A Flawed Fight For Spatial Justice In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun

This thesis analyzes the Youngers’ struggle against residential segregation in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.Through the lens of Henri Lefebvre’s space theory,this study argues that the Youngers transgress the color line by striving against all odds to move into a white neighborhood;in the meantime,their struggle is still unthorough,in that it is more of a fight for better living conditions than intentional resistance to racism.To begin with,the study looks into the historical background of residential segregation in Chicago to unfold the origin and impact of segregation and the spatial oppression in the 1950s that the Youngers have to fight against.It then proceeds to analyze each family member’s relationship with space.Although each individual has a different plan to improve or transform his or her own space,the arrival of Mr.Lindner makes them realize the common spatial oppression imposed on them by the government’s inequitable housing policies.By purchasing a house in a white neighborhood,Clybourne Park,the Youngers’ joint efforts in their fight for spatial justice challenge the spatial inequality of the 1950s in Chicago ’s Southside to a certain extent.In the meantime,their struggle and their interaction with space have limitations.While the family insists on moving into Clybourne Park,their determination is mainly based on the yearning for better living conditions instead of consciously resisting residential segregation and racial discrimination.Still bound by racist ideologies,the Youngers are ignorant of the underlying role of systemic racism in residential segregation.As a result of an unjust division of power over space and bodies,segregation is merely one of the manifestations of the white-dominated American government’s and society’s marginalization and exploitation of African American people.Therefore,even though the Youngers’ struggle for spatial justice has blurred the boundary between black and white neighborhoods,it has not shaken residential segregation to its foundations.