The Family Dream And Conflict In A Raisin In The Sun From The Perspective Of Family Systems Theory

Lorraine Hansberry(1930-1965)is the first black woman to stage a play on Broadway and is considered one of the most important voices in African-American theater.Her masterpiece,A Raisin In The Sun,premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in March 1959.Hansberry became the only black woman to win a New York Theater Critics Association Award for her play.The huge success of A Raisin In the Sun made Hansberry a pioneer for black women playwrights to enter Broadway,opening a new way for other black women writers to enrich American drama with their talents and wisdom.In recent years,many critics have studied A Raisin in the Sun from the perspectives of theme,redemption,racial issues,social problems,space theory,southern history,identity,persona,womanism,black feminism,ecofemininists,eco-criticism,spatial theory,community thought,absurd thoughts,double consciousness,American dream,close reading and reader response theory.However,the current literature of this drama has not been studied from the theory of family systems.With the birth and improvement of the family systems theory,the exploration and analysis of the growth process of characters presents a new research perspective.This thesis mainly uses the family systems theory to interpret the family dream and conflict in the Raisin in the Sun.Family systems theory holds that the family concept is an emotional unit,a chain of relationships.In the family systems,each family member’s behavior will affect other members.Only in this system can the behaviors and emotions of the members be fully understood and explained.This thesis first discusses the family dreams and conflicts in Walter’s family structure in A Raisin in the Sun:the dreams and conflicts in the husband and wife subsystem,the dreams and conflicts in the parents’ subsystem,and the dreams and conflicts in the brothers and sisters subsystem.Secondly,it analyzes the psychological development of the three heroines between their family dreams and conflicts:Lena’s belonging,Ruth’s self-sacrifice,and Beneatha’s self-differentiation.Finally,it expounds the egoistic investment of male protagonist Walter:the situation before and after his investment failure.This thesis has concluded that from the perspective of family systems theory,and through the analysis of the family members in the process of pursuing their dreams,of how the psychological and behavior patterns gradually formed,and of why the psychological and behavior patterns developed,this thesis reveals that the family and individual growth significantly influences individual characters.This thesis also holds that in a family,each family member is positively and negatively affected by other members to some extent.When a member is faced with a problem,the whole family gives strength to solve the problem.The thesis consists of three parts.The first part is the introduction,including the reasons and the significance of the study,the domestic and foreign literature review and criticism method.The second part is the discussion and analysis part,including chapter one:the family dreams and conflicts in Walter’s family structure;chapter two:the three heroines’ psychological development between family dream and conflict;chapter three:the egoistic investment of the hero Walter.The third part is the conclusion.