Of course, white people definitely
did not want to raise their children in
the “Black Belt” because of the over-
crowding and slum housing. Lorraine
Hansberry successfully mirrors these
social conditions in her play.
The “apartment” where the Youngers
live is not proper housing for any family.
Firstly, the greatest proof is shown
by Beneatha when she was “spraying
insecticide into the cracks in the walls.”
By this phrase, it is clear that the
apartment is so old and damaged that
a lot of cracks have opened in the walls,
and the family is facing a cockroach
infestation. The child Travis has to leave
the house every time Beneatha sprays
the bugs because of the “awful smell”
and poison of the insecticide. Audiences
are totally right if they recognize that
this is creating poor health conditions.
Secondly, Beneatha says “I am going to
start timing these people” meaning the
ones who spend so much time in the
bathroom because families in multiple
apartments in that building have to
share only one bathroom – access to one toilet, one
bathtub, and one bathroom sink. Probably ten impatient
people will be waiting behind you for the restroom every
time you go in. Lastly, Beneatha also shows that their
“apartment” is so tiny that the family members cannot
even fit into it when she sarcastically says “Where is he
going to sleep, on the roof?” when she learns that her
sister-in-law, Ruth, is pregnant and within a year another
family member will join them. When audiences think of
the fact that young Travis is forced to sleep on the living
room sofa because of a lack of bedrooms, it is true that
they really have big problems to overcome. The cramped
conditions of their home were also highlighted at the
very beginning of the play when the author explained the
five uses of the main room – as a kitchen, a bedroom, a
dining room, a living room, and as a place to get fresh air
and sunlight since the only window is there.
Thirdly, we can see that family members always fight just
because of their poverty and the emotional irritation
of living crowded together with no personal space.
Initially the audiences are exposed to the discussion of
the couple, Ruth and Walter, when Ruth scoffingly says
“I would rather be living in Buckingham Palace.” Ruth
actually means that her husband Walter always dreams
about being rich but those dreams are unreachable.
Ruth thinks that it will always be impossible for them to
ever have better lives. This is also because Ruth thinks of
26
THE CLAPPER 2018 - 2019
Walter as an unsuccessful type of man. As she pointedly
says “There are colored men who do things” meaning
that Walter is a failure because of his laziness and weak
personality traits, not because of white racism. Secondly,
the aggression triggered by poverty and overcrowding
can be understood by the audience when the two adult
siblings, Walter and Beneatha, are observed starting to
fight and insult each other as soon as they wake up each
morning. This leads to a vicious fight between Walter
and his sister Beneatha because of the loss of her money
- $3,000 - that Walter stole and then lost to a swindler.
Because of his actions, Beneatha’s medical schooling has
now become a “dream deferred”. Walter also loses his
steady job because of his irresponsibility which darkly
foreshadows that this might possibly lead to his suicide
because Walter firmly believes that “money is life”.
To conclude, Lorraine Hansberry successfully explores
the effects of poor living conditions and social injustice
in “A Raisin in the Sun”. When audiences finish viewing
the play, they realize that that poverty doesn’t just result
in physical hunger. There are strong negative emotional
effects of living in harsh conditions and facing racial
discrimination in housing access. The Younger family
symbolizes serious challenges which a lot of black
families in Chicago had to face in the 1950’s.
Mert YILMAZ
10-B