Conflict and Empire Themes in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the themes of conflict and empire in Lorraine Hansberry's 'A Raisin in the Sun,' focusing on the interaction between Beneatha and Asagai in the first act. The essay examines how the play theatrically represents the clash between cultures, the impact of American imperialism on African-American identity, and the internal conflicts faced by Beneatha as she navigates her heritage. The analysis highlights the symbolism of the Nigerian robes, the significance of hair, and the exploration of feelings and liberation. The essay also discusses characterization, staging, and the oppositional pulls on Beneatha. Furthermore, it delves into the conflicts within Beneatha, her relationship with Asagai, and her struggle to reconcile her American and African identities. The essay concludes with a discussion of the staging of the scene, emphasizing the importance of costume, movement, and the visual representation of Beneatha's internal struggles. The essay utilizes textual evidence and stage directions to support its arguments, offering a comprehensive understanding of the play's complex themes.

Conflict and Empire in The Raisin in the Sun
The encounter between Beneatha and Asagai in scene 2 of Raisin in the Sun's first act
is a good example of how conflict and empire can be theatrically represented. The characters
meet as Asagai brings to Beneatha a gift from his country. She welcomes him and explains
she has ghetto-itis when asked why she is down. He offers her robes from his country and
gestures of expansion drape the admittedly down character within these foreign robes. He
then criticizes her choice of hairstyle and we see her pulling at the hair that crowns her in
different directions as the characters talk of identity, feelings that exist between different
people, and liberation.
The reference to ghetto-itis reminds the spectator that the African-American has been
isolated into a marginal lower class community through racism and exploitation by the
empire of the United States when it expanded its territories. Beneatha's situation reflects the
outcome. She struggles between assimilating into the hegemony, with its obstacles and
rejection, and an interest in the identity of her ancestors.
The expansion of an empire always leads to a loss of identity for those oppressed. In
this scene, Hansberry is helping her audience become aware of the African identity, just as
Asagai is helping Beneatha. Beneatha is grateful for the Nigerian robes and music and
immediately tries on the cloth, but is ignorant of how it is worn. Asagai offers help and we
have an image of Beneatha raising her arms above her as Asagai expands the African cloth
and wraps it around her. In this gesture we see the victim of the American empire's expansion
now made to surrender (diagramed by her upward arms) to another culture's pull. Beneatha's
awkwardness shows she is not familiar with Nigerian traditions and Asagai's actions could
also be seen as invasively forcing one culture upon another.

The criticism of the hair touches upon an internal conflict that the external conflict
between cultures provoked. Beneatha has tried to assimilate into the American culture by
wearing her hair like white women. Asagai call her attempt a "mutilation" of her hair (43), a
strong word that is repeated and brings with it connotations of violence, appropriate to the
actual way in which the American empire used the African people for their expansion. The
statement upsets Beneatha who pulls at her hair in different directions, creating a visual
metaphor of the destruction put upon the African people, as the hair becomes associated with
references to mutilation, identity and empire, since hair is a crowning feature and Asagai
reinforces this by comparing Beneatha to two queens, Hollywood's and the Nile's. This
expressive gesture perfectly encapsules the conflict within Beneatha to advance in the society
she finds herself in while being true to her roots.
The conversation moves on to feelings that exist between different people. Though
Asagai asserts that certain feelings can be clearly known, he treats Beneatha's different
feelings with respect, calling her "Alaiyo" (Provided scene, p. 42) which we soon learn is an
appreciation for her restlessness. The spectator can believe that Asagai provokes Beneatha to
consider what it means to be true to one's self and to be truly liberated, when at the close of
the scene he challenges her to act rather than "talk too much" (45). It is even possible to see
the male chauvinism that Asagai inevitably absorbed, given the times and culture in which he
was raised, as an expression of a patriarchal empire suppressing the expression of the
minority culture, in this case, women, when Asagai says that "for a woman, it should be
enough" (44) most likely referring to the sexual attraction between them.
Characterization
Beneatha's conflict over her feelings as a woman attracted to Asagai and her feminist
perspective that a woman's feelings for a man should involve more than sexual attraction is

