Who Is Cory In Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

In the story A Raisin in the Sun, written by L. Hansberry, the Younger family resides in a small, beaten down home. In this family, only one member is well educated. Miss Beneatha is attending school and plans to become a doctor. Her mother, Lena, receives a life insurance check from her husband who has passed. Lena uses part of the check as a down payment on a new house for the family. She gives the rest of the check to her son, Walter, trusting him to put a portion of the money back for Beneatha’s schooling. However, Walter is irresponsible and spends the entire check on himself (Hansberry, 1959). This situation is similar to the events of the play Fences, written by A. Wilson. In this story, a little boy named Cory is also part of a poor family. Cory dreams of becoming a professional football player. However, his father believes that because he is black, he will not be successful as a professional player (Wilson, 1987). In these stories, both Beneatha and Cory have high hopes for the future and the resources to act upon them. However, after the unforeseen circumstances in each character’s situation and the attitudes of society in the time period, Cory is
more likely to solidify a spot in the middle class.
A Raisin in the Sun is set somewhere in time between the events of World War II and 1959. During this time period, women were equal to men in some ways. However, they were still seen as inferior. This is apparent in the way that Walter treats the women in the Younger household, saying to his wife, “We one group of men tied to a race of women with small minds!” (Hansberry, 1959, p. 1772) or to his sister, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people - then go be a nurse like other women - or just get married and be quiet.” (Hansberry, 1959, p. 1774). Though during this time period, women have been granted the right to vote for over 20 years, with a man in the house with the kind of attitude that Walter displays, it is unlikely that a woman, especially a woman in poverty, will have the mental or financial resources to become successful.
In Fences, the situation is different, but the concept is almost the same. Cory is fascinated with football. He has immense skill in the sport, and he practices constantly, even neglecting his chores to do so. However, neglecting his chores causes problems for him. Troy becomes angry with Cory for being irresponsible with his housework and not working enough at his part-time job. Cory becomes upset, telling his mom, “Papa done went up to the school and told Coach Zellman I can’t play football no more. Wouldn’t even let me play the game. Told him to tell the recruiter not to come” (Wilson, 1987, p. 1862).
Despite his skill in the sport, Troy refuses to let Cory become a successful football player.
The play is set in the year 1957, a whole 10 years after Jackie Robinson is named Rookie of the Year, and 8 years after he is given the title of National League MVP (“Jackie Robinson biography”). However, Troy still has his mind set that men of color are unable to become successful in major league sports. He says to Cory in Act I, Scene III, “If they got a white fellow sitting on the bench...you can bet your last dollar he can’t play! The colored guy got to be twice as good before he get on the team. That’s why I don’t want you to get all tied up in them sports. Man on the team and what it get him? They got colored on the team and don’t use them. Same as not having them. All them teams the same” (Wilson, 1987, p.
1850).
According to Ruby Payne, Beneatha and Cory both have adequate mental, spiritual, and physical resources to successfully move from a life of poverty to one of the middle class. However, the actions of the alpha male in each play prevent the characters from pursuing their hopes for the future. Had Beneatha still had the financial resources to attend medical school to become a doctor, it is unlikely she would have had a strong support system to keep her going, considering Walter’s negative comments and lack of support (Payne, 2013, p. 9).
Though Troy would not allow Cory to play football professionally, it is learned at the end of the play that Cory had gone off to join the Marines. It has been some time since Cory has seen his family. They are reunited only when Cory shows up at Troy’s funeral. Ruby Payne believes, “In order to move from poverty to middle class or from middle class to wealth, one must usually trade off some relationships for achievement, at least for a period of time” (Payne, 2013, p. 83). Because of Cory’s decision to join the Marines, he has created a stable source of income for himself. Being away from his family for a bit has given him the time to exchange his relationships with his family for his newlyfound success. Based upon these events, it can be inferred that Cory has most likely created for himself a lifestyle of a middle class citizen, a reality that would not be as easily achieved by Beneatha Younger (Wilson, 1987).