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The theme racism in a raisin in the sun
The theme racism in a raisin in the sun
The theme racism in a raisin in the sun
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“A Raisin in the Sun” is set at in an area where racism was still occurring. Blacks were no longer separated but they were still facing many racial problems. The black Younger family faced these problems throughout the play. The entire family was affected in their own way. The family has big dreams and hope to make more of their poor lives. Walter, the main character, is forced to deal with most of the issues himself. Ruth, his wife, and Travis, his ten-year-old son, really don’t have say in matters that he sets his mind to. Beneatha, his sister tries to get her word in but is often ignored. Lena (Mama) is Walter’s mother and is very concerned about her family. She tries to keep things held together despite all of the happenings. Mama’s husband had just recently died so times seemed to be even harder. They all live in a small apartment when living space is very confined (Hansberry 1731). They all have dreams in which they are trying to obtain, but other members of the family seem to hold back each other from obtaining them (Decker). Walter has a steady, but low paying job and wishes that he could do more for his family. The money he makes hardly provides enough for his family to survive. He is constantly thinking about get rich quick schemes to insure a better life. He doesn’t want to be a poor back man all of his life and wishes that he could fit in with rich whites. He doesn’t realize that people won’t give him the same opportunities, as they would if he were white (Decker). Walter feels that he needs to provide more for his family and starts to ask around on how to make some money. He gets the idea of opening up a liquor store and has his heart set on it. Because he wants to please everybody he loses his better judgment and acts without thinking of the long-term effects. He is ready for a change and feels the store will bring his family a better life (Hyzak). “Mama, a job? I open and close car doors all day long. I drive a man around in his Limousine and say, Yes, sir; no, sir; very good sir; shall I take the drive, sir? Mama, that ain’t no kind of job ... that ain’t nothing at all” ( Hansberry 1755).
A Raisin in the Sun is about the Younger family, they are facing its own war against racism in Chicago. America’s complicated history of racial tension between black Americans and white Americans is ingrained into the Youngers’ everyday lives. Mother (and grandmother) Lena Younger, her daughter Beneatha, and her son Walter, Walter’s wife Ruth and their son Travis, squeeze into a small two-bedroom apartment.
The idea of family is a central theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry alludes to the Old Testament book of Ruth in her play to magnify “the value of having a home and family”(Ardolino 181). The Younger family faces hardships that in the moment seem to tear them apart from one another, but through everything, they stick together. The importance of family is amplified by the choices of Walter and Beneatha because they appear to initiate fatal cracks in the Younger family’s foundation, but Mama is the cement who encourages her family to pull together as one unit. The hardships of the family help develop a sense of unity for the Younger household.
In the exposition of the play, Walter is obsessed with the check coming in the mail, and Mama giving him the money so he can open a liquor store with two of his friends, Bobo and Willy. The liquor store is the way in which Walter plans to provide a decent life for his family and for himself. He wants the power over the white man, and he believes the liquor store will make him even, or even superior to the white man during the times of oppression. He feels undermined, because he is a chauffeur and because his son, Travis, has to sleep on the couch because they cannot afford to buy a bigger place. However, his obsession with his dream takes a negative toll on the other members of his family. The money is Mama’s and so she gets to decide what to do with it. She plans to put part of it toward her daughter, Beneatha’s, tuition to become a doctor. Beneatha and Walter’s wife, Ruth, both share the belief that the money is Mama’s to spend and she should be the one to decide what to do with it. Walter is so obsessed with his dream that he fails to notice his wife’s unhappiness that pushes her to the decision to get an abortion. His dreams of a better life actually cause h...
Differences in generations can cause people to have different viewpoints in life. A Raisin In The Sun is a play set in the 1950s written by Lorraine Hansberry. The Youngers are a black family who lives in a cramped apartment in the South Side of Chicago. When Mama receives a check of insurance money, members of the family are divided in their own hopes of what it will be used for. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha are the three women of the Younger household and their generational differences clearly show through their actions. The difference between generations is why Mama is the most devout, Ruth is an agreeable person, and Beneatha is outspoken and has modern views.
The audience is exposed to the struggles of Walters desire to lead and provide for his family. Not only does Walter struggle financially but, his authority is tested when his mother takes over the responsibility a man would do. Walter wants to be acknowledged and appreciated for the things he does for his family but, it seems he hasn’t done anything because Mama has taken an authorial position over the rest of the family including Walter. Due to the fact that Walter doesn’t have authority over his family like he wants to go
An Analysis of A Raisin In the Sun & nbsp; "A Raisin In The Sun" is a play written by an African-American playwright - Lorraine Hansberry. It was first produced in 1959. Lorraine Hansberry's work is about a black family in the Chicago South Side. the Second World War. The family consisted of Mama(Lena Younger), Walter.
