Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

1128 Words3 Pages

Change is the only thing that is constant in people’s lives. Everyone must undergo transformation during his or her lifetime. Change is brought about by numerous factors, such as disappointments in life. The latter allow persons to have alternative perspectives about their lives. They begin to see things from multiple views, unlike in the past where their rigidity made it difficult for them to handle the things they faced from different viewpoints. The outlook is supported by Walter Younger’s transformation in the story, “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. Walter’s transformation cannot be understated as it represents the progress of his family throughout the play, from a disjointed to a united one. Analysis of Walter’s Transformation Just like Walter Younger, all the other characters in the play, “A Raisin in the Sun” have dreams, which require money. Walter acts as both the antagonist and protagonist …show more content…

His behavior is very unhealthy for the well-being of the family. The only thing he thinks about is how to make money and become rich. His attitude upsets his mother, who is forced to ask him why he always talks about money. The incident takes place when she refuses to give him the money to invest in the liquor business, thereby making him upset and hopeless. His response to Mama’s question is astonishing as he says, “Because it is life, Mama!” (Hansberry, 1994). The statement shows that Walter’s major objective in life was to make money. His outlook did not go well with the mother who wanted to secure the future of the family. Thus, Walter’s materialistic nature jeopardized the well-being of his family. Furthermore, he exhibited his shallow thinking by wanting to sell the house that the family had bought in Clybourne Park, which was a white community. Nevertheless, he changed his mind after evaluating the dynamics of his actions, especially after what had happened with his previous