just one of many conflicts within her. Her words, actions and the imagery she participates in
all suggest a character caught up in oppositional pulls.
As examples of oppositions, Asagai only arrives at her home after Beneatha tells him
on the phone he cannot come, then quickly reverses the decision and invites him. She is
described as opening the door happy to see Asagai, but he detects something wrong in her as
well. She speaks of being glad when Asagai went away and glad when he returns. She speaks
of her hair with disgust for how it is crinkly but insists that it is not ugly. The name Asagai
gave her, Alaiyo, meaning unfulfilled by food alone, seems very appropriate to this
character's spirit of uneasiness.
The primary conflict represented by Beneatha however is the pull toward assimilating
within the American culture and the pull toward recovering her African roots. The stage
directions suggest that Beneatha gets serious when Asagai recalls how she told him she was
looking for her identity. As such, she is a Hansbury's spokesperson for the conflict inherent in
the African-Americans who were uprooted from their motherland. She has only known the
American part of her identity and is yearning to know the African side. It's clear from the
dialogue that she asked Asagai to get her the African music and robes and her hunger for
these gifts is evident in her actions (pressing her hands together while demanding her gift,
eagerly tearing open the parcel, quickly trying on the robes). When Asagai teases her for
straightening her hair, she is clearly caught in a moment of cognitive dissonance: denying
that she's an assimilist but aware of her attempts to fit into white society.
The Nigerian student Asagai, who voices his admiration for Beneatha with Yorubian
words and comes bearing gifts from his homeland, represents the Africa to which Beneatha is
drawn. He is proud of his heritage and by the end of the play will invite Beneatha to return to
Nigeria with him. His straightforward criticism of Beneatha's hair, his repeated laughter and
his assertion of his strong feelings for Beneatha are all signs of this character's confidence.

As representative of Africa, he is a contrast to Beneatha's other suitor, George, who
has successfully assimilated into the American culture and speaks derisively of African
heritage. Asagai, on the other hand, turns to African words when he wants to express deep
and positive feelings, like when he expresses his admiration for Beneatha with the Yoruba
exclamation "Oh-pay-gay" (43). His laughter is likely a contrast to the drab appearance of the
apartment and the depressed behavior of other characters that the spectator has witnessed in
the play so far. The laughter and expansive gestures extends the character into space and
makes him an admirable, powerful presence.
It's clear he has a serious side as well. The text says he sobers when he cautions her to
take care of his gifts, that they come from his family. We believe he sincerely respects
Beneatha, even if he shows male chauvinism and a degree of domination in this scene when
correcting her arrangement of the fabric and manipulating her head as he turns it in profile to
appreciate its beauty. In other moments of the play, however, he acts as a guide to Beneatha
to help her identify her values. In this scene as well, he provokes her to continue to question
her identity and is shown to be sensitive to her feelings in noticing something is wrong when
she opens the door and in bestowing upon her the name Alaiyo, which is understanding of her
struggle.
Staging
Were I to stage this scene today, I would pay attention to costume and movements
which reinforce the oppositional pulls on Beneatha. Since Asagai is a contrast to George, I
would give him an African tunic as his costume and be sure he speaks with a Nigerian accent
markedly different from the other characters. The bright colors in his tunic and the African
robes given to Beneatha should stand out in contrast to what's been shown so far. Beneatha
should be dressed in blue jeans, some checkered shirt, sneakers; in short typical American
clothes.

The characters move from doorway to couch as Beneatha apologizes for the state of
the apartment. Asagai's chauvinism might be softened if he helps her replace a couch cushion
that had been moved in cleaning.
The donning of the African robe is a central image that needs special attention. It
would be beneficial to establish a mirror on the downstage "wall" to justify Beneatha moving
close to the audience, (which will help visibility when she pulls at her hair as well). I would
have her first wrap the cloth around herself. Even though Asagai will correct it, I think the
action of clothing herself, giving agency to the female, is important for today's audience. I
think, while "wrong" in Asagai's eyes, it should still be pleasing, not clownish. I would also
let that way of wearing it linger a moment so that the audience fully grasps the rich image
that signals the identities pulling Beneatha in opposite directions. Underneath the African
robe, her American blue jeans and sneakers are still visible, for hers is an African-American
identity. While Asagai will wrap it about her in a new way, and the sexual attraction between
the two can flourish at this point, Beneatha should return it to her own fashion at the end of
the scene when she asserts there is more than one feeling between a man and a woman (44).
Work cited:
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. London: Methuen Drama, 2019.