Intra-racism in Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun: A Sociological Study

Volume 20 , Issue 2 , August 2019 , Pages 389-398

Authors

Bakhtiar S. Hama 1

1 Department of English, College of Basic Education, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

DOI logo 10.17656/jzsb.10903

Keywords

Abstract

This paper studies intra-racism in A Raisin in the Sun, a play by the African-American
playwright Lorraine Hansberry. Intra-racism or internalized racism is a term used to talk about the
violence which is performed among the members of the same group who are themselves oppressed
by others or another group. Hansberry focuses on the life of a black family which consists of five
members who are victims of both racism and intra-racism. Sense of inferiority increases the
tensions among The Walters, and each one tries to escape it in their own way; Ruth and Mama by
having a house, Walter by going into business and opening a liquor store and Beneatha by
becoming a doctor. The researcher studies the relationship between the characters and how they
face each other when engaged in conversations. The aim of the paper is to show how people of
colour become oppressors in their own communities and to achieve the aims of the research, the
tenets of critical social theory are applied, and especially what is related to gender, power and
oppression.

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  • Published at20 August 2019

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