Due to the great number of opportunities and freedom that the American dream is supposed to provide, individuals from all walks of life have their own personal American dream that they want to achieve. reach. But for most people, these dreams will never come true. Especially African Americans, who struggled to realize their dreams and achieve their goals in the 1950s and 1960s. Too many challenges that hindered the achievement of their dreams were part of their daily lives and were difficult to overcome. Adding to the difficulties of black American families is a generation gap that appears to be widening due to divergent perceptions of the American dream. Thus, aspirations for financial success, particularly present among younger generations, are moving away from the original paradigm of the American dream, which was once the search for happiness, freedom, justice and more fruitful future prospects for individuals. generations to come. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, she shows that achieving your dream, especially the American dream, can be difficult, through characterization, conflict, and context. The conception of the American Dream has long been distorted and the principles have undergone, as John E. Nestler describes in his essay "The American Dream", "a metamorphosis" from the fundamental idea of ​​freedom and equality to ambitions materialists and individualists, which would constitute “a sign of moral decadence”. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry uses the character Walter Lee Younger to illustrate the distorted interpretation of the American dream and its resulting harmful effects. Walter grew up in a time when money seemingly ruled the world and was the center of attention amid paper, freedom and happiness. Works Cited Annas, Teresa. "VSC's 'Raisin in the Sun' Explores American Dreams." ProQuest. McClatchy - Tribune Information Services, April 1, 2010. Web. February 5, 2014. .Domina, Lynn and Lorraine Hansberry. “2. Historical context: integration and segregation in the United States. Understanding a Raisin in the Sun: A Student Casebook of Historical Issues, Sources, and Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. N. pag. Print.Hansberry, Lorraine “A raisin in the sun”. The Norton Introduction to Literature 10th ed. New York. Wwnorton.com, 2011. 950-1021. Print.Nestler, John E. “The American Dream.” Everyday immigration. Foundation for Economic Education, October 1973. Web. February 9. 2014. .