Our Imbalance, His Circle

    I came across a quote my Stats teacher put up on her board one day: "A goal without a plan is just a wish." It stuck ever since because it's just so true. Humans have never ending goals. Some are trivial matters while some take a lifetime to fulfill.

    However, as we read The Raisin in the Sun, I began to notice that that quote doesn't apply to the Youngers. Walter aimed to open a liquor store in order to turn his and his family's life around and get them out of their "beat-up hole." Beneatha was all over the place, trying to do something most girls didn't do at that time: become a doctor. Mama simply wanted be able to live in her own house with her family. They all did have a plan to achieve their goals, but obstacles they could not avoid prevented them from reaching them. Their financial status and their social class and their skin color were all prominent obstacles that held them back. Their opportunities were limited to a "circle", as a matter of fact. Walter who has been a chauffeur his whole life was eager to escape those chains locked down by the whites. His longing for an opportunity to make a change only resulted in him getting completely scammed. His connections are shady and limited due to his black status. Beneatha was also confined because of her black woman status. Getting good education and being able to pay for it is already such a struggle for her. Her gender only added diminished her circle to smaller size. Her goal of becoming a doctor was looked down upon as too ambitious for her own good. Beneatha ended up loosing grasp of her dream due to the inevitable obstacles she knew she faced. Beneatha, who didn't care much for marriage, began to look favorably upon Asagai's future plan with her in Africa. At the end, the Youngers had to settle with only fulfilling Mama's dream, and they smiled on because at least they had family. The blacks keep running in a circle, unable to reach their dreams, and eventually believe that they don't have much of a choice but to appreciate the little they can have. Their mindsets run in a circle not because they're "realists," but because they don't have a choice. Discrimination and white supremacy still continue to serve as leashes in society, as was seen in the Supermarket video. Opportunities are unevenly distributed to all the races so often that people aren't even surprised to see it happen anymore. The individuals who use their privileges in order to make statements and bring justice should be applauded. They are the people's heroes. But I wonder, even with those fighting, will we ever have absolute equality, or will we have to continue to settle and appreciate our society's imbalance.