Materialism VS Spirituality in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry - Research Paper Example

Materialism VS Spirituality in “A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry Materialism is the preoccupation with material objects and comforts. It is placing an emphasis or stress upon the material world. It causes one to develop a disinterest in or total rejection of intellectual, spiritual or cultural values. It is an interest in and a desire for money and possessions, as opposed to ethical values and spirituality. Materialists reject any religious or supernatural account of things. It is a doctrine that the only values and the highest for that matter lie in the material well being and furtherance of material progress (Bloom 54). Spirituality, on the other hand, is an alleged immaterial reality. It is an inner path that allows one to discover his or being. Spirituality enables people to find out the deepest values and meaning by which they live. The main goal of spirituality is to develop an individual’s inner life. It is the awareness of oneself and the connection with other individuals in the human community and nature as a whole. It is not only fulfillment of one’s own dream, but it also a consideration of dreams and well being of others. A raisin in the sun is a play that looks at how an African-American family lives in South Chicago during the World War II and the 1950s. At the beginning of the play, the family is to receive a check for $10,000 from the insurance of Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy who has died. Every adult in the family has devised an idea as to what he or she would do with the money. This is what raises the question of materialism versus spirituality in the play. The play looks at the controversy of those who get fixated on material things, as opposed to those who look at the welfare of others above everything else. Some want to fulfill their dreams; others are looking to solve the family’s financial problems while others are selfless enough to accept whatever makes the others happy. It is a clash of competing private dreams because everyone is on the verge of discovering themselves and new world. It talks about the problems and frustrations of a black family which struggles to survive and keep hope for a brighter future (Morrin and Hansberry 15). Material values seduce many in the play as the Youngers’ struggle with spiritual and economic issues. The future poses numerous questions about the American dream and prospective success. There is a contradiction between economic values, power and status as compared to the values of integrity, justice and freedom. In the play, Walter’s desire is to make it as an American, while Mama’s determination is to retain the family’s pride and honor. The debate over materialism and spirituality gets brought out by Walter Lee and Mama whose conflict carries on throughout the play. There is a lot of materialism portrayed at the beginning of the play when Lena Younger- Mama, the elder in the household, receives $10,000 as a widow’s benefit. Every member of the family wants the money for themselves. Everyone wants to fulfill their own material private needs. Everyone is thinking of material things for themselves, and no one thinks about the cohesion of the family apart from Mama. There is a waging war and sharp conflict between spirituality and materialism as it is only Mama who has embraced spirituality as this play begins. Everyone else is materialistic. Walter Lee, Mama’s thirty-five-year-old son live together with his sister Beneatha, his wife Ruth and son Travis in his mother’s home. He claims that money is all that matters. He places enormous importance on economic success in securing rights for the blacks. He explained that such rights gave one power (Morrin and Hansberry 26). Walter does not care about the effects of his actions on other people in the family, the same family that he is working so hard to support as the man in the family. He does not understand that he must be keen on his family members’ needs in order to help them. He displays materialism when he becomes frustrated with his chauffeur job and wants to make an investment in a liquor store. Walter’s goal is highly material because he views this as a means of liberating his family from economic and psychological trap. This is a display of materialism. Mama counters this with a lot of spirituality because she looks at what the family needs which are better living conditions than their currently roach-infested kitchenette (Hansberry 18). She thinks of more physical space for the family and the psychological freedom that this space would bring with it. She decides to put a down payment on a house that is in Clybourne Park, a white neighborhood. This decision to put a deposit on a house in the white neighborhood is also a show of materialism. This is because Mama wants to acquire something material that she initially could not afford without consulting her family. She covets a house in a neighborhood owned by the whites and does this at the expense of her son’s happiness. This is a conflict between spirituality versus materialism. Mama’s decision goes against Walter who views the money as his last chance to gain some economic control over his life (Hansberry 20). Spirituality gets witnessed again where Mama realizes how deeply her decision has hurt her son, and she entrusts Walter with the rest of the money. She instructs him to place some in a savings account for his sister’s college education. After the savings, Walter gets given a go ahead by Mama to use the rest of the money to do what he wishes. This shows that Mama is not only thinking of herself and her dreams, but also looking out for all her children. For her, dreams are more valuable than material wealth. This is the first time that Walter who always fights with his family speaks with a calm voice in the play. He feels like the money has finally liberated him from all his problems (Bloom 67). For the first time, he gets portrayed as calm. He is able to explain his