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Segregation as an Obstacle to Human Dreams

In addition to excluding its black population from equal participation in many areas of public life such as living areas and education, white society also kept blacks in a position of economic marginality. It is a time where "the white segregationist argues that Negro families are really better off in their own communities (Guttmann 1). Hansberry also incorporates into her work the fact that there is a clash between the black nationalist and the black integrationist during that time with the use of comparison between Joseph Asagai, a Nigerian student who is very proud of his African heritage, and George Murchison, an arrogant African-American who is already assimilated to the white world. In the ending of her play, she shows her audiences that she is in favor of the integrationists, in favor of those who believe that African-Americans should be able to join the mainstream of American society, to be able to work with the whites and to be able to live with the whites. .
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             A Raisin in the Sun is a play about dreams and how an individual's dream can come into conflict with another individual's dream. The major plot of the play centers on Lena Younger's determination to get her family out of her current ghetto neighborhood and move into a decent home for the sake of the stability and happiness of her children. It is a dream that she shared with her late husband. Lena bought the house based on her love for her family rather than the idea of opposition to segregation. It can be seen from her response to her son, Walter's objection of her decision, "I just tried to find the nicest place for the least amount of money for my family" (93). She describes her dream house that she bought as a "three bedrooms "nice big one for [Walter] and Ruth. Travis [will] have one of his own. And there's a yard where I could maybe get to grow me a few flowers"" (92). .
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             Lena is the most religious and maternal character in the play.


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