Dream Deferred in A Raisin in the Sun “What happens to a dream deferred?” ” (l. 1) asks Langston Hughes in his 1959 poem “Dream Deferred.” He suggests that it might "dry like a raisin in the sun" (ll. 2-3) or "stink like rotten meat" (l. 6); however, at the end of the poem, Hughes offers another alternative by asking, "Or does it explode?" (l. 11). This is the view held by Lorraine Hansberry in her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. The drama opens with Walter reading, “Set off another bomb yesterday” (1831), on the front page of the morning paper; however, he is unaware that bombs will soon explode in his own house. These bombshells are emotional outbursts caused by the frustration of Walter's family members who are failing to realize their dreams. Although they all have a common dream of a better life, they must compete with each other for insurance money following the untimely death of Walter's father. Walter wants to get rich quick by investing the money in a liquor store, but his sister, Beneatha, prefers to use it to finish medical school. Mom and Walter's wife, Ruth, both want to leave their rundown ghetto home for a nicer home where Walter's son, Travis, can have his own room and a yard to play in. These characters' dreams, however, are deferred for so long that frustration builds within them and eventually bursts out. Every day Walter must continue to work as a servant, his inner frustration and anger grow, and he eventually releases his anger on Beneatha, Ruth, and Mom. “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor?” (1838) he asks Beneatha. "If you're so crazy about playing with sick people, then go become a nurse like the other women, or just... middle of paper... an all-white neighborhood. Mr. Lindner's opposition (who offers a substantial sum of money to buy them the house) unites the family in their common goal, and Walter finally comes "into his manhood" (1896): he refuses Lindner's money and declares: "we have decided to move "in our house because my father - my father - he won it for us brick by brick" (1894). , to poetry and drama Eds Ann Charters and Samuel Charters Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. Hughes, Langston “Dream Deferred” Eds Ann Charters and Samuel Charters Boston: Bedford Books.., 1997. 1138.