Greed In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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Lorraine Hansberry, in her play A Raisin in the Sun, tells the story of the Youngers, a poverty-stricken family of five. The author uses a large sum of inherited life insurance money to symbolize the downfall of two of the characters, Beneatha and Walter, due to their dreams. At first, the family viewed the insurance money as a distant entity, much like the dreams of Beneatha and Walter. Beneatha, the independent sister of the family, had dreams of becoming a doctor one day. She felt as though being a doctor “was truly being God” (133). To her, as a doctor, she would not only miraculously cure people and save lives like God, but she would also finally reach a level of divine respect. Much like God has control over all living beings, Beneatha viewed her medical degree as the key to having complete control over her own life. Once she had obtained her degree, her life would take an abrupt turn for the better. Without her degree, Beneatha feels as …show more content…

Walter decided he wanted all the money from his dead father’s insurance money in order to start up a liquor store, selling alcohol. In his mind, the money not only meant the means to survive, but rather, as a way to have power. Just like Beneatha thought becoming a doctor would earn her respect, Walter felt as though getting extremely rich would earn him all the respect in the world. With his current job, he states all he does is “open and close car doors all day long. [He] drive[s] a man around in his limousine and [he] say[s], ‘Yes; sir; no sir; very good sir; shall I take the Drive, sir?’” He adamantly states that “that ain’t no kind of job… that ain’t nothing at all” (73). Walter feels as though his job as a chauffeur makes him inferior to the white man, so he doesn’t even consider being a chauffeur as a job. In his mind, being a chauffeur possibly can be as horrible and undermining as being a slave would have been for his

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