Characters Representing Major Ideas and Themes In A Raisin in the Sun

In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is faced with many big issues and themes that affect African Americans in the 1950’s. These overlying themes appear in the form of individuals in the play, even for those characters that play only minor roles. George Murchison, Willy Harris, and Mr. Lindner each represent different obstacles that the Younger’s must overcome in order to follow their dreams and trust what is in their hearts. This is Hansberry’s way of telling her readers to not be afraid to follow their dreams, even if there are obstacles in your path, because if they don’t then they will be worse off than ever before. George Murchison is the living example of assimilationist culture and it’s destructive tendencies toward your native culture and heritage. He dresses like whites, acts like whites, and puts more value on money than on thoughts and culture. Beneatha witnesses this transformation occurring in her brother, and it angers her. She feels pressured by society to assimilate. George has merged with the American White Majority’s ideals and has no difficulty in doing so, which deeply troubles Beneatha, who believes that if you lose your heritage, you in turn lose yourself. George gets incredibly aggravated whenever Beneatha mentions how she feels on the topic of Assimilation, and finally George can’t listen any longer to her and snaps, “Let’s face it, baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch of raggedy- assed spirituals and some grass huts!” (Hansberry, 81) Beneatha is trying to find herself by rediscovering her culture, while George is separating himself from his as much as possible. This huge difference between the two is the main reason behind Beneatha’s dislike of him and love of Asagai, who fully embraces his culture. He helps her overcome modern society’s expectations and dance to her own drumbeat, therefore giving her a way to find herself. The pressure to assimilate into society