An Analysis Of Struggle In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Constructing your self-identity is a struggle everyone faces. The struggle is amplified for those who also face the difficultly of fitting into prejudiced world. How would someone in today’s world deal with this? Would that person be easily influenced by others? Would they have a strong self-identity not based on what other people tell them to say or do, even in a racist environment? These are the difficulties many people, especially African Americans, faced in the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, not only illustrates this struggle in A Raisin in the Sun, but faced the challenge in her own life. In A Raisin in the Sun, she writes about different generations “trapped in a Chicago apartment, unable to break an invisible barrier that keeps them from
the white suburban neighborhood”(Tackach). Each character faces a different challenge. These people are facing racial barriers throughout their lives. They did nothing to deserve the barriers, and there is virtually nothing they can do it change them. Going against society’s beliefs is a very difficult task most people cannot accomplish. These people are only trying to make a better life for themselves. They each had dreams that are made even more difficult to accomplish due to the invisible barrier. Even if they think they create their own beliefs independently the environment around them subconsciously creates these ideas, beliefs, and dreams for them. These things play a major role in a person’s life, and helps form who they are. The construction of one’s self identity is affected by the people and environment around them.