Struggling for the Dream in A Raisin in the Sun
Set in a cramped apartment in poverty-striken Southside Chicago, Lorraine Hansberry, through realistic slang, accounts the struggles of five black family members battling against racism to attain middle-class acceptance during 1959. After Walter Younger's business "partner" skipped town with a portion of the family's $10,000 inheritance money, the desolate son returns home to break the news to his family that their hopes for the future have been stolen and their dreams for a better life were dashed. Redeeming himself in the eyes of his family, Walter refuses to sell-out his race to the prejudiced white Clybourne Park spokesman Karl Lindner, who offers to pay off the Youngers to stop them from moving in the neighborhood.
Hansberry highlights the different values of a black and white culture by attempting to alienate the Youngers from the affluent white community. The attributes of pride and prejudice are assigned to Walter and Karl, respectively to define their stereotypical society's assumptions.
The play opens with Mama Younger awaiting the coming of a $10,000 insurance check from the death of her husband. Mama sees in this legacy the chance to escape the ghetto life of the Chicago Southside and decides to use part of the money as a down payment for a house in an all-white neighborhood. Her brilliant daughter Beneatha views the inheritance as a chance to live out her dream and go to medical school. Her son Walter becomes obsessed with business, ever since he learns of the $10,000 insurance check. Desperate to become higher in society and believing the money will solve all of his economic and social problems, Walter has a plea that is difficult to ignore. Thirty-five year old Walter sees this as his last chance to carry out his dream business deal and invest with some friends in a liquor store. By doing this, it might quadruple his money, and he thinks that will make him a worthier man. Walter promises that if he can just have the money, he can give back to the family all the blessings that their hard lives have denied them.
Against her better judgment, Mama gives in to the desire of her son. She has to admit that life's chances have never been good for him and that he deserves the chance that money might give him. As soon as he invested the money, his so-called "friend" skips town with it.
She’s considering having an abortion. On the other hand the daughter wants to get merry to her African boyfriend he wants her to move with him to Africa. Momma is very excited to own her first home and they also refuse to take the money from Mr. Linden, they are tired of living in the apartment, momma thinks a house is the best investment. The son is going through some extremely hard times after losing all that money trying to open a liquor store. In the story the son faces more problems the son has the most problems for example he’s in charged of the house after his father die he took over all the responsibility he’s father had. During the 1950s after the father die the son usually took over the family and all its
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore– And then run?" (Langston Hughes). It is important to never lose sight of one’s dream. Dreams are what keep people moving in life, but if they are ignored, they may morph and lose their prevailing form. This is evident in Lorraine Hansberry’s "A Raisin in the Sun", as Walter’s, Beneatha’s, and Mama’s dreams become delayed, distorted, and blurred.
Walter Lee Younger feels that he is on the bottom rung of the social ladder. As a man who makes a living by being a chauffer to those better off than him, he is constantly made to feel small and worthless while earning minimum wage. Due to the stress exerted onto him each day, he constantly argues with his wife and the other members of his family. Walter’s dream is simple. He wants to make something of himself; something his family can be proud of. To do this, he wants to use his deceased father’s insurance money to go into a partnership on a liquor store with his friend Willy Harris. When Walter finally tries to attain this dream by giving him the inheritance money, Willy runs off with the money, never to be seen again. Walter’s dreams, as well as his family’s, disappear wi...
At first, Walter starts as a man who does not have many traits and characteristics that a leader in the family should has. He feels frustrated of the fact that his mother can potentially support his sister, Beneatha, in her education career. Walter complains and feels depressed about his current life when he has many aspects that not many African men had during his time. Walter has a happy family, a loving wife, and an acceptable occupation. Unfortunately, Walter wants more in his life, and he feels hopeless and depressed when something does not go in his ways. Walter starts to change when he experiences and learns Willis’s betrayal, his father’s hard work, his son’s dream of becoming a bus driver, and his mother’s explanation about the Africans’ pride. Through many difficulties, Walter becomes the man of the family, and he learns the importance of accepting and living a happy life with his family. Like Walter, many African men had to overcome the challenges and obstacles. They had to face and endure through racism. These two ideas often led to many tragic and depressed incidents such as unequal opportunities, inequality treatments, segregation, and
...as decreased the amount of exorcisms because religions put stipulations on the behaviors that qualify them for an exorcism. A medical diagnosis seems more practical in the twenty-first century, but people will still hold the same superstitions.
