"A Raisin in the Sun"-The Generation Gap.

Show how Raisin deals with the generation gap--the problems that the older generation has in dealing with the younger generation and vice versa. 

 

"In my time we was worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if we could and how to stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too...Now here come you and Beneatha--talking 'bout things we ain't never even thought about hardly, me and your daddy.  You ain't satisfied or proud of nothing we done.  I mean that you had a home; that we kept you out of trouble till you was grown; that you don't have to ride to work on the back of nobody's streetcar--You my children--but how different we done become" (Hansberry, 74)

 

Lorraine Hansberry creates a great conflict between the generation of Mama and the generation of Walter and Ruth.  Mama does not understand how Ruth and Walter can be so unappreciative and fail to recognize what they do have versus what they do not.  Regarding Ruth and Walter's generation, there seems to be an abundance of self-perceived shame.  They hold little pride in the jobs they hold--even referring to themselves as "servants".  Walter abhors his job as a chauffeur and takes little appreciation in the fact that he has a job at all, as pointed out by Mama.  Because of this miniscule amount of pride, they seem to have difficulty being proud of anyone else.  For example, they chastise Beneatha for going after her dream of being a doctor instead of applaud her efforts.  Mama understands the amount of hard work it took to get the family where it is today, even if they are experiencing a rough patch.  Her husband, her parents, and ancestors wanted to create a better life for future generations.  Mama recognizes that this is a process that will take time.  Unfortunately, they will not be immediately gratified with the perfect life.  Though wise, Mama is incapable of seeing the large toll the times have taken on Ruth and Walter's generation that creates the high level of frustration.  They are working day in a day out and getting nowhere fast.  In the end, they eventually find that the middle ground of these two conflicts is where the resolution lies.