Natural Imagery of Plants and Urban Settings

The usage of natural imagery is a part of the major literary device used by Zora Hurston, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Lorraine Hansberry to explore experiences within the story. Both Hurston and Hansberry use symbolism as a figurative language to develop how plants play a crucial role in the development of the fulfillment of dreams. Hansberry uses Mama’s plant in the play A Raisin in the Sun as a motif to show the effects of being racially oppressed by their surroundings.

While Hurston demonstrates in Their Eyes Were Watching God how fantasy through nature can have a major impact on one's decision making, questioning is it possible to dream through nature? Brooks, on the other hand, focused on imagery in terms of urban imagery in “Kitchenette Building” drawing the line between natural imagery and urban imagery.

In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the usage of natural imagery is transformed into a household plant with a purpose that symbolizes perseverance, strengthen, and determination to overcome racial oppression and poverty. The plant in A Raisin in the Sun represents Mama’s dream of one day owning her own home with her own garden. This is a dream she has envisioned for years causing her to nurture this fragile plant and protecting it the way she does. The symbolism of this plant represents the foundation of hope. Lorraine Hansberry demonstrated the family desire for growth both emotional and financial as it is illustrated in the symbol of Mama’s plant.

The first representation of Mama’s Plant appears in Act 1, Scene 1 while her children fuss on what to do with the insurance money. The play states “She crosses through the room, goes to the window, opens it, and brings in a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the windowsill. She feels the dirt and puts it back out” (Hansberry, 43). Play directions not only describes the loss of vitality in the plant but also the family living condition because of their financial struggle. In a larger scope, to better understand the Younger’s financial situation, this play was developed in 1959 in the low-income neighborhoods of Chicago.

In the midst of the Jim Crowe’s, a law that created inequality towards African American against whites. The Jim Crowe law was not limited to the segregation of public spaces but also the housing industry which was geared towards placing African Americans in impoverished neighborhoods known as tenements. These tenements consist of a small apartment crammed with extended family members similar to the Younger’s apartment. Hansberry describes the Younger’s apartment with a small kitchen area with one small window located to the side. Beside the kitchen area is the living room where Travis sleeps on the couch. Located to the left side of the kitchen is Mama and Beneatha’s shared bedroom and on the other side is Ruth and Walter bedroom.

During this time period, living conditions like this were considered normal especially for black residents. Hansberry uses imagery to highlight the living conditions of the Younger’s apartment as shown in the opening act of the play “Weariness has, in fact, won in this room. Everything has been polished, washed, sat on, used, scrubbed too often. All pretenses but living itself have long since vanished from the very atmosphere of this room.” (Hansberry, 26). The vivid description of the household furniture’s can translate as the family itself, burned out but still moving. Hansberry demonstrates each character’s dreams despite the obstacles they are facing. For example, Beneatha inspires to become a doctor during a time when women highest role achieved was typically nurses. Walter Lee inspires to open up his own liquor store, however, this is a far contrast of investment because a liquor store placed in a low poverty neighborhood is detrimental to the environment. Lastly, Ruth’s dream is for something better which is similar to Mama and the representation of her plant.

Hansberry coordinates A Raisin in the Sun with the play’s setting, character’s ambition and symbolism to communicate the central theme of American African recreating the American Dream. Throughout, the play Mama’s plant communicates the state of the family affairs. For instance, the plant is first described as “feeble little plant growing doggedly” indicating the Younger’s family struggle against poverty and racial discrimination in the black Chicago neighborhood. Mama interprets her plant dying as a need for change and immediate action. Mama putting the plant outside can suggest she’s holding onto hope and refuse to throw out this plant. She continues as she states, “Lord, if this little old plant don’t get more sun than it’s been getting it ain’t never going to see spring again.” (Hansberry, 43). This dying plant is communicating the lack of sunlight, hence the suffocating conditions in this tiny apartment.

In the midst of Walter and Beneatha constantly arguing, Mama relies on this message through her plant as a symbol of the fractured family. Lorraine Hansberry strategically used the setting of A Raisin in the Sun and the symbolism of Mama’s plant to address the Great Migration of black Americans emigrating from the rural south to the Northeast, Midwest, and West. Chicago was one of the major cities affected by the Great Migration. Furthermore, the Great Migration was conditioned for economic opportunities however, black Americans faced extreme racism and prejudice. For example, they faced racist housing policies which excluded black homeowners from living in affluent white communities. As a result, forcing black homeowners to continue to strive in poor living conditions. Similarly, to the characters in A Raisin in the Sun and the struggles they faced.

Chicago-native Gwendolyn Brooks used the upbringing of her individual struggles in the impoverished neighborhoods of Chicago to create stories like no other. Rather, than being explicit Brooks used urban imagery to tackle on social issues in Chicago in 1950s. Urban imagery can be defined as “studies that are concerned with images of the city, i.e, with conceptions in our minds about that complex physical reality we call cities” (Domosh, 1992). Gwendolyn Brooks “Kitchenette Building” describes the cramped housing condition endured by black Americans living in Chicago similarly to Hansberry in A Raisin in the Sun. In this particular poem describes life in the impoverished black neighborhood of Chicago. Instead of focusing on natural imagery as a figurative language that represents an object, Brooks usage of urban imagery is illustrated in the term “kitchenettes” meaning slum landlords would chop up existing houses and apartments and creating smaller units for tenants in the urban communities.