Living in a society where the fulfillment of dreams is based upon material wealth, the Younger family strives to overcome their hardships as they search for happiness. As money has never been a way of life for the family, the insurance check's arrival brings each person to see the chance that their own dreams can become reality. Whether in taking a risk through buying a "little liquor store" as Walter wishes to do or in -"[wanting] to cure" as Beneatha dreams, the desires of the family depend upon the fate of Mama's check. In the mind of Walter Lee Younger, the check is the pinnacle of all, dominating his thoughts, as he does not wait a second before "asking about money "without" a Christian greeting." He cannot see beyond the fact that he "[wants] so many things" and that only their recently acquired money can bring them about. The idea of money and being able to hold it "in [his] hands" blinds him from the evils of society, as he cannot see that the Willy Harris's of the world will steal a person's "life" without a word to anyone. When money becomes nothing but an illusion, Walter is forced to rethink his values and his family's future, realizing that there is more to living that possessing material riches.
Elvis Aaron Presley was raised by his mother Gladys, to have a strong faith in God. And while he was still very young, Presley, attended the Assembly of God Church with his parents, where gospel music became an enormous influence on him. His musical talents and instrumental prowess soon began to impress his parents, peers and even his teachers at Humes High School in Memphis, that he earned his first guitar at the early age of ten. After graduating in 1953, Presley decided to get his hands on some paying jobs. He worked a number of jobs while pursuing his musical dream. He recorded his first demo record at what later became known as Sun Studio that same year, his persistence paid off when, Sam Phillips, the record label owner, decided to take him under his wing. Presley soon began touring and recording, trying to catch his first big break. Then, his First Single called "That's All Right" was recorded in 1954.
The idea of the American Dream still has truth in today's time, even if it is wealth, love, or
Mama’s dreams were first deferred when she moved into the small apartment that the Youngers family stay in through out most of the play. She became too busy that she couldn’t accomplish her dream. She also could not for fill her dreams since she did not have enough money to do so. Her dreams were even more shattered with the death of her husband, but when she got the money from her husband’s death her dreams then became a reality again. Mama wants Travis to be happy and play in the garden but she cannot do this since they live in a dirty ghetto.
One of the first ideas mentioned in this play, A Raisin In the Sun, is about money. The Younger's end up with no money because of Walter's obsession with it. When Walter decides not to take the extra money he is offered it helps prove Hansberry's theme. Her theme is that money can't buy happiness. This can be seen in Walter's actions throughout the play.
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.
In Lorraine Hansberry “A Raisin in the Sun”, the issues of racial discrimination, the debate of heroism, and criticism is vividly displayed. The play, which was written in the late 1950’s presents itself in a realistic discerning matter that implicates the racial division among the black family and white America. The play insinuates Walters’s heroism as well because of the black family’s struggle not to become discouraged in trying to obtain the world riches and still maintaining human dignity. When Hansberry wrote “A Raisin in the Sun”, many critics questioned the motive behind her play because it showed the America the world wants to grow oblivious to. This presents the reality of racial discrimination and heroism for the black man among
In the beginning of the play, Walter is foolish and quarrelsome, with his heart set on becoming affluent. As he grasps how hard work his father worked and how hard his family works, he reasons that living by his standards is more important than gaining wealth, and he stops feeling resentful towards them. This play highlights how many members of society focus more on making money than living by their ethical
... wasn’t sure if the man she was talking to is really her husband. He could not prove it until he noticed his bed. He explained how his bed had been made and who made it. Instantly Penelope knew it was him and apologize for antagonizing him.
Most telling of all, Elvis was the most popular entertainer in the world, a figure of constant attention who came off as the boy next door while his life grew increasingly bizarre. He was fascinated by guns, and in his last years rarely went anywhere without carrying one. He became a nocturnal creature who would rent an amusement park outside Memphis so he could ride the roller coaster at night -- alone except for his entourage. He covered hotel-room windows with aluminum foil to keep daylight out. His appetite for food and dependence on drugs like uppers and downers and painkillers was incredible.