The question of discrimination has been an important issue ever since. In history there have always been human beings that were considered to be inferior to others. There are many reasons that caused people to consider other people to be less valuable and consequently made them think that these people can and have to be treated in a different, mostly unfair way due to their not belonging to the dominant majority. The most prominent forms of discrimination are due to racial, sexual, and social differences. If a person does not fit into the predominating norms he or she is often regarded as being no equal member of the society to which he or she belongs. Such people often try to assimilate into the society that oppresses them and adjust to the dominant majority as much as possible. But since there has been discrimination there have always been people who would not let anybody force them to be an outcast. They do not want to deny who and what they are and they struggle to be accepted and respected like everybody else. That is why whole movements like the Civil Rights Movement or the Women’s Movement evolved in the United States of America to improve the situation of discriminated people and put an end to their subordinate roles within their society.
Black feminists or womanists are the ones that deal with the discrimination of black women in particular. The struggles of African American women for equality can not only be seen in everyday life but in literary texts as well. Although the term womanism was not coined until the 1980’s, the “concept” of black feminism had of course appeared in many literary works before that time.
An example for that is Lorraine Hansberry’s award-winning play A Raisin in the Sun. The drama about an African American working class family, which comes to money, is a portrait of a typical black family, their dreams, and their struggles to realise these dreams. One of these family-members is Beneatha – a young, black woman who has to assert herself over the values of her family and the prejudices of her society. Although the play addresses several topics like the “[…] value systems of the black family; concepts of African American beauty and identity; class and generational conflicts; the relationships of husbands and wives, black men and women [and] feminism […]” (Hansberry 1994, p.6), it will be the aim of this term paper to focus on black feminism and Beneatha’s struggles within the play in particular. [...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Womanism – A Definition
3. Beneatha’s role within the play
4. Is Beneatha a Womanist?
4.1. Beneatha and Race
4.2. Beneatha and Class
4.3. Beneatha and Gender
5. Conclusion
6. Appendix
7. References and Further Readings
Objectives and Core Topics
The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the character of Beneatha Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s play "A Raisin in the Sun" through the lens of womanism. It explores whether Beneatha serves as a representative figure of black feminism by examining how she navigates the triple oppression of race, class, and gender within her family and society.
- Defining the theoretical framework of womanism and black feminism.
- Analyzing Beneatha Younger’s role and personal struggles within the play.
- Examining the impact of racial identity and the preservation of African heritage.
- Investigating the socio-economic influence of class and money on the family dynamic.
- Evaluating Beneatha’s pursuit of independence against conservative gender roles.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1. Beneatha and Race
Beneatha Younger is a young African American woman who stands between her African heritage and the American culture by which she is surrounded. She has to decide whether she wants to assimilate into her environment or to get into closer contact with the origin of her family namely Africa. Beneatha is aware of the problem of assimilation of many Americans of African origin into the American white society and thus the loss of the African heritage and the memory of their original traditions. Nevertheless she is very well informed about Africa especially in comparison to her mother who does not seems to know anything about it.
Beneatha’s knowledge of her origins goes far beyond the Tarzan-myths in which her mother seems to believe. She strongly criticises the forgetting and ignorance towards the African heritage by saying: “[…] don’t ask him a whole lot of ignorant questions about Africans. […] It’s just that people ask such crazy things. All anyone seems to know about when it comes to Africa is Tarzan […]” (Hansberry 1997, p. 2407). In this conversation Lena’s remarks represent “[…] that some black people have difficulty in accepting the roots of their heritage, just as black Americans are not accepted in the wider American society” (Morrin, p. 27). In the same conversation with Lena she relates the Christian religion and the missionary work to the oppressors of Africa, thus making clear that Christianity is the religion of the white oppressors and that Africans need “[…] more salvation from the British and the French” (Hansberry 1997, p. 2407) than from heathenism. This fact is recalled many times throughout the play because Beneatha criticises Christianity at several occasions probably due to the fact that it is not the religion of her African ancestors but of the people that has enslaved her people.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: Outlines the historical context of discrimination and introduces the aim of exploring womanism through the character of Beneatha in Lorraine Hansberry's work.
2. Womanism – A Definition: Provides a theoretical foundation for womanism, drawing on Alice Walker’s definitions and the concept of the triple oppression of African American women.
3. Beneatha’s role within the play: Introduces Beneatha Younger, her aspirations, and her internal conflicts as she strives to define herself outside of conservative family expectations.
4. Is Beneatha a Womanist?: A detailed analytical section examining how Beneatha responds to the specific pressures of race, socio-economic class, and gendered social expectations.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes that while Beneatha is on a journey toward identity and womanist commitment, she remains in a transitional state of development by the play's end.
6. Appendix: Contains a primary source definition of "Womanist" from Alice Walker and a character relationship diagram.
7. References and Further Readings: Lists the academic literature and primary texts utilized for the analysis.
Key Terms
Womanism, Black Feminism, A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha Younger, Triple Oppression, Race, Class, Gender, Assimilation, African Heritage, Identity, Emancipation, Alice Walker, Discrimination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
This paper examines the character of Beneatha Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s "A Raisin in the Sun" to determine if she embodies the principles of womanism.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
The central themes include the intersectionality of race, class, and gender, the struggle for identity, and the conflict between cultural assimilation and the preservation of African heritage.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to analyze how Beneatha copes with systemic societal pressures and whether she qualifies as a womanist by the end of the narrative.
Which methodology is applied in this research?
The work employs a literary analysis based on the theoretical framework of black feminism and womanism, supported by critical secondary literature and primary definitions.
What is addressed in the main body of the paper?
The main body breaks down Beneatha’s character development across three specific axes: her relationship with racial heritage, her ambivalent attitude toward wealth/class, and her struggle for autonomy against traditional gender roles.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include womanism, black feminism, intersectionality, cultural assimilation, and identity politics within African American literature.
How does Beneatha’s name reflect her role in the play?
The name "Beneatha" serves as a wordplay suggesting that she views herself as being above the conservative, limited expectations that society and her family place upon her.
Why does the author argue that Beneatha is "not a complete womanist yet"?
The author concludes that because Beneatha is still navigating her identity and has not yet fully disentangled herself from American social conventions, she is currently in a state of evolving awareness rather than full realization.
- Citation du texte
- Antje Bernstein (Auteur), 2006, Womanism in Lorraine Vivian Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" - Beneatha and the Triple Oppression of African American Women, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/71334