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
530 Words | 2 Pages
A Raisin in the Sun In the book “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, there were characters whose dreams were stated, some of which were shattered by greed and misfortune and others which would eventually come true. The first dream that came about was Walter’s dream of one day owning and maintaining a liquor store. He would do anything to attempt to get his dream to come true, but his mama wanted anything but that to happen. His mama had a dream of her own, though, she dreamed of one day owning her own house, where her whole family could stay comfortably.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
591 Words | 2 Pages
The civil rights movement brought enlightenment towards the abolishment of segregation laws. Although the laws are gone does segregation still exist in fact? “What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?'; said, in a poem by Langston Huges. The story, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry showed segregation and its affects upon all races. This essay will show how Assimilationists and New Negroes fought for their own identity in the mid twentieth century. Whether they were being true to themselves or creating carbon copies of oppression was determined by one’s view upon society.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
627 Words | 2 Pages
A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry portrays obstacles that the Younger family and other African Americans had to face and over come during the post World War 2 era. Obstacles that had to be over come by the Youngers were economical, moral, social, and racist obstacles. Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play had to face one of these as well growing up. Born in Chicago on the south side in an all black neighborhood, Lorraine Hansberry and her family had to deal with segregation.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
751 Words | 2 Pages
Lorraine Hansberry is the author of the play A Raisin in the Sun. This play is very significant because it was the first play written by a black playwright to win the Best Play of the Year Award. Another interesting point about the play is the title. The title A Raisin in the Sun also refers to Langston Hughes poem Harlem. In many ways Langston Hughes’ poem relates to Lorraine Hansberry’s play. In the play a family of black Americans have a chance to move ahead in the cruel prejudiced world. Lorraine Hansberry shows the frustrations that occur when one’s dreams are deferred. The Younger family in the play experiences these times of misery when those dreams are broken.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
735 Words | 2 Pages
One of the major themes of the play A Raisin In The Sun is dreams and dreams deferred. Each member of the Younger family had each of their own dreams when the family received ten thousand dollars in the mail. The money was from Mama’s husband who had passed away a few years before. Everyone wanted the money to be for themselves and nobody else. Walter wanted the money to help him open a Liquor Store when Beneatha wanted the money to pay for her Medical School tuition. Travis just wanted fifty cents that his teacher told him he needed for class that day, and Mama wanted to use the money to move her family out of their tiny apartment and into a nice house where they could all live happily. One morning...
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
811 Words | 2 Pages
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, one of the most important themes is the American Dream. Many of the characters in this play have hopes and aspirations; they all strive towards their goals throughout the play. However, many of the characters in the play have different dreams that clash with each other. Problems seem to arise when different people’s dreams conflict with one another; such as Walter’s versus Bennie’s, George’s versus Asagai’s, and the Clybourne Park versus the Younger’s.
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A Raisin In The Sun Character Development
546 Words | 2 Pages
Development of characters are shown in multiple events and situations within A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry that will either leave the character changed or not. Walter Younger Jr. undertakes multiple changes throughout the text which develops characteristics of his way of thoughts. His experiences change his morals and his appreciation for his family and his surrounding for what they are. Walter’s understanding and feelings are also shown growth throughout the text, to where he becomes a more advanced individual within himself and to for his family.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
543 Words | 2 Pages
school. Walter's mother, Lena (Mama), plans to use the money for a house for the
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
584 Words | 2 Pages
Conflict in A Raisin in the Sun In the play A Raisin in the Sun, the playwright Lorraine Hansberry depicts the life of an impoverished African American family living on the south side of Chicago. The Youngers, living in a small apartment and having dreams larger than the world in which they live, often use verbal abuse as a way to vent their problems. Many times, this verbal abuse leads to unnecessary conflict within the family. The most frequently depicted conflict is that between Walter and his sister Beneatha.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
568 Words | 2 Pages
Dream’s Recovered Everyone has dreams; everyone has goals they want to accomplish. Some know what it is instantly, and some take time to realize what they want to do. But not everyone will achieve their dreams and some, because of sad circumstances, lose their grip on their dreams and fall into a state of disappointment. Langston Hughes poem relates to the dreams of Mama, Ruth, and Walter in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
1246 Words | 3 Pages
The chasing of a mirage is a futile quest where an individual chases an imaginary image that he or she wants to capture. The goal of this impossible quest is in sight, but it is unattainable. Even with the knowledge that failure is inevitable, people still dream of catching a mirage. There is a fine line that separates those who are oblivious to this fact, and to those who are aware and accept this knowledge. The people who are oblivious represent those who are ignorant of the fact that their dream will be deferred. This denial is the core of the concept used in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The perception of the American Dream is one that is highly subjective, but every individual dream ends in its own deferment.
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Excessive Behavior in The Great Gatsby
616 Words | 2 Pages
Tom is excessively wealthy, careless, aggressive, and abusive. Tom inherited a large amount of money from his relatives. The narrator, Nick, says, “His family were enormously wealthy – even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” (10). He has excessive wealth and put it to use for himself. He “spent a year in France, for no particular reason,” surely spending a great deal of money (10). He lives among “the white palaces of fash...
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Race and Destiny
1609 Words | 4 Pages
Since its first paragraphs, the “A Raisin in the Sun” focuses on a fundamental issue – poverty and how it’s related to race. Hansberry is drawing the portrait of a stereotypical situation, in the mid-20th century, when racial discrimination was linked to lack of money and vice versa. The plays spins around a check of $10000 from the insurance company, granted for the death of Mama’s husband. The story goes with discussing the investment choices about that sum of money. The main male character, Walter Younger, Mama’s son, is presented as man who is eager to get rich fast, over-appreciates money, and has little ethical bias. The phrase “Check coming today?” (p.1294) written in the beginning of the act one, scene one, shows Walter’s impatience and the idea that he places a greater value on material stuff, rather than interpersonal relations.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
436 Words | 1 Pages
In the 1870s Jim Crow laws were introduced in the Southeastern United States. These laws introduced the idea of "separate but equal" living, meaning the equality of races, but were recommended to be kept separate and not mixed. These laws had then been abolished in 1954, yet still, in the present day, there are hints of discrimination towards the ‘minorities’. Every American citizen is filled with the ambition to be able to succeed in life and see gain what they have dreamed of. Yet, to some people, this ambition is dimed and suppressed due to discrimination.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
3896 Words | 8 Pages
A dream deferred is a dream put off to another time, much like this essay. But unlike dreams sometimes, this essay will get fulfilled and done with. Each character from A Raisin in the Sun had a deferred dream, even little Travis although his dream was not directly stated.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun