An Analysis of the Construction of African American Identity in A Raisin in the Sun

馮宇 鄒依桐

Abstract：The American “Negro Problem” is a constant topic concerned by many scholars.A Raisin in the Sun is a representative of Lorraine Hansberry concerning the theme of racism.Since racial discrimination still exists and continues to prevent the blacks from pursuing freedom and equality as the whites，African Americans are actually quiet confused and conflicted about their identity.This paper will mainly make an analysis on the construction of African American identity from the perspective of Du Bois double consciousness.

Keywords：A Raisin in the Sun，racial，discrimination，equality，identity，double consciousness

1.The Pursuit of American Identity

Living in an American society，the blacks desperately want to join the mainstream culture and enjoy their deserved rights.The five Younger family members live in a crowded two-bedroom apartment.“Weariness has，in fact，won in this room.Everything has been polished，washed，sat on，used，scrubbed too often”.（A Raisin in the Sun，487） In order to improve their living situation，they worked very hard to establish themselves in the American society.

Walter works as a chauffeur in the American society.He wants to use the insurance money to open a liquor store with his friends.He desires to have a better position in the society and provide the family with a better living condition.He wants to achieve the American dream.He is eager to play an important role in the white society，and he believes that the American identity could be constructed by financial success.Walter is desired to enter the white culture.At the same time，he is quite shamed of African culture.His investment idea is not accepted by his families，so he thinks that African-American people only know how to moan，pray，and have babies.

Beneatha is the most educated one in the family.She is lucky to have an opportunity to go to college and has the access to get in touch with a variety of different ideologies and cultural backgrounds.Beneatha wishes to go to a medical school to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor in America.She believes that only through education can African Americans live better lives and improve their social status.She tries no efforts to get a bright future and establish herself in the American society through education.

From above we can see that the African Americans make efforts to establish themselves in the American mainstream culture.They manage to have a position of their own in the white community and want to be real American citizens.It is actually a process of the construction of American identity.However，there exist a lot of obstacles in the identification of American mainstream culture.The African Americans are not accepted by the white people at all，although the Youngers family has been lived in America for six generations.African Americans work hard day and night.They are like “a raisin in the sunshine”.However they still cannot avoid being poor，which has greatly destroyed their confidence to better their lives.They are marginalized because they are black.So they are eager to make it clear who they are.When they attempt to emphasize their American identity in mainstream American society，they are not able to attain the equal rights that they deserve，and the only thing they get is discrimination and rejection.When they admit that they are Africans，they can not deny that they are American citizens actually.Therefore，it is quiet reasonable that under racial discrimination，African Americans have experienced a sense of double consciousness.

2.The Preserving of African Cultural Identity

Walter and Beneatha want to identify themselves with Americans.They dream to change their miserable fate and be a real part of America.They struggles to live in the American society under “double consciousness”.To get out of confusion of cultural identity，they have made a great effort.Walters investment turns out to be a failure.And for Beneatha，her dream to be a doctor in America can never be realized.Because in a society filled with racism，blacks education does not mean that they can have the equal rights with the white.Under such circumstance，African Americans back to the traditional black culture to find spiritual support.

The most representative character is Asagai who is very proud of African cultures.When he visits Beneathas family，he tells Mama directly and clearly that he is from Nigeria of Africa with no intention to cover up his African identity.He is proud of everything in African.When he comes back from Canada，he brings colorful robes of a Nigerian woman to Beneatha as gifts.He even thinks Beneathas change of her crinkly hair is a kind of “mutilation”.In his eyes，black peoples crinkly hair and their cloth are both beautiful.

3.Conclusion

Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun describes the hard lives of an African-American family，the Youngers who live in the southern area of Chicago.The story shows us how the African Americans struggle to gain the white societys acceptance and establish themselves in the American mainstream culture，and how they are rejected by the white society.The prejudice in white society make African Americans revision their identity.On one hand，as American citizens，African Americans tries to obtain the acceptance of the white society and construct their American identity.On the other hand，African culture is a significant part of their identity which provides a spiritual support for African Americans.Therefore，an African Americans identity is not a pure African or American but a combination of the two.There exists a double consciousness in their mind.They need to find a balance between the two identities.

Works Cited

[1]Hansberry，Lorraine.Lorraine Hansberry：A Raisin in the Sun.Sch?ningh im Westermann，2008.

[2]駱洪.非裔美國文學賞析.重慶大學出版社，2014.

作者簡介

馮宇（1994—），女，漢族，河南新鄉人，英語專業碩士，單位：云南大學外國語學院英語語言文學專業2017級碩士研究生，研究方向：美國文學。

鄒依桐（1995—），女，漢族，四川內江市人，英語語言文學碩士，單位：云南大學外國語學院英語語言文學專業碩士2017級研究生，研究方向：英美文學。

（作者單位：云南大學外國語學院）