The members of the Younger family view money in different ways, with Mama, Beneatha, and Ruth is imagining money as an means to an end and Walter thinking of it as an end in itself. Mama sees the insurance payment as a way to fulfill her dream of owning a house, which symbolizes her yearning for “freedom.The way money manipulates walter is making him angry, money makes him so distracted that he was even surprised and happy that his wife was having a baby.Walter is just continually frustrated by his inability to full fill the manly role of being the financial provider for his family.Mama: “Oh – So now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life – now it’s money. I guess the world really do change” . .
Walter Lee Younger is a “lean, intense young man in his middle thirties, inclined to quick nervous movements and erratic speech habits and always in his voice there is a quality of indictment.” He works as a chauffeur, but his dream is to one day open up a liquor store. Walter has a very bad temper and tends to say things he doesn’t mean. Walter and his wife have been getting into many fights. He has a really bad temper. Many times when Walter gets upset he goes out and gets drunk. Walter likes to spoil his son Travis.
Walter wants more out of life and wants to do more with his life. He wants to become a businessman and open a liquor store. He does not want to work for others, he wants to be wealthy. Although Walter works towards these goals, his environment prevents these dreams from becoming reality. They do not have the money to pursue his goals. Although they are receiving a large check in the mail, it is not his money to spend. He does not have full support from his family. Mama is unwilling to invest her money into liquor and the rest of the family thinks that the idea of opening a liquor store is foolish. Beneatha also has difficulty trying to reach her goals due to her environment. She wants to be a doctor and wants more out of life than just surviving. Not only do they not have the money to pay for her schooling but they believe it is an unrealistic goal. Walter says to Beneatha, “Girl, if you don’t get all them silly ideas out of your head! You better marry yourself a man with some loot” (Hansberry 150). Her family believes that she should just marry rich and give up her dream of becoming a doctor. The Youngers often have difficulty reaching their goals because they are trapped by their
Though American citizens are recognized as adults at the age of eighteen, human brains take much longer to fully develop. The play A Raisin in the Sun takes place in the apartment of the Youngers, an African American family struggling with financial issues during the 1950’s. Walter’s father has recently passed away, and Mama receives a life insurance check for his death. Walter and Mama share their cramped apartment with Walter’s sister Beneatha, his wife, Ruth, and their son, Travis. Walter works as a chauffeur and Ruth does domestic chores for rich, white families. They do not have many opportunities for better jobs or higher quality education, but Beneatha attends college classes in hopes of becoming a doctor. Walter’s job as a chauffeur
A Raisin in the Sun follows the events of an African-American family living in Chicago during the 50’s. It becomes apparent from the first scene that the family has financial issues. Walter who is discontent with his living situation, believes that an insurance check that his mother will be receiving will solve all of the families problems and allow for a better life. Mama uses a fraction of the check to purchase a house in a all white neighborhood. A representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association comes to visit the Youngers and offers to buy back their house at a financial gain and insists that Clybourne is no place for an African-American family. Meanwhile, Walter had already lost the rest of the insurance money ($6500) to his friend Willy Harris who runs away with the money leaving Walter and his family at a loss. This is particularly devastating because the money represents Mama’s husbands entire life of hard work as a laborer. In the end of this story, the Youngers are genuinely more happy and optimistic that they can live more fulfilling lives. The Youngers problem is one that exists in modern day families of the United States. Money management is a physiological issue between spouses and families.
Service is the purpose of every spiritual gift; an ability and strength that is supplied by God. The outcome of these gifts then becomes praise and glory to God, not
For example, later on in the play, Walter uses Berneatha’s school money for his liquor store. Walter was so determined to make money and achieve success that he lost himself and lost all of the money. Walter thought that if he could make fast money with liquor, he could pay for his sister’s schooling. In fact, Walter believes that the only key to success is money. “Mama: “Son, how come you talk so much ‘bout money?” Walter: “Because, it is life, Mama!” Mama: “Oh—so now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom use to be life—now its money. I guess the world really do change…” Walter: “No—it was always money, Mama. We just didn’t know about it.” p. 74 This connects back to the primary point, if you want to achieve the slightest bit of success as a minority, you’d have to go out of the way to achieve
“WALTER: “.See, that just goes to show you what women understand about the world. Baby, don’t nothing happen to you in this world ‘less you pay somebody off!”(Hansberry). Walter says that money is a man’s domain, and that Ruth, being a woman, just wouldn’t understand. This sexist remark seems to come from his own lack of self-esteem. Unfortunately, for Walter and those around him, he feels the need to put people down in order to feel more powerful.”
Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals are two key parts played out throughout the whole process. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends meet to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have helped the family and not only himself, if he had thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to set up for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand the history of racial discrimination and how racial discrimination has an effect on the people in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as how that has an effect on the characters within the play.