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Casey Cunningham

Mr. Taylor

Honors English I

4 May 2021

Dreams in A Raisin in the Sun

Langston Hughes once said, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a

broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” In A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry,

several of the characters' dreams and perspectives relate to Hughes’ quote. Their deferred or

fulfilled dreams connect to the bird. The characters whose dreams are deferred have

consequences of the characters becoming resentful and unmotivated. In contrast, the

consequences of dreams fulfilled are becoming optimistic and joyful.

When a character's dreams are deferred it leads to resentment and loss of motivation. In A

Raisin in the Sun, Walter and Lena are arguing because Lena bought a house, “What you need

me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It

was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all

right for? (Bitterly, to hurt her as deeply as he knows is possible) So you butchered up a dream of

mine—you—who always talking ’bout your children’s dreams.” (Act 2, Scene 1). This quote

shows Walters' negative reaction to the house and the resentment towards Lena. Walter shows no

motivation to argue with Lena anymore because he feels that he is not supported or understood.

Walter loses hope and motivation for his dream ever being fulfilled because he needs other

people to believe in him. Walter's perspective changes because he sees that Lena’s priority is

making her family happy instead of supporting Walter and wanting him to achieve his dreams.
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The consequences of dreams fulfilled are optimism and joy. In A Raisin in the Sun, Ruth

reacts to Lena’s decision to buy a house, “HALLELUJAH! AND GOOD-BYE MISERY … I

DONT NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACE AGAIN!” (Act 2, Scene 1). In this quote

Ruth’s attitude changes immediately due to the feeling of relief. Ruth's reaction shows how

meaningful her dream is. Moving to a new house benefits many relationships between characters

but mainly the relationship between Ruth and Walter. Having more space would bring optimism,

hope, and lessen the tension in the family.

Dreams deferred have results of the characters getting resentful and unmotivated. The

results of dreams fulfilled are becoming optimistic and joyful. When a character's dreams are

deferred their relationships with other characters are negatively affected. When Walter's dreams

were deferred, his relationship with Ruth seemed to be at its worst and they were extremely

unhappy. Walter and Ruth started to resent each other and lose hope for motivation. When Walter

and Ruths dreams were fulfilled they were very optimistic and hopeful. Walter and Ruth’s

relationship relates to Hughes quote because without their dreams, their relationship fell apart

like the broken-winged bird. When their dreams were fulfilled, that bird could fly.