plans and ideas fully without interruption or criticism. He displays a lot of spirituality where he verifies his desire for a bright future for his son. His materialism comes into play again when he talks about Cadillac sports cars which complement his material universe. He values this world more than the women around him whom he feels are holding him back from realizing his dream. Materialism also comes into play when Ruth, Walter’s wife gets pregnant but does not want to keep the child because she feels that it will put financial pressure on her family members. All that she thinks about is the financial situation instead of other ethical values like whether abortion is acceptable or not. Ruth’s thoughts of an abortion dishearten Mama who strives hard to make it in the world while keeping her moral boundaries (Morrin and Hansberry 23). All she thinks about is herself and advancing her life without responsibility. Walter also silently supports her when he does not say anything to Ruth’s admission that she is considering abortion (Morrin and Hansberry 26). Materialism gets viewed again in the play when Walter loses the money his mother gives him in a dubious business deal. He goes into this deal in an attempt to advance himself. He does not save money for his sister’s education the way his mother had requested him to do. Willy Harris, Walter’s friend also shows materialism when he tricks Walter to invest in a liquor store only to run away with his money (Hansberry 79). When presented with the opportunity to recover the money by selling out the house to the Clybourne Park Association whose determination is to keep out blacks from the neighborhood, he accepts the offer. He ignores all the demeaning implications of accepting this offer just to fulfill his material needs. However, spirituality wins this battle when Walter realizes that he would rather keep the pride of his family than attain material things. He consequently rejects the proposal. The Clybourne Park Association does not look at the well being of every human being in their society. They get so focused on evicting the Youngers from their neighborhood. They want to fulfill their dream of never allowing any black man into their neighborhood. They become blinded by material things that they feel that offering the Youngers money will solve all their problems. They believe that everything in life is all materialistic and nothing is above the earthly possessions. They get disapproved by Walter when he displays that, in life some things are more valuable than material possessions. He does this by putting his family above everything else. Beneatha, Walter’s sister views education as the answer to all her problems. She thinks less of people who do not have an education. She also wanted to use the money from the insurance for her medical school tuition. Mama agrees with the idea that Beneatha is better than Walter simply because she has an education and Walter is a simple chauffeur. This is a show of materialism because all that Mama and Beneatha value is education instead of family and relationship within the family. The Youngers even get described as one proud-acting bunch of colored folks due to some of their beliefs (Hansberry 45). Mama also disagrees with Beneatha’s progressive and seemingly unchristian sentiments about God. Mama values spirituality and belief in God a lot. Beneatha wishes that her family had no interest in joining the world of the whites which is a show of spirituality. She tries to keep her identity by looking back into the past of Africa and adopting an African haircut (Hansberry 81). This shows that she valued being black and felt that joining the white world was not the solution to their problems. When Beneatha’s Nigerian boyfriend Joseph Asagai proposes to her, it is because he believes the transcendent power of woman and man. His belief cannot get shaken by the loss of money in the Youngers family, material things or even the devastation of human betrayal. It is this faith that he wishes Beneatha to adopt and come back with him to his troubled homeland and fights the terrible odds (Morrin and Hansberry 28). The struggles of the Younger family depict a struggle between materialism and spirituality. Many are struggling to attain the material things they had not had throughout the suffering of the World War II and civil wars. This gets done at the expense of many other things that are more valuable than keeping the family intact and happy. The Youngers struggle economically and socially in the play but they come together to realize the dream of buying a house. Mama teaches her family the value of family above material things (Bloom 119). Walter and Beneatha learn the importance of putting others dreams before yours. This is because Mama does this and ends up making the family happy unlike all the others who put their dreams ahead and end up disappointed. The play brings out materialism in characters that value acquisition of money over human life and dignity. The spirit of humankind must affirm freedom, justice, integrity, and caring at the expense of comfort or even life itself. Spirituality versus materialism comes out strongly in the play a raisin in the sun and as much as there is a lot of materialism displayed, spirituality comes out on top at the end of the day. As the play ends, everyone in the play gets seen putting the needs of others before their own (Bloom 94). There is a renewed hope and unity for the Youngers when they move into the new neighborhood. Their future seems unsure and mildly unsafe, but they are hopeful for a brighter future. They are sure that if they stick together as a family and believe in one another, they are all capable of achieving their dreams as one. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2009. Print. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New york: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011. Print. Maxine Morrin, Lorraine Hansberry. A Raisin in the Sun (MAXNotes Literature Guides). New Jersey: Research & Education Assoc, 1994. Print. Read More