How is the theme of assimilation treated in A Rasisin in the Sun?

Clearly the character that you want to focus on, who seems
to be the main vehicle for the author's exploration of assimilation, is Beneatha, and in
particular her relations with the two men who represent opposite extremes of the
assimilationist debate: Asagai and George. One of the most powerful symbols of
assimilation is the play is Beneatha's hair, and how, after some encouragement from
Asagai, Beneatha chooses to wear it naturally rather than straightening it so that it
looks like any "normal" hairstyle. Asagai uses harsh lanaguage to describe what she does
to her hair, saying that she "mutilates" it every week.

Of
course, George is the opposite extreme as he represents a black man that has embraced
the white world and the white way of doing things and has become successful as a result.
As his response to Beneatha's hair shows, he is an assimilationist as he wants to fit in
to white dominated society. Note how he talks about her African
past:

Let's
face it baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch of raggedy-assed spirituals and some
grass huts!

Thus we see the
two different views of assimilation advanced by Asagai and George, with Asagai having
much more of an impact on Beneatha who remains interested and curious about her African
identity.