A Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis

Symbolism is an object or thing having a meaning beyond the literal meaning of the object or thing. In the play, “A Raisin In The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, symbolism is used through the illustration of light, a window, and a plant. In the play, the african-american Younger family struggles to do well financially and emotionally. When Walter Sn.’s life insurance check comes in the mail for the family, Mama, his wife, goes and buys a house in a white neighborhood and gives the rest of the ten thousand dollar check to Walter Jr. for him and his sister, Beneatha. Walter secretly invests the entirety of the remaining money into a liquor store business to better their family, where his partner steals all of the money. The family struggles to have hope to pursue all of their dreams after losing most of Walter Sn.’s last money. Through their struggle, one can see the symbolism of

When the Younger’s go to move into a white neighborhood, a man, Mr. Lindner, from the neighborhood’s Improvement Association comes to their apartment ready to pay them for their house so they will not move and their neighborhood would remain entirely white. In the play, the reality that dreams should always be pursued is shown when Walter tells Mr. Lindner that “[the Youngers] have decided to move into our house because my father-my father-he earned it for us brick by brick.” (Act 3, Scene 1, Pg. 148) Walter says this after being broken by throwing away his father’s hard earned money and no longer having any hope to own a business and provide an opportunistic future for his son. Even so, he pursues his family’s dream by declining Mr. Lindner’s offer and moving regardless or how he no longer has hope to own a business and create a better life for his family. Despite losing their hope and opportunity, the Younger family manages to strive for their