Final Character Analysis Essay of Walter Lee Younger A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, marking her first play ever written. Lorraine Hansberry was the first African American woman to write a play that was produced on Broadway. Also, A Raisin in the Sun won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, becoming the first African American play to do so. A Raisin in the Sun was written in likeness of a true story that Lorraine had experienced growing up. In 1937, a mob approached the Hansberry’s to abandon their new Chicago home, which led to heated controversy between the Hansberry’s and the white supremacists, which in turn later influenced Lorraine Hansberry to write a play about the incidences of her childhood home …show more content…
He loves each and every one of his family members, and they all love him. Although, because of the way he acts towards them and talks to them, it also causes them to have a hateful relationship with each other. Additionally, Walter Lee has unconditional love for his wife and family, so he works a job that he despises. Walter Lee Younger, Jr. is a “…black chauffer who wants to tear down the economic and social wall built around him and his family by a white racist society” (Carter 161). In knowing that Walter Lee loves them, Ruth tries to brush off everything hateful that Walter Lee says or does. In one scene of the play, Walter Lee is talking to Ruth with a form of hostility and nonsense, in which Ruth repeatedly sighs, “Eat your eggs, Walter” (Hansberry 451). Although, another positive moment of love was shown when Mama Younger gave Walter Lee the money that was left after she had bought the new house. After giving him the money, he felt a sense of pride and felt like he was finally in control of his life. Mama gave him the money and whispered “I ain’t never stop trusting you. Like I ain’t never stop loving you” (Hansberry 489). This action portrayed by his mother shows that Walter Lee is still being tested with his manhood and
Ruth was being prevented from having a baby because of money problems, Walter was bringing him self down by trying to make the liquor store idea work. Once Mama decided to buy the house with the money she had received, Walter figured that he should further go on with the liquor store idea. Then, when Walter lost the money, he lost his dignity and tried to get some money from the “welcome party” of Cylborne Park. Mama forced him to realize how far he went by making him show himself to his son how low he would go. But he showed that he wasn’t susceptible to the ways the racism created.
When Walter Lee has a bad day he can't yell at his boss for fear of loosing his job Instead he takes it out on his family, mainly his wife Ruth. Walter is thirty-five years old and drives a limousine for a living. This job provides just enough for his family without there being extra money left over to spend. It is so bad that when Travis asked his mother Ruth for fifty cents she said she couldn't give it to him because they couldn't afford it. Walter hears this and gets a little upset with Ruth and gives Travis a dollar instead. Walter tells Ruth that she shouldn't tell Travis that they can't give him fifty cents because they don't have it. I believe Walter is upset because he realizes that he isn't able to provide his son with pocket change without becoming broke himself. What kind of man would he be? What kind of role model would he be for Travis if he can't bring home enough money to support his family? How would he be a strong black man for his family? It's obvious that Walter is not able to provide his family with what is considered the "American Dream".
Walter feels as though no one in the family supports his idea of opening a liquor store, but they want him to be an entrepreneur, but opening a liquor store is against his mother's moral grounds. Walter's arrogance is clearer when he asks Beneatha about her decision to become a doctor: He asks why she couldn't just become a nurse or get married "like other women." When he comes home after drinking with his friends and Beneatha is dancing to the African music, he says, "Shut up" to Ruth, just before joining Beneatha in the dance. Walter is obsessed with getting money so that he can buy "things for Ruth"; he is unaware that treating Ruth more kindly and with more respect would be more appreciated and valued than any "gifts."
Walter Lee Younger's route, which was filled with riskiness and impulsiveness, exemplified the road taken by blacks who had been oppressed so much that they followed their dreams with blind desperation. Though Walter was the only adult male in his family, he did not assume the role as "man of the house." His mother, Lena was the family's backbone as well as the head of the household. Therefore, Walter felt less than a man. Not only did Walter not have a position of dignity in his home, but he felt disrespected by the world as well. Walter didn't feel good about himself because he was so poor that he struggled to support his wife, Ruth and son, Travis. Walter, though the did not fare unsuccessfully in that struggle, our he wanted more out of life. He told Ruth:
Hansberry faces housing discrimination due to her race, which affects her family. According to Susan Chenelle and Audrey Fisch from the New York Times, her father Carl Hansberry got a house for his family in the south side of Chicago in the 1930’s (Chenelle & Fisch, 2014). At that time there was a racially restrictive covenant that protected houses against being bought or occupied by African Americans. Therefore, this family was evicted by law. He sued and the case went to the Supreme Court around 1940, but he did not win because of the constitutionality of racially restrictive covenants. Luckily in 1948, the court found that this covenant is discrimi...
