A Rains in the Sun blog #5

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

The ultimate force running throughout the play is motivation. Each member of the family has a certain goal or aspiration they wish to achieve, mostly centered around making something of oneself. This can be seen most clearly with Walter. His deepest desire is  to escape his less than average life style and make it into the big times. He believes working in the liquor industry will increase his chances of becoming successful, therefore he resents anybody who turns the idea down ( his whole family). Since his family will not support him on the idea, he feels a great deal of animosity toward them for restraining him from his ambitions. Beneatha is another character who has deep motivation. Although she is aware that women are typically unable to be doctors, especially a black, woman doctor, she continues to work towards this goal anyway due to her strong desire to be independent. Beneatha states, "Get over it? What are you talking about, Ruth? Listen, I'm going to be a doctor. I'm not worried about who I am going to marry yet." (Hansberry, 50). Although her family may find this goal to be unrealistic, Beneatha is set on making it a reality. Ruth is final character with great motivation. Ruth desires to live a more normal and manageable family lifestyle. She wants a nice house for her family to live in  and a good relationship with her husband, but it seems that none of this will be possible without the money from the check. When something gets in her way, such as the unplanned baby, Ruth considers drastic matters in order to cause any further disruption. She wants to attain a better life, just like the rest of the family members.