Feminism and Roles in “A Raisin in the Sun” Play

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Table of Contents

The Script Analysis
Exploring Feminism Movements in the Context of the Play
Role Interpretation
Works Cited

The Script Analysis

The play A Raisin in the Sun communicates the ideas of family greed and mercantilism persuasions. The sophisticated evaluation of Beneatha’s positioning provides a background for further investigation.

Collaborative Role-Directed Questions

The four questions that are raised in the work regarding the character’s theoretical grounding. These are such questions as: “What does Beneatha’s conduct reveal about her intentions?”, “How does the character treat female’s role in society?”, “How does Beneatha regard poor people?”, “How does the heroine explain her choice of profession?”

Responding to Two Questions

The first critical issue that underlines the principles of actor positioning is the matter of Beneatha’s behavior. The girl adopts a rude manner of speaking to her family members. Second, it is crucial to review the feminist ideals that are reflected in the character’s speech. Beneatha considers that it is humiliating for a self-confident woman to descend to the role of a housewife.

Script Referencing

The issue of Beneatha’s disrespectfulness may be revealed through a few direct quotations. Thus, while responding to Ruth’s question about the biology class, the girl claims: “I dissected something that looked like you yesterday” (Hansberry 496). The underestimation of her mother’s abilities is supported by Beneatha’s phrase “Don’t worry – I do not expect you to understand” (Hansberry 505). The third quotation was selected so that to illustrate Beneatha’s disrespect of Ruth as well as her underestimation of the boy’s mental abilities: “Brother isn’t crazy yet – he – he’s an elaborate neurotic” (Hansberry 506). Finally, a quotation “Do me a favor and don’t ask him ignorant questions” shows that Beneatha considers her mother to be stupid since the latter is uneducated (Hansberry 511).

The feminist strivings are revealed through the following quotations: “And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all!” as well as “What do you want from me, brother – that I quit school or just drop dead” (Hansberry 497). Moreover, the following arguments prove Beneatha’s feeling of female inferiority: “How much cleaning can a house need!” and “I just want to learn to play guitar. Is there anything wrong with that?” (Hansberry 514).

Exploring Feminism Movements in the Context of the Play

As an actor playing the role of Beneatha in A Raisin in the Sun, I am interested in knowing about the feminist movements that influenced the world views in the 20^th century.

According to Ruth, the psychological stability of females in the 1950s was influenced by the renovated family and education conceptions. Specifically, the scientific analysis proved that the new liberation ideas disrupted the foundation of American family life (Ruth 2).

Source One

Moulton, Ruth. “Some Effects of the New Feminism.” The American Journal of Psychiatry 134.1 (1977): 1-6.

The academic resource serves as a reliable grounding for Beneatha’s role positioning. The work assists in perceiving the ultimate motives of the 20^th-century woman, who was seeking education. Specifically, the research study explained the prejudiced attitude towards Beneatha, which was adopted by her relatives and friends. The analysis guides me through the process of impersonation. Thus, as an actor, I realized that the role demands a depiction of a willful, strong, and highly-motivated female, who breaks the social stereotypes.

Source Two

Coontz, Stephanie. The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap, New York: Basic Books, 1992. Print.

The work was written as a description of multiple dimensions of human life in the middle of the 20^th century. Among the familiar topics, the author dwells on the social ranks as well as gender-related issues (Coontz 12). Thus, the materials are helpful for the role development since they reveal that Beneatha disrespected her parents since she considered that their social status did not comply with her potential.

Role Interpretation

Character Artifacts

Playing the role of Beneatha from A Raisin in the Sun presupposes the acquaintance with the primary life artifacts that characterize the personage’s life values and objectives. Thus, they are:

greed;
money;
education;
superiority;
gender equality;
professional perfection.

Role Notes

The role of Beneatha implies embracing the characteristic features of a willful woman, who strives to supersede her relatives and friends as well as to prove the external world that feminism is a living dogma that supports strong and educated women. Thus, the girl seeks opportunities for receiving a degree from a doctor. Consequently, the primary objective of the actor is to reveal the perseverance and strength of character.

The numerous disgraceful quotations prove that Beneatha respects neither her mother, who did not manage to become educated nor her brother. The scrapes of mistreatment and disregard are distinguishable in her speech. Therefore, the actor has to master speaking in a disgraceful manner as well as using verbal insulting techniques. Moreover, the winning strategy of role-playing includes raising the voice so that to show the character’s superiority over her relatives. Finally, since the personage serves as an embodiment of evil and disgrace, the actor should practice using a fierce and mad look.

Works Cited