Joe Valchar

Ms. Price

English 1 Honors

30 May 2018

Dissociative Identity Disorder In “A Raisin in the Sun”

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a rare yet under recognized disorder that is not

always noticed by the person suffering from this. Most people with this develop it over time and

typically they are not born with this ailment. This disorder was formerly known as Multiple

Personality Disorder, and some of the key symptoms include disturbances of memory and

identity, coexistence of two different identities, and an internal struggle to define oneself

(Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, P ). These symptoms can be found in Beneatha from a “A Raisin In

the Sun” as the story progresses. This mental struggle can arise from dramatic or extreme events

in a person's childhood. Beneatha from “A Raisin In the Sun” has Dissociative Identity Disorder

because she has a difficult time identifying herself throughout the play, and she also had a very

stressful childhood.

In Act One Scene One, right at the beginning of the play, Beneatha discusses with the

other people within the apartment about how she has struggled her entire life to find herself. She

talks about how she tries new activities and methods of expression all the time in order to find a

way to identify herself. Here is an example of how Beneatha has had many trials with different

occupations in order to find her identity “The horseback-riding club for which she bought that

fifty-five-dollar riding habit that’s been hanging in the closet ever since!” (Hansberry 25). This

quote shows how she is very indecisive about who she is as a person, which relates to the

symptom of Dissociative Identity Disorder of “A lack of a sense of self-identity” (nami.org).

Here and throughout the text, Beneatha says how she is searching for a way to “express herself”.

This is a demonstration of how her personalities are dissociative. Her different personalities

shine through at different times in her life, but she is still the same person just with different

identities. Due to this she thinks that she is struggling to find her identity, when really she just is

not always expressing the same Identity. This example of Beneatha trying many new expressions

to identify herself, is evident to the fact that she has Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Another reason that Beneatha is diagnosable with DID is that she grew up in a very

stressful environment. According to Richard P. Kluft, Dissociative Identity Disorder is not a

disease that someone is born with. It is an onset mental disability that can be cause or influenced

by childhood events. These events can be traumatic or gradual influence by being surrounded by

a bad environment similar to the black communities in Chicago at the time of the play

(link.springer.com). Throughout the text there is evidence that supports the idea of the

community that the Youngers live in is not a safe community. In the introduction of “A Raisin in

the Sun” it shows the state of the Youngers community by saying “Travis gleefully recounts his

latest adventure in the street below—makes tangible and visceral one of the many facts of ghetto

life that impel the Youngers’ move”(Hansberry Introduction). This supports that Beneatha grew

up and was raised in a very run down, possibly dangerous neighborhood. Growing up surrounded

by this type of environment is what ultimately causes Dissociative Personalities Disorder.

Growing up is a stressful environment because of the community and the financial struggles of

the family can cause this disorder. This evidence alone does not prove that Beneatha has the

disorder, yet this paired with the previous evidence shows not only why but how she has this

disorder.
 As well as the evidence throughout the play proving that Beneatha has multiple identities

there is one claim that she herself makes that shows a connection between her identities. She

states that throughout life, with all everything that has happened the one and only constant is her

desire to be a doctor. This is a fact that is stated by Beneatha herself, yet this does not disprove

the fact that Beneatha has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her different identities have different

expressions and wants in life, but she is still one person at the end of the day. Here is evidence

that there can be a “head” voice in a person with Dissociative Identity disorder “A person may

feel like one or more voices are trying to take control in their head” (nami.org). This is showing

that someone with DID can have a head personality. For Beneatha, her desire to become a doctor

is shared among her many identities because it is the one and only desire that she has had

forever, meaning that she wanted this before the development of her separate identities. Beneatha

has many different identities within herself, because of this she struggles to find a good way to

express herself, the fact that she wants to be a doctor in all of them does not disprove this

statement because she has had this want before the development of her disorder.

In “A Raisin In the Sun” Beneatha showcases her struggle to find herself throughout the

play, and grew up with communal and financial stress. This shows that she has Dissociative

Identity Disorder or DID which is a mental disorder where a person struggles to identify

themself. Beneatha's actions relate to the symptoms which include coexistence of identities and

an inner struggle to define oneself. A claim against this could be that Beneatha still wants to be a

doctor no matter what, but this merely shows that she wanted to be a doctor before the onset of

the disorder. Beneatha from “A Raisin In the Sun” has DID because she grew up in a stressful

environment and demonstrates a lack of self identity throughout the play.

Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Random, 1959.

Kluft, Richard P. “Dissociative Disorders.” SpringerLink, Springer, Dordrecht, 1 Jan. 1994,

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-2403-8_15.

“NAMI.” Home, www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-conditions/dissociative-disorders.

Salters-Pedneault, Kristalyn, and Steven Gans. “What Is Dissociative Identity Disorder?”

Verywell Mind, Verywellmind, www.verywellmind.com/dissociative-identity-disorder-

425423?_ga=2.91270866.996272292.1527689938-1123068873.1527689938.