What are the conflicts in A Raisin In the Sun?

One of the most pressing conflicts that the Younger family are
facing is socio- economic. Simply put, the money is not there to facilitate their dreams. All of
the Younger family experience this, to a great extent. Walter is trapped in a job as a driver
that he hates and seeks to embrace his dream of opening up a liquor store. Ruth's job as domestic
help is not sufficient to take care of the family, with a child on the way. Beneatha moves from
endeavor to endeavor, utilizing her freedom each step of the way, but recognizing that freedom
costs money. Even Travis feels the economic pinch in the opening scene when he asks for money for
school. The money that is coming to Mama Younger through the insurance check from her husband's
death dominates the opening of the play because the family members see this check as helping to
alleviate some of their economic challenges. This sets the stage for most of the conflicts in the
play because it represents the reality against which dreams are formed. Hansberry constructs a
setting where being a person of color and a person of challenged economic means help to develop a
setting where dreams are formed. These dreams can be denied or deferred, causing conflict and
agony in the lives of the protagonists. The ending of the play shows that these dreams might be
achieved, with a sense of struggle and challenge being evident, as well. Conflict is inevitable
in these conditions. The best that Hansberry suggests one can do is to recognize it and act with
an eye fixated on the conditional and another set to what is. Economic reality and its social
construction is a part of this, causing conflict.