Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun overflows with conflicts, both internal and external. A major conflict within the family is the generation gap between Mama and her children. In Mama's day, the people were fighting for freedom. Because of this, she cannot grasp her son's desire to fight for money, and by extension a better life. Mama admits her children are "talking 'bout things we ain't never even thought about hardly, me and your daddy. You ain't satisfied or proud of nothing we done" (Hansberry, 475). Mama felt her family had a nice life, because they had oppertunities her generation had to fight for.
This generation gap shows the extent of progress. Walter and his generation are fight a battle that decades before would never have been dreamed. When Mama was young, they could not imagine fighting for civil rights, because they lacked even basic freedom. Progress is a vicious cycle, but no generation can fully appreciate the progress made before them, because they never lived through it.Therefore, Mama's frustration stems from Walter's inability to be grateful for the progress made, so he could live the life he leads.
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