More handpicked essays just for you.
Symbolism of a raisin in the sun
Symbolism of a raisin in the sun
Underlying intentions of the characters in Raisin in the Sun
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The duplicity of one man equals another mans coming of age. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry uses the Younger families trials and triumphs to show readers/viewers the good that can come out of betrayal. Walter Lee Younger, the man of the house, has high aspirations for himself and his family. He dreams of co-owning a liquor store so he can get his family out of their small apartment and provide for all their needs. Walter’s father has recently died; as a result, Mama (Mrs. Younger) will Freceive 10,000 dollars for her family. Walter longs to make a downpayment on the liquor store with some of that money even though Beneatha, his sister, is trying to become a doctor and also needs money. He states “Yeah. You see, this …show more content…
Walter Lee already sounds like he has gotten the job when nothing has been put in writing. He is becoming more confident in his future everyday until the unthinkable happens. One of his partners in the business shows up at the Younger’s apartment with an uneasy expression. Excitement feels the air when Walter sees him; he has yet to realize the purpose of the unannounced visit. Bobo informs Walter that Willy Harris, the other business partner, has ran off with both Walter and Bobo’s transactions. This leads to the downfall of Walter’s …show more content…
The man's name was Mr. Linder. He claimed he would pay Walter to keep his family from moving in. Clybourne Park was an all white neighborhood and Walter Lee being the proud man he is told Mr Linder to “get out”(Hansberry 119) multiple times to get his point across. After the shocking news from Bobo, he called Mr. Linder back to his house planning to beg him as if he were a stereotypical black man. This was shameful to Mama. In order for Walter Lee to register Mama’s concern, she made his son Travis sit in the room when Walter was intending to beg. It was then that Walter’s eyes were opened to his wrong decision and he knew what he had to do. He tells Mr. Linder that “...we come from people who had a lot of pride...we are very proud people….we have decided to move into our house” This was the first time Walter acted like a grown, responsible, dependable
Trust is given to those who earn it, yet unconditional trust is placed in the family. If that trust is broken, it always hurts the most. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry has many different themes and perspectives to look at the play from, but betrayal and hurt are major points in this play.
Walter, distraught after Mama had denounced his ambition to run a liquor store, had skipped work for three days, borrowing Willy Harris's car to drive around the city. Mama, seeing Walter so defeated, decided to entrust the remaining 6,500 dollars of her 10,000 dollar check to him, saying, "It ain't much, but it's all I got in the world and I'm putting it in your hands." (Hansberry,) Having incessantly denied Walter's dream,
Walter and Beneatha’s relationship is very complex. The spiraling tension between the two siblings causes confrontation to form and creep into the Younger household. Walter needs his family to respect him as the man of the family, but his sister is constantly belittling him in front of his mother, wife, and son. This denigrating treatment taints Walter’s view of himself as a man, which carries into his decisions and actions. Beneatha also subconsciously deals with the dysfunctional relationship with her brother. She desires to have her brother’s support for her dream of becoming a doctor, yet Walter tends to taunt her aspiration and condemns her for having such a selfish dream. Mama as the head of the family is heartbroken by the juvenile hostility of her adult children, so in hopes to keep her family together she makes the brave move of purchasing a house. Mama’s reasoning for the bold purchase was,“ I—I just seen my family falling apart….just falling to pieces in front of my eyes…We couldn’t have gone on like we was today. We was going backwards ‘stead of forw...
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.
The first reason I believe that Walter is the protagonist is because he isn’t a selfish man. What I mean by this is when he is talking about issues he tends to discuss family issues above his own personal things. Though at times in the play when he is drunk and loses his temper he does start speaking selfishly, I believe that his overall attitude in the play is for his family to move up the world. I believe that Walter’s son Travis is the main reason why he acts so unselfishly. He seems to want the best for this son and doesn’t want his son to feel that there isn’t anything he can’t have or do.
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.
One way they deal with money problems is how they are living in poverty before they receive the insurance check. The Younger family is so poor that Ruth 's son Travis has to sleep on the couch until they buy the house. The family also has to deal with Walter losing some of the insurance money to Willy Harris. Willy Harris convinces Walter that he should spend his share of the insurance check on opening a liquor store. Wanting to be able to take care of his family because he felt he was obligated to due to wanting to feel like a proper man (Washington 1988), Walter falls for it and gives Willy Harris the money. Willy Harris runs off with the money which sets the Younger family back which made Walter want to take Karl Lindner 's
In life there are always going to be ups and downs, good and bad times, because families go through extensive amounts of arguments. Within the play A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, there are a few complications that the Younger family face. Moreover, the main complications occur between Lena Younger (Mama) and Walter Lee Younger (the son of Mama). Throughout the play, the biggest complication they face is how to spend Walter Lee Senior’s life insurance money. The Younger family goes through several challenging times; however, the family shows that no matter what, everyone should stick together.
Walter is Mama’s oldest son. His dreams are to be wealth but at the same time wanting to provide for his family. His own personal dream is to open liquor store with his money he receives from Mama.
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.
Walter Lee Younger, a man who is vehement for his family, has many ambitions in life, and dreams of the biggest dreams of anyone else in the play. Walter wants the best for his family and he thinks the liquor store will provide him with the financial security needed to keep them out of poverty. I'm thirty five years old; I've been married eleven years and I have a boy who sleeps in the living room (Hansberry 34). best describes the sympathy and compassion Walter feels for his son. Although his family's financial position has a strain on it, Walter doesn't want his son to see him struggle.
A Raisin in the Sun is a play telling the story of an African-American tragedy. The play is about the Younger family near the end of the 1950s. The Younger family lives in the ghetto and is at a crossroads after the father’s death. Mother Lena Younger and her grown up children Walter Lee and Beneatha share a cramped apartment in a poor district of Chicago, in which she and Walter Lee's wife Ruth and son Travis barely fit together inside.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down barriers to become an African American female doctor. Lastly, is Walter Lee Younger, son of Mama and husband of Ruth. Walter dreams of economic prosperity and desires to become a flourishing businessman. Over the course of Walter's life many things contributed to his desire to become a businessman. First and foremost, Walter's father had a philosophy that no man should have to do labor for another man. Being that Walter Lee was a chauffeur, Big Walter?s philosophy is completely contradicted. Also, in Walter?s past, he had the opportunity to go into the Laundromat business which he chose against. In the long run, he saw this choice was fiscally irresponsible this choice was. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee's dreams, which are his sole focus, lead to impaired judgement and a means to mend his shattered life.
Lauren Oliver once said, “I guess that’s just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up” (Good Reads). This quote connects very well to the play, A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry. The quote conveys the message that if one loves someone, one must give things up. A Raisin in the Sun is about an African-American family living in the south side of Chicago in the 1950s. The Younger family is a lower-class family that has been struggling to make their dreams come true. One of the character’s in the play named Walter Lee has been struggling to make his dreams come true. Walter’s changes that are shown tie to the quote written by Lauren Oliver. The changes that are seen in Walter Lee throughout the book, A Raisin in the Sun, reflects the theme that one must sacrifice something for the love and happiness of one’s family.
Walter wants the insurance money so that he can prove that he is capable of making a future for his family. By doing well in business, Walter thinks that he can buy his family happiness. Mama cares for Walter deeply and hates seeing him suffer so she gave into his idea. Mama gives Walter the rest of the money and tells him to put half in a bank for his sister's schooling and he could do whatever he wanted with the other half.