Chicago. Trash Heap or Safe Haven?

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

In A Raisin in the Sun, all of the action takes place in Chicago's Southside sometime after World War II.  This setting, viewed from two entirely different perspectives, elicits two entirely different responses from Walter and Mama.  Walter sees the Southside as a slum, a run-down section of Chicago that he has been forced into because of his low social status.  Walter's outlook on Chicago's Southside and the apartment he lives in manifests through his wife Ruth when she says, "LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" (Hansberry 533).  To an extent, Mama sympathizes with Walter's view.  She knows that her family must leave the area they live in now if a better future is to be had, but she does not see Chicago's Southside as completely negative.  Located in a northern state, Chicago represents freedom and opportunity to Mama who grew up oppressed in the racist American south.  Therefore, even though Mama recognizes the slum-like qualities of the Southside, she lives relieved that her children have the opportunity for much more than she could ever dream of.  As such, Mama carries herself with an optimistic disposition as opposed to Walter's occasional pessimism and frustration.  Really, the only negative responses Mama has to the setting come from living in a beat-up apartment, not Chicago's Southside.  Accordingly, Mama purchases a quaint home for the family to create an ideal setting for Walter, Ruth, Beneatha, and Travis to pursue their dreams.