life with them, however some women refused to conform to this idea. Beneatha Younger, a character in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, a historical fiction play set in 1950s Chicago is one of these women. Her mother wishes for her to accept religion, marry a man, and live a quiet and traditional life. Beneatha on the other hand values science over religion, is torn between two men and the lives they offer, and wishes to become a doctor. This essay will explore Mama’s viewpoints on each of these aspects of the “Classic Housewife” and how they affect her and Beneatha’s relationship, giving insight into what the play says about generational gaps.

The first aspect of the “Classic Housewife” that Beneatha is refuting is Mama wanting her to be religious and accept her religion. Due to Mama’s upbringing she was raised very religious, however these values were not transferred to her daughter. Beneatha believes in a much more analytical approach to life as shown in this quote, “I get tired of Him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply is no blasted God—there is only man and it is he who makes miracles!” (Hansberry 52). Beneatha just wants to receive credit for the feats she achieves, and believes that Mama thanks God too much for things that people themselves have overcome. Mama obviously doesn’t like this and continues to push the ideas onto Beneatha insisting that under her house you will believe in God. Mama even goes so far as to force Beneatha to say, “In my mother’s house there is still God” (Hansberry 53). This truly shows how the generational gap affected Mama and Beneatha. Mama was raised in a world full of hope and religion, whereas Beneatha was raised in a world of logic and harsh realities.

The second and largest aspect of the “Classic Housewife” that Beneatha refuses to accept is settling down with a man. Not only Mama, but society itself is pressuring Beneatha to marry early and settle down with a man. In the 1950’s that’s all women were supposed to do, but Beneatha doesn’t see it this way. Her opinion is shown when she says, “I would not marry him if all I felt for him was what I feel now” (Hansberry 51). Beneatha values the man’s personality more than their willingness to marry her. This is a main reason Beneatha doesn’t like George because while he is a prominent marriage aspect, he’s not very nice to Beneatha. This is shown when he tells her, “Look honey, we’re going to the theatre—we’re not going to be in it” (Hansberry 80), in response to her outfit. Even with Mama pressuring her to marry early and settle down she values the man himself and refuses to just settle with George. There is however another love interest in the picture who better fits Beneatha. The play introduces Joseph Asagai, who is so smitten with Beneatha he even asks her to move, “across the ocean: home—to Africa” (Hansberry 135) with him as his wife. This is a ridiculous thing for Joseph to ask, but unlike Mama, Beneatha is open to new things and considers the offer. However Beneatha turns him down as well, simply saying that she doesn’t see him that way and wouldn’t want to leave her family. This is probably the greatest feat of Beneatha in her refutation of the “Classic Housewife” simply because it was such a normal part of life for a woman to be nothing more than a complacent wife and mother.

The third and final aspect of the “Classic Housewife” that Beneatha refuses to accept is settling down as a housewife and not getting a job. Not only does she wish to get a job, she wishes to become a doctor. The importance of getting this job to Beneatha is shown when she tells Mama, “Listen, I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet—if I ever get married” (Hansberry 51). She values it above getting married, and is determined to get the job. Luckily Mama and her family are actually very supportive of this goal, Mama specifically. Mama is supportive of this goal because she was raised in a world with not much opportunity available to black women and she sees this as an opportunity for Beneatha to have a better life (as long as she still gets married). The family shows how proud of Beneatha they are when Walter tells Mr. Lindner, “that’s my sister over there and she’s going to be a doctor—and we are very proud” (Hansberry 146). This was actually a monumental thing for Walter to say because up until then he had been very unsupportive of Beneatha’s dream because it took money away from him. However when he says this the remorse he has for spending Beneatha’s college money is shown, and how proud he actually is of his little sister. Beneatha is a driven woman who has both the financial and emotional support of her family behind her, so while difficult she has all the resources to become a doctor.

The three aspects of the “Classic Housewife” that are completely refuted by Beneatha are being very religious, settling down with a man, and simply staying as a housewife without getting a job. This essay explored Mama’s viewpoints on each of these aspects and how they affect her and Beneatha’s relationship, giving insight into what the play says about generational gaps. The first paragraph shows how Beneatha’s analytical viewpoint of life causes her to not believe in God, something that infuriates Mama. Mama also wants Beneatha to marry early to a rich successful man (George Murchison), but Beneatha is against this too. Finally, Beneatha wishes to become a doctor, something that Mama is actually supportive of, however she is against the fact that impedes her dating life. Overall, Beneatha is just a very different person than Mama, and because of her upbringing Mama has a lot more of a traditional view on life.

Works Cited

Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

+
x
Remember! This is just a sample.

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

Order now
By clicking “Receive Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails.