Cunha 1 Anne Cunha Dr. Welch 12/7/2010 A Raisin in the Sun: “What Happens to Dreams Deferred?” The “American Dream” for so many people sometimes remains just that, a dream. The lofty expectations which people hold for themselves and their families often become merely “dreams deferred,” as exemplified symbolically and thematically in the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the members of the Younger family each have dreams of their own that conflict or become continually overlooked whether because of family concerns or individual selfishness. The theme of deferred dreams in “Harlem” parallels, line-­‐by-­‐line, with the different dreams of Big Walter, Walter Lee, and Mama Younger and the effects of their dreams on the family’s morale. Hughes conveys the theme of neglected hopes and dreams through distinct food imagery, which in turn is reflected in Hansberry’s representation of the Younger family and their insatiable appetite to fulfill their dreams. For them, as it turns out, “bread is not enough.” The weight of their collective dreams places strain on the family, pushing them to a breaking point, a defining moment, analogous to Hughes’ final line in his poem. The first image presented in Hughes’ poem mirrors the dream of Big Walter, who was the backbone of the Younger family and whose dream was the point from which all their other dreams emerge and also fall back to for inspiration. In referring Cunha 2 to a dream deferred, Hughes’ asks, “Does it dry up / Like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes 2&3). This simile shows Hansberry’s inspiration for her play’s title and suggests that Big Walter’s dream for his family—a home of their own—was the motivation for the rest of the Youngers as well as the play itself. Big Walter died before attaining his dream for his children so they could “have something ” more than he had (1.1.45). Throughout his life, that dream was continually put off or let to dry in the sun, until it became like a shriveled “raisin.” After his death, the dream seems lifeless to the Youngers. They feel that having been deferred for so long, it has nothing left for them and that there is nothing they can do to reverse the damaging effects of the heat and dryness of black urban life, which made their dream nearly die. Thus, Big Walter’s dream remains exposed to the harsh light of day, further depleting it of any lingering inspirational power, until his son Walter Lee, with his dream, feels he can use the “raisin” of his father’s legacy (all his life-­‐insurance money) to make finally the raisin’ up of former hope nourishing to the personal and economic lives of the Youngers. Walter Lee’s dream can be closely related to the poem’s image showing how a deferred dream can “fester like a sore -­‐ / And then run” (Hughes 4&5). Walter’s dream of owning his own business has been so long deferred and left “festering” that, when he finally feels he might be able to achieve it, his hopes run all over and infect the aspirations of the rest of his family. The pain and open sores of his deferred dream blind him to the consequences of actions he takes. With the intent of opening a liquor store, he uses all of the extra money Mama Younger entrusted to Cunha 3 him, and yet felt he was doing his job as head of the family, albeit for some selfish reasons. Thinking that buying a house fulfills Walter’s dreams for his family Mama tries to help him feel like the head of the Younger household, but that alone is not his dream. Purchase of a home and leadership of a family are dreams Mama Younger has given to him, but Walter does not want his father’s dreams or Mama’s. He wants to succeed his own way because agonizing pride and ambition fester in him. The distress of his dream forces him not to see the effect of his selfish pride on the rest of his family. By pursuing his own wishes, Walter not only defers his father’s and his mother’s hopes for the family, but also infects them and Beneatha’s hopes. Walter’s infected wound of lost hope spreads anger, irritation, and pain throughout his family as he takes out his frustration on the household. His open sore of losing out on owning his business, still fresh in his mind, blinds him to the ache he is causing Mama Younger as he spreads his infection of anguish to the rest of the family. This causes disunion in the family, paining Mama deeply as she sees her other child, Beneatha, feeling the pain of Walter’s dream contaminating her future plans. Walter continually questions Beneatha, asking her “who told you that you needed to be a doctor anyway?” He is angered at seeing Beneatha striving to better herself and he feels that because he did not achieve his dream, so why should she feel so privileged? According to Hughes’ poem, dreams, so sweet when fresh, can also “crust and sugar over / like a syrupy sweet” when they are long deferred (Hughes 7&8). Walter Lee has such lofty aspirations for success that their attraction intoxicates him to the Cunha 4 point that their unreality eludes him. The sugary sweetness of his dreams “crusts over” as life gets in the way (such as his wife’s new pregnancy) causing him to fear putting off his dream again, leaving him with a bittersweet reminder of what he wants. This sickly sweet reminder sticks in the back of his throat, continually creeping to the surface of his mind and his tongue, specifically during his angry words and when he looks admiringly at large steel mills and farms (2.2.105). Seeing these symbols of others’ successes (dreams that have actually been fulfilled) causes Walter to think about his sugar-­‐crusted dream and the opportunity he passed up long ago when Charlie Atkins had wanted him to “go in the dry cleaning business” (1.1.32). Passing by all of these successful dreams fills Walter with bittersweet regret and