Sibling Conflicts within A Raisin in the Sun In the play A Raisin in the Sun, the playwright Lorraine Hansberry depicts the life of an impoverished African American family living on the south side of Chicago. The Youngers, living in a small apartment and having dreams larger than the world in which they live, often use verbal abuse as a way to vent their anger and problems. Many times, this verbal abuse leads to unnecessary conflict within the family. The most frequently depicted conflict is that between Walter and his sister Beneatha. Walter wants nothing more than to be a wealthy entrepreneur who can provide for his family, while Beneatha has plans of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. Both characters are opposed to the others dreams and are unsupportive of each others actions. This opposition creates serious conflict within the Younger household, and specifically among Walter, Beneatha, and Mama.During the course of the play, conflicts between Beneatha and her brother Walter are revealed. Walter believes his sister should be a mainstream woman and not have great dreams and ambitions for her life. "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." (1392) This passage shows that Walter is clearly a chauvinist and does not believe in his sisters vision to become a doctor. Similarly, Beneatha does not believe in Walters aspirations of becoming a rich entrepreneur, and thinks he is rather foolish, incapable, and will resort to any means to make money. On the flipside, Walter also shows his unsupportive attitude when Beneatha makes the following comment. "Oh, God! Where is the bottom! Where is the real honest-to-God bottom so he cant go any further!" (142). Beneatha is referring to the fact that Walter plots and schemes to get more ridiculous as time goes on. She wonders however, if there will be a limit...
