A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is set on the South Side of Chicago between the time of World War II and the present. The main conflict involves the Younger family's breadwinner, Mr. Younger, life insurance, and trying to figure out what to do with the money. The family consists of Mama Younger, her son, Walter Younger, her daughter, Beneatha Younger, Walter's wife, Ruth Younger, and Walter and Ruth's son, Travis Younger. The focus of this essay will be on two of the main characters, Ruth Younger and Beneatha Younger. Ruth Younger and Beneatha Younger are different in many social aspects due to the patriarchal society around them as well as social constructivism and their misogynistic family. In “The Raisin in the Sun,” Ruth and Beneatha fight the standards of patriarchal society. In “Raisins in the Sun,” Ruth is introduced on page 1472 as “a pretty girl, but it is evident that life has been less than she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang on her face. In a few years, before she is even thirty-five, she will be known among her people as a "sedentary woman." Ruth is presented as a girl and not a woman. It gives the sense that Ruth is still growing up even though she is in her late thirties. Ruth is known as the stereotypical 1950s housewife. She cooks, cleans, supports her husband, but at the same time does not express her dreams or ideas. Beneatha dreams of going to school and becoming a doctor, but while in college, Beneatha explores vast ideas and hobbies. Throughout the show, Beneatha is searching for herself even if her family doesn't fully understand it. Beneatha is a constantly changing reality that is slowly becoming socially constructive. In the first act, Beneatha is known for alternating her mother's hobbies on page 1484, “Lord, daughter, you know not what to weary of now – as if you were weary of what little you do with yourself? How long will it be before the group of actors you joined this year? And what had happened the year before?” She, just like Walter, has many dreams and ideas that she wants to realize in her life. She claims to be independent, but in reality her family is what allows her to continue with what she wants to achieve and when the money runs out, Beneatha discovers that she is not as independent as she would like.