yet also motivates him to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal. Walter Lee becomes so inspired by these representations of successful endeavors that he is filled with new drive and is freshly tempted by the sweetness of his hardened sugary dream. He wants his son Travis to share in the syrupy goodness of the renewed dream. Intoxicated by its tantalizing sweetness hovering just out of his reach, Walter Lee spreads his sweet tooth to Travis, making promises and planting dreams in his head of “Cadillac convertibles” and any of the “great schools in America…in the world,” anywhere Travis could possibly want to go (2.2.109). Walter truly believes in this enthralling vision, making him fall that much harder, crushed under the realization that he cannot attain these things without much struggle for his family. Cunha 5 Hughes’ poem, as a basis for A Raisin in the Sun, is teeming with food imagery. All the references to food in “Harlem” tie into a major theme Hansberry threads throughout her play. From the name that Asagai gives to Beneatha – “Alaiyo” – to the multiple references to dreams in the family as insatiable thirsts and a continual hungers, Hansberry uses food imagery in order to construct the theme of craving more, hungering for better things and yet not being able to satisfy these yearnings. Asagai calls Beneatha Alaiyo, which means “one for whom bread -­‐ food is not enough” (1.2.65). This name characterizes not only feelings of Beneatha but also the entire Younger family. They strive for more than they have because they know they deserve it and have earned it. They do not settle for less. To prove that she still can take care of her husband, Ruth uses food, offering him coffee and milk. In contrast, Walter Lee refuses her offers in order to show his independence and strength. Food imagery occurs again in the play after Mama uses much of the money Walter wanted to invest in a liquor store, and so he feels his mother has “butchered up a dream of his”(2.1.95). And no amount of nurturing from his wife can heal it. Walter’s accusation against his mother weighs on her, making her feel as though she failed her son and even disgraced her husband’s memory. Just like in the poem’s line describing a dream that “…[sags]/ Like a heavy load,” Mama Younger feels that she has fallen short in taking care of her family (especially Walter Lee) and this weighs on her. She sags under the pain, wishing she could have done more for them all. This pain and feeling of inadequacy are reflected in Mama’s continual nurturing of her plant on the windowsill. Mama takes such Cunha 6 gentle care of it because she sees that “…[the] little old plant ain’t never had enough sunshine or nothing – and look at it,” it is withered and weak (1.1.52). The plant resembles all of the areas she feels she has failed in taking care of her own children. She places her plant in the only little bit of sunlight which reaches into the apartment as a way to nourish it, if only partially. She tries to redeem herself and show she is capable of providing for her family by taking care of the plant. By purchasing the home in Clybourne Park, Mama feels she will gradually relieve the weight pressing down on her shoulders (and by association, Walter Lee’s), in the same way she is gradually making her plant healthier as well. The final line of Hughes’ poem speaks for itself. It reads simply: “Or does it explode?” This image brings forth ideas of people’s deferred dreams being so long bottled up that given the slightest opportunity, those dreams will explode and destroy anything and everything around them. In attempting to fulfill his dreams, Walter Lee ruins not only his own chances, but also the dreams of his mother, Beneatha, Ruth, and by default, his dreams for his son’s future. Walter’s ultimate “explosion” comes when he realizes all of the money is gone, recognizing the gravity of what he has done, and he exclaims, “That money is made out of my father’s flesh!” (2.3.128). He feels he is being held responsible for singlehandedly causing the “explosion” of the dreams of his family and this pushes him to a breaking point. Walter yells, “What is the matter with you all? I didn’t make the world! It was [given] to me this way,” as he explodes in frustration, realizing his world is spinning out of control and he feels powerless to stop it. Mama younger also reaches her Cunha 7 breaking point when she realizes the money is gone. She hits Walter Lee repeatedly because she can no longer take the weight of failure; she is collapsing under it. This shows how the acquisition of their dreams being close enough to grasp and sense, overwhelms the family. It causes them to fall that much harder when opportunity slips away from them as they watch, helpless. Walter’s ultimate sacrifice for his family comes as an explosion of a different kind, an explosion of pride in how far they have come. It is an explosion of admiration for his father’s memory. Walter Lee redeems himself by finally standing up for his family, putting them above himself, the way his father had always done. The dignity he realizes he and his family still possess despite their deferred dreams pours out of Walter as he finally admits to their one true dream: the dream his father had for his family his entire life. His father earned this dream for them “brick by brick” and Walter Lee intends to revive the vision and make it real for his family, finally making his father proud (3.1.148). Ultimately, Big Walter’s dream was the most important dream to the Youngers and they realize it was an all-­‐encompassing dream that they all were unconsciously striving for in their own ways. Cunha 8 Work Cited Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Random House, 1958. Print. Hughes, Langston. “Dream Deferred” (“Harlem”).