Blog Post 8

November 9, 2022

Watching and reading A Raisin in the Sun was a blast from the past experience for me. Way back in my sophomore year of high school, we studied the written portion of A Raisin in the Sun and watched the film afterwards. Seeing it for a second time while remembering some, but not most of it, was refreshing.

I remember in high school I hated studying it. (Sorry to Dr. Reed in advance for this next sentence). The reason I hated studying it was mainly attributed to the fact that I loathe reading, but it was also because I thought it was very boring. This time around, I had more respect for the reading and film and actually enjoyed the story.

While reminiscing about learning about this in high school, I pulled up my old files and found two different assignments from this drama. In one I had to write a letter as if I was Beneatha Younger, and the second one I had to make a claim about Beneatha. Clearly I liked Beneatha's character in high school since I chose to do her for both assignments. I would actually have to agree with my younger self because Beneatha was still my favorite character.

Here is my letter :

Dear Mrs. Johnson,

         You wouldn’t believe the rollercoaster ride we’ve been on.  Ten years ago, I would’ve never thought that I would be where I am today. I bet you wouldn’t have either. After Walter’s, cough, cough, mess up, nobody would have. Buying that house may have seemed like the wrong decision to you, but it was by far the best. We got out of that sorry apartment that you’re still stuck in and built ourselves a nice life. The first few months were a little rough; I’m not going to sugar coat it, but eventually we learned to coexist with our neighbors. After they got to know us a little more personally, they welcomed us a little more. Despite some opposition, Mama actually ended up being selected for the Welcoming Committee. That led to a few more black families moving in. I’d be lying if I said everything was perfect though. After I declined Joseph’s offer to move to Africa, I never saw him again. I also decided to end things with George, much to the dismay of my brother. Speaking of my brother, he just about done drank himself to death. After we moved into the new house, he started to drink heavier. After a scary trip to the hospital where he almost lost his life, he sobered up. It wasn’t really his decision though. He did it for Travis. Have I really not talked about myself yet? I’m sure you’re already having a grand time hearing about everyone else’s successes. Anyways, I decided to pursue my career as a doctor. You’re probably wondering where I got the money to go to college. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I went to work for the doctor Ruth went to see. Although it wasn’t legal, it provided me with cash. This money was used to pay for the house and my education. After I completed medical school, I stopped working there and got an actual job. As a matter of fact, I’m one of the only female doctors in the country! Oh, I forgot to tell you that we haven’t been bombed. Our lives have actually never been better. I know how much you like drama so I hope this was enough information for you. Hope that old apartment is treating you well!

 

Best Regards,

Beneatha

Now, I know I could use some major help with editing this essay grammatically, but I found it comical to read. Also, this letter reminded me that I read a different version of the play that included Mrs. Johnson. I almost wish that we could have read that version so I could compare more.

Overall, I am very glad that we chose to watch and read A Raisin in the Sun because it gave me a new perspective on the work I thought was very boring before.