Walter lives with his mother, sister, wife and child Travis. After the receival of a life insurance check from the deceased Walter Lee Senior, Mama makes a decision to give it to Walter to make him feel like the man of the house. She places endless trust into her son; she gives him the money that is needed for his sisters school, and the house payments. She has high hopes Walter would not let her down by the use of it for something that goes against her values. Unfortunately, as he receives the money one can see how hastily he works to use it for a meer liquor store as he confesses his wrongdoings: “Mama… I never went to the bank at all… It’s all gone.” (Hansberry 129). Prior to this moment, Mama had asked Walter to
Ruth’s dream is to have a happy and loving family. Ruth’s dream is revealed in act 2, scene 3, when she is ecstatic because she went to the movies with Walter and they held hands (111). This exposes Ruth’s dream because her greatest moments are when she is with someone in her family and they are happy to be together. Walter stands in the way of this dream because money is his first priority. In act 1, scene 2, Walter declares that money is life (74). This demonstrates Walter’s obsession with money because he informs Mama that money means everything to him. In act 2, scene 2, Mama tells Walter that she would do anything for him and gives him a lot of money; after Mama gives her heartfelt speech, Walter just stares at the money (106). This shows money is more important than family to Walter because his mother just told him she would do anything for him, but Walter only cares about the money in front of him. However,
This scene shows the importance of money to Walter Lee. Here he is trying to guilt his mother into giving him the money by pointing out things that the family has to settle with. For example, he tells Lena that she will have to tell that to his son he is pointing out that Travis sleeps on the couch and does not have an actual bed of his own. He talks about how his wife Ruth has to watch someone else’s kids for money instea...
that a discontented individual is often unable to take ownership of his life until he realizes that he must set a good example for his children. Walter is a protagonist who seems to only care about himself. He is really dependent on his mama's huge insurance check. Walter wants his mama's check so he and Willy Harris can open up a bar. This character continues to go down the wrong path until something tragic happens.
Ruth is Walter's wife. Her dream is to have a happy family but she also wants to be wealthy.
Mama talks to Walter about her fears of the family falling apart. This is the reason she bought the house and she wants him to understand. Walter doesn't understand and gets angry. "What you need me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." Walter is so obsessive over money that he yells at his mom for not giving him all of it. He doesn't know that what his mom is doing is for the family. He thinks that having money will make the family happy, when in reality the family doesn't need anymore than what they have to be happy.
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.
No matter how hard they try, there are some people who cannot get ahead in life. Walter Lee Younger is a man who is frustrated with his current position in life, and every disappointment he has encountered thus far. Although he tries to be a loving man, sometimes he does not know how to show the idea of love, 'Sometimes...sometimes...I don't even know how to try' (Hansberry 89). His position in life can be regarded as symbolic of every black male struggling to provide for his family by any means necessary. Although Walter has a job, it seems inadequate for his survival. As a result, he has become frustrated and lacks good judgement. Throughout this play Walter searches for the key ingredient that will make his life blissful. His frustrations stem from him not being able to act as a man and provide for his family and grasp hold of his ideals to watch them manifest into a positive situation. Walter Lee Younger, a man who is vehement for his family, has many ambitions in life, and dreams of the biggest dreams out of anyone else in the play.
Lorraine Hansberry herself clarified it when she spoke about the play. She states, “We cannot…very well succumb to monetary values and know the survival of certain aspects of man which must remain if we are loom larger than other creatures on the planet….Our people fight daily and magnificently for a more comfortable material base for their lives; they sacrifice for clean homes, decent foods, and personal and group dignity”. (Lester 417). Hansberry used Walter Lee to stand for that exact representation. Many African American men in the 1950’s and the 1960’s suffered pride and personal crisis issues because of the incapability to support and provide his family with the minimum of their basic needs. Walter Lee incriminated himself and his family for what he sees as his personal failure. (Lester 417). During the meeting with Mr. Linder the family, with the exclusion of Mama and Travis, stated that they was not interested in the offer of selling the house back to the welcoming committee of the neighborhood. This showed that the family stood firm for their moral values (dignity) that they share as a collective unit. Then something switch; Walter recklessly invested the family insurance money on a shaky liquor business startup. Feeling that all hope is lost and that his way of changing the family way of life is out of reach, he despairingly call Mr. Linder and
Mama is a powerful, strong witted person. She has a lot of control in this play and dominates as a woman character. This is unusual because this is usually a male’s position in life. She is a woman, “who has adjusted to many things in life and overcome many more, her face is full of strength”. In this play she is illustrated as taking over for the head of the family and controls the lives of everyone in her house. Rules are followed to Mama’s extent. She controls what is said and done in her house. After Walter yells, “WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE LISTEN TO ME TODAY!” (70). Mama responds in a strong tone of voice saying, “I don’t ‘low no yellin’ in this house, Walter Lee, a...