A raisin in The Sun
Pursuit of Identity
In the play, Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha searches for her identity and starts to find it when her African friend, Asagi, introduces her to his culture.
Beneatha joins groups/activities to discover what her interests really are in hopes of finding her identity. She often gets into activities and never completes them; so when she tells her family she’s taking guitar lessons they poke fun at her: “Mama (Smiling) Lord, child, don’t you know what to do with yourself...I just wonders sometimes why you has to flit so from one thing to another” (47). Beneatha searches for her passion to express herself and help her find her identity. During the conversation, they say she’s so quick to leave one activity for another and that a woman, especially in this time, should not look for self-expression and conform to the ideal woman’s role.
During a conversation with Beneatha, her African friend Asagi brings up her hair and asks her why she mutilates it. Hair is often a vital characteristic of one’s identity and shows their comfort level with themselves. Asagi teasing Beneatha about her mutilating her hair was no coincidence, he reminds her of their first encounter: “Asagi …you said: Mr. Asagi- I want very much to talk with you. About Africa. You see, Mr. Asagi, I am looking for my identity” (62). Asagi already knows that Beneatha is a woman searching for her cultural and individual identity; during a conversation he brings up their first interaction in a sort of a nostalgic way, and then proceeds to tease her just like Ruth and Mama.
Beneatha, at this point, is ready to move on to the next stage in her life; and on the day of the move, Asagi asks her to marry him and go to Africa. Beneatha, in search for her identity, accepts the proposal and plans to be a doctor in Africa. “Beneatha (Girlishly and unreasonably trying to pursue the conversation) To go to Africa, Mama- be a doctor in Africa” (150)… Beneatha brings this up after being
In the play, Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha searches for her identity and starts to find it when her African friend, Asagi, introduces her to his culture.
Beneatha joins groups/activities to discover what her interests really are in hopes of finding her identity. She often gets into activities and never completes them; so when she tells her family she’s taking guitar lessons they poke fun at her: “Mama (Smiling) Lord, child, don’t you know what to do with yourself...I just wonders sometimes why you has to flit so from one thing to another” (47). Beneatha searches for her passion to express herself and help her find her identity. During the conversation, they say she’s so quick to leave one activity for another and that a woman, especially in this time, should not look for self-expression and conform to the ideal woman’s role.
During a conversation with Beneatha, her African friend Asagi brings up her hair and asks her why she mutilates it. Hair is often a vital characteristic of one’s identity and shows their comfort level with themselves. Asagi teasing Beneatha about her mutilating her hair was no coincidence, he reminds her of their first encounter: “Asagi …you said: Mr. Asagi- I want very much to talk with you. About Africa. You see, Mr. Asagi, I am looking for my identity” (62). Asagi already knows that Beneatha is a woman searching for her cultural and individual identity; during a conversation he brings up their first interaction in a sort of a nostalgic way, and then proceeds to tease her just like Ruth and Mama.
Beneatha, at this point, is ready to move on to the next stage in her life; and on the day of the move, Asagi asks her to marry him and go to Africa. Beneatha, in search for her identity, accepts the proposal and plans to be a doctor in Africa. “Beneatha (Girlishly and unreasonably trying to pursue the conversation) To go to Africa, Mama- be a doctor in Africa” (150)… Beneatha brings this up after being