Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun 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
of Walter Lee Younger via his appearance and thoughts, Hansberry was able to provide a fresh perspective on racism for that time period helping people to better see the error of America’s ways and the effects racism has on individuals and communities as a whole. Appearance and impression he gives off plays a very big role is the characterization of Walter Lee Younger. When referring
best authors in the world. Walter Lee Younger is an intense man in his middle thirties who works as a chauffeur, but his dream is to one day open up a liquor store. Walter has a very bad temper and tends to say things he doesn’t mean. Walter and his wife have been getting into many fights in which he will show off his bad temper. Many times when Walter gets upset he goes out and gets drunk. Gerald Weales explains, “Of the four chief characters in the play, Walter Lee is the most complicated and
Loman, and Walter Lee Younger are all living on pipe dreams. Amanda dreams of her days on the front porch surrounded by her gentleman callers. Willy is the all time king of pipe dreams bouncing from past to future with imagining how everything would have been different if he had gone to Alaska (or Africa) with his brother Ben or will be different when Howard makes him showroom salesman at the home office or Biff gets ten (fifteen) thousand dollars for his new business idea. Walter Lee is a smart
though; Walter Lee and Ruth’s marriage became dried up also. Their marriage was no longer of much importance, like a dream it was post-poned and it became dry. Their struggle for happiness dried up because they had to concentrate all of their energies on surviving. Their needs seem no longer to be satisfied by each other. But they both saw a resolution in the insurance check arriving in the mail. The money would let Ruth fulfill her dream of owning her own house and leaving the apartment. Walter would
that, to Walter Younger, it is to be accepted by white society. In the book entitled " Advertising the American Dream", Roland Marchand refers to the American Dream as the belief that "if you work hard and play by the rules, then you will achieve your goals" (Marchand 1). In the play, Walter Lee Younger does not do either one of these things. Walter doesn't show up for work regularly and he certainly has no intentions of playing by the rules to get a business licenses. Walter Lee is a man
despair by their heedless dash to reach the top. Playwrights Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry memorialize the failures in their works Death of a Salesman and A Raisin in the Sun. Their central dreamers, Miller’s Willy Loman and Hansberry’s Walter Lee Younger, like children at a candy shop window, are seduced by that success which can be seen so clearly, yet is so unreachable. Ardent followers of the hype of America, they reveal that, far from being a positive motivator, the Ame... ... middle
own business and having all the money you will ever need is a goal held by many in society, then and now. Walter Lee Younger becomes obsessed with his dream of a business venture that will give him financial and social independence, after getting and losing the money that will help this dream become reality he realizes that pride and dignity are more important for him and his family. Walter is obsessed with the insurance check that the family is waiting for, ten thousand dollars, will solve all
different black Americans. 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
is an African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. Walter Lee Younger’s father has passed away, leaving ten thousand dollars from life insurance. This drama deals with how the family copes with this money, their dreams, race, and each other. During the play, Mama says, “Sometimes you just have to know when to give up some things…and hold on to what you got.” This statement relates to Walter, Beneatha, and Mama’s lives, because they each learn to give up and hold onto things
families as well. 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
a circumstance is observed with the character Walter Lee Younger. He is the son of Lena Younger in the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Walter is caught up with his dream to lead his family out of the ghetto by opening a liquor store (1736). He hopes to do so with an insurance settlement his mother will receive due to the death of her husband (1741). Mama (Lena Younger) is opposed to the idea because of religious beliefs(1740). Walter then becomes li... ... middle of paper ...
thirty years old. She is married to Walter Lee Young and they have a son named Travis. “ Ruth is a pretty girl, even exceptionally so, but now it is apparent that life has been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face. In a few years, before thirty-five even, she will be known among her people as a ‘settled woman.’” Ruth tries to do everything she can to make her family happy. She just wants the best for them. Walter Lee Younger is a “lean, intense young man
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
The play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry has many interesting characters. In my opinion, the most fascinating character is Ruth because of her many emotions and captivating personality. She goes through extreme emotions in the play such as happiness, sadness, anger, stress, and confusion. Ruth is very independent, firm, kind, witty, and loving. Ruth has an intriguing personality. She is very loving towards her family. She will do all in her power to improve the lifestyle of her family
the head of the family; Beneatha, Lena?s daughter; Walter, Lena?s son; Ruth, wife of Walter; Travis, Walter and Ruth?s son. Other than the Younger family, Joseph Asagai shown as Beneatha?s Nigerian friend also has an important role in the play. Each of the members in Younger family has their own individual dreams. Throughout the play, their happiness and sadness depends on how successful they are in attaining their respective dreams. Walter Lee is shown as a typical African-American man who struggles
representations. The claim that A Raisin in the Sun expresses the idea of black assimilation can be somewhat justified. Walter Lee Younger and George Murchison openly and consciously admit that desire for the white lifestyle. George has willingly denounced his race rather than uplifted it and is the epitome of a black man that has fully assimilated into the White mainstream. Walter, on the other hand,... ... middle of paper ... ...revolution, not the just the entertainment industry. Works
A Character Analysis of Walter Lee Younger The play “A Raisin in the Sun” was written by Lorraine Hansberry marking her first ever written play. Lorraine Hansberry was the first African American woman to write a play that was to be produced on Broadway. Although a brilliant writer, Hansberry’s opportunities of writing were cut short when she died at the age of thirty-five from cancer. Lorraine lived from 1930 to 1965, dying on the day that Broadway closed her second play, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s
of late Walter, the remaining family members had a chance at a better life. An interesting character from the play, Walter lee, is like most black man trying to come up in the world. Walter gambles the money away trying to
differentials within the context of their dreams to fight against a much bigger issue, racial discrimination. We are introduced to Walter Lee Younger, a young man obsessed with his business proposal, hoping to use the money to