In the opening stanza, Brooks begins with “We” suggesting she is speaking for the mass population of black Americans affected by the poor housing treatments they are compelled to endure. Brooks usage of “Grayed in, and gray” indicating the lack of. The color gray itself is considered emotionless and is often paired with lacking desires. In the next sentence, “dreams” has its own quotation indicating dreams are subjective as they vary from individuals to individuals. Furthermore, in the poem, Brooks states “Dreams” make a giddy sound” suggesting it’s unlikely for black Americans to dream or even consider the American dream considering the harsh reality of their surroundings. The usage of metonymy in “kitchenette building” describes people as a whole forced together by society into smaller spaces. Furthermore, the explanations given in “Kitchenettes Building” represents the living housing conditions for black Americans with very strong details of the urban setting to give readers an exclusive insight into what these conditions are like. The struggle of poverty doesn’t compare to the reality of achieving dreams.

For the many black Americans that live in these conditions their dreams are tied up with “onion fumes”, “fried potatoes” and “yesterday’s garbage ripening”. Brooks’ descriptive imagery is very similar to government public housings, better known as the “projects”. The concrete reality of public housing is simply one that is associated with poverty. As an individual who grew up living in public housing, the imagery Brooks describes reminds myself of the place I call home. And the reality of it all is urban poverty is what interferes with dreams because we are worried about things such as rent, food, clothes, and child care. Just as Brooks suggests when we do have time to dream “we think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it.” demonstrating our dreams fail to take shape in our mind. Similarly, to the depiction of natural imagery used in Lorraine Hansberry's play, in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston representation of natural imagery is depicted through nature.

For example, the pear tree, the hurricane, the horizon, and the bee are examples used to tell Janie’s story and allow us the readers to make a connection. The most significant symbolism in this novel is the pear tree. The pear tree appears frequently and creates a guideline of her quest to finding true love. It’s also important to note, it represents self-awakening, self-discovery, and sexual liberation. Janie’s introduction of the pear tree unravels at the age of 16 as she watches a bee gathering pollen from a pear blossom. This expression described by Janie becomes a symbol of an ideal relationship as stated “It had called her to come and gaze on a mystery. From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom. It stirred her tremendously. (Hansberry, 42). Janie envisions a love with passion opposes to possession or dominance. She is fascinated with how the bee pollinates the pear blossom in the pear tree and believes this is what a marriage should consist of. She implied with excitement “So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation.” (Hansberry, 43).

Throughout, the novel Janie holds this notion of what a beautiful marriage should consist of. However, she was never able to achieve the pear tree fantasy she dreamt of but instead gained self-love and freedom. Hurston concluded the novel showing how happy Janie is because of the experiences she endured. Hurston demonstrated in Their Eyes Were Watching God that the symbolism of the pear tree was not idealistic and was a far fetch of Janie’s expectations. At the beginning of the novel, Janie is captivated by the blooming pear tree so memorized she spends the majority of her time there. Her first kiss happened under the blossoming pear tree and considering she’s blossoming to a mature woman, now she’s ready to explore.

The symbolism of the pear tree is revisited because it goes hand in hand with Janie’s sexual desires. Due, to her adolescent mind frame she believes sexual desires with marriage is the same as love and sex. Janie young mind frame-shaped her idealistic views and her somewhat unachievable dream of what love should consist of. This had a major effect on her decision making throughout the novel, for instance, after caught kissing a young man her grandmother, nanny, intervenes and suggest she gets married immediately. Nanny believes sexual desires are deemed dangerous and threatens Janie’s independence. Nanny believes in order for a black woman to be independent this must be done through financial security. Soon after, she marries Logan Killicks because of Nanny’s urgency. Janie was inclined to believe that romance will come later on with marriage, but it never came. Hurston describes Janie waiting worrisome for months for the love to appear, as states “But anyhow Janie went on inside to wait for love to begin. The new moon had been up and down three times before she got worried in mind.” (Hurston, 53).

Soon, after she marriages Jody Starks and immediately marriage must consist of equality. After the death of Janie’s second husband, her views on men changes and her opinions of love is drastically shifted. It’s not until she met a young gentleman named Tea Cake and was instantly smitten. Janie was careful and took her time when falling for Vergible Woods, better known as Tea Cake, because of the past experiences she wanted to be loved properly and be treated equally. Tea Cake treated Janie like the pear tree she always envisioned and she believed this was the perfect match. Vergible Woods, the nickname was significant to Janie because it described something sweet as states “Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think. Ah...” (Hurston, 56). Janie infatuated with Tea Cake because he reminds her of the pear tree as described “He could be a bee to a blossom—a pear tree blossom in the spring. He seemed to be crushing scent out of the world with his footsteps.” (Hurston, 148).

It is with her relationship with Tea Cake she is able to blossom and understand the purpose of the pear tree and its mysteries. Janie was able to embody her dreams through the illustration of the pear tree because she found answers to her endless questions and fulfilled her purpose. In conclusion, natural imagery and urban imagery are depicted throughout Hurston, and Hansberry works to explore experiences, of struggling dreams, poverty, and aspirations within marriages. These natural imageries are shown as decorative symbols as they represent aspirations for the future. Brooks, on the other hand, uses urban imagery to refer to dreams as they compete with the day to day life of poverty.

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