American Dream in a Raisin in the Sun
CHAPTER III: The Impact of Identity on Dreams –
1. Identity in the Sight of Other People
In actual fact, people have a certain view or conception about what somebody is. This view is quite different from what the individual himself has. But then the harm in all this is that this state of affairs has a great impact on what an individual is supposed to become in life especially when he doesn’t have a great sense of objectivity or when he is not determined to achieve his life goal regardless of the opposition or the influence exerted upon them by society. . . Often times, this conception of somebody makes him loose his self-confidence and try to comply with what others want him to be or think he is. In trying to reajust his nature in order to harmonize his life with other people’s view, he twists his own identity and becomes somebody else than who he is in actual fact.
This is what we notice through the character of George Murchison who despite his belonging to a certain race, tried to behave like a member of another race because he didn’t have a great sense of Africanness
Sometimes, because of the conception they have of other people, they would try to compel them to behave in a certain way. The white society always try then to determine the kind of life Black people are supposed to lead. This can be seen through the novel Invisible Man where the protagonist struggles hard to break from the mold crafted and held together by white society throughout the novel. The stereotypes and expectations of a racist society compel blacks to behave only in certains ways, never allowing them to act according to their own will. Even the actions of black activits seeking equality are manipulated as if they were marionettes on strings. Throughout the novel the invisible man, the protagonist encounters this situation and although he strives to achieve his own identity in society, his determination is that it is impossible.
When he returns to Harlem, Tod Clifton has
1. Identity in the Sight of Other People
In actual fact, people have a certain view or conception about what somebody is. This view is quite different from what the individual himself has. But then the harm in all this is that this state of affairs has a great impact on what an individual is supposed to become in life especially when he doesn’t have a great sense of objectivity or when he is not determined to achieve his life goal regardless of the opposition or the influence exerted upon them by society. . . Often times, this conception of somebody makes him loose his self-confidence and try to comply with what others want him to be or think he is. In trying to reajust his nature in order to harmonize his life with other people’s view, he twists his own identity and becomes somebody else than who he is in actual fact.
This is what we notice through the character of George Murchison who despite his belonging to a certain race, tried to behave like a member of another race because he didn’t have a great sense of Africanness
Sometimes, because of the conception they have of other people, they would try to compel them to behave in a certain way. The white society always try then to determine the kind of life Black people are supposed to lead. This can be seen through the novel Invisible Man where the protagonist struggles hard to break from the mold crafted and held together by white society throughout the novel. The stereotypes and expectations of a racist society compel blacks to behave only in certains ways, never allowing them to act according to their own will. Even the actions of black activits seeking equality are manipulated as if they were marionettes on strings. Throughout the novel the invisible man, the protagonist encounters this situation and although he strives to achieve his own identity in society, his determination is that it is impossible.
When he returns to Harlem, Tod Clifton has