Dreams: Do They Dry Up Like a Raisin in the Sun?

Ever since I picked up A Raisin in the Sun, I have always wondered why Hansberry included the short little poem in the beginning of her play.  Now, after reading the play, I realized that dreams are a crucial motif throughout it. Furthermore, I realized that while some dreams are accomplished, many others are left unfulfilled to "dry up / Like a raisin in the sun" (Langston Hughes). For example, Walter dreams to become wealthy and provide for his family. In fact, he wants to attain this dream of his so badly that he was willing to make a very risky investment in a liquor shop. Walter’s ill-advised decision marks the destruction of his dream as he later finds out that the money he invested has gone down the drain when Willy Harris runs off with the large sum of money Walter had invested: the $3500 Mama had given to him and the $3000 meant for Beneatha’s education. As a result, this shows the nature of the society in which Walter lives in – a society that is swayed by the thought of money which leaves the symbolic raisins of many left to dry under the unforgiving heat of its sun. This supports that fact that, contrary to popular belief, the play does not have such a happy ending as it seems to have. Although Ruth achieves her dream of moving out of the ghetto and owning better house to live in, her dream of building a happy family still is left unfulfilled as Mr. Lindner says that the family doesn’t “know what [they’re] getting into” (Hansberry 149) and the move to an all-white neighborhood is likely to cause future conflict. Thus, the once thought cheerful ending is not as happy as it seems.