In the play A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry alludes to the lines “Maybe it just sags/ Like a heavy load.” (lines 9-10) from the poem Harlem through Walter’s character to convey that for those living in impoverished communities, dreams can bring on a lot of new responsibilities to provide for families and deferred dreams can have lasting effects on how Black Americans with little opportunity live their lives. In the poem Harlem, Langston Hughes uses the word “sag” to refer to a dream deferred. Through this reference, Hansberry emphasizes the negative effects deferred dreams can have on people who don't get a lot of opportunities to accomplish their dreams because of a lack of resources. Many of the negative effects, such as fear, can stick with …show more content…
This has made Walter lose any opportunity he had for his personal dreams, which is why he feels so much disappointment. In Act 2 Scene 1 Walter says to Mama, “So you butchered up a dream of mine-you-who always talking ’bout your children’s dreams.” (95). This leaves Walter feeling betrayed by Mama because his dream has dried up due to her decision to spend the money on what she wanted and not give it to Walter. Walter’s reaction to disappointment and vexation reveals his selfish character because he is only considering his dreams and not the dreams of his family around him. Thus, leading Walter to be hurt as this loss of opportunity continues to sag on him. Walter’s hurt feelings come from the expectation that the man of the house should provide for the family, but this role has been taken on by Mama because she is the one with all the money. This leads Walter to feel ashamed and he begins to give up on his dreams. On account of Mama’s decision to not give Walter money for his dreams of the liquor store, it continues to have a lasting effect on Walter when he begins to want to escape and run away from his …show more content…
This is just one example of how Walter's loss of his dream affected him. This moment represents the effects a deferred can have on someone. Specifically, it can lead to people wanting to avoid facing their problems and give up on all other dreams just as Walter is doing in this scene. Walter does this because of his discomfort and he pursues the pleasure he gets while being alone, foundationally revealing what happens to a dream deferred. Hansberry is using Walter's character as an example of how the lack of opportunity for success can bring people down and take away previous motivation. This is related to a deferred dream sagging in someone's life because of the lasting negative effects of disappointment. Most importantly, Hansberry conveys that life is full of unexpected experiences and encounters, ultimately leading dreams to come and go through life. Many unfulfilled dreams are what make people lose hope. In addition, Hansberry alludes to the words “heavy load” from the poem Harlem to emphasize the added responsibilities and pressure that come with wanting to achieve
Mama talks to Walter about her fears of the family falling apart. This is the reason she bought the house and she wants him to understand. Walter doesn't understand and gets angry. "What you need me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." Walter is so obsessive over money that he yells at his mom for not giving him all of it. He doesn't know that what his mom is doing is for the family. He thinks that having money will make the family happy, when in reality the family doesn't need anymore than what they have to be happy.
Walter lives with his mother, sister, wife and child Travis. After the receival of a life insurance check from the deceased Walter Lee Senior, Mama makes a decision to give it to Walter to make him feel like the man of the house. She places endless trust into her son; she gives him the money that is needed for his sisters school, and the house payments. She has high hopes Walter would not let her down by the use of it for something that goes against her values. Unfortunately, as he receives the money one can see how hastily he works to use it for a meer liquor store as he confesses his wrongdoings: “Mama… I never went to the bank at all… It’s all gone.” (Hansberry 129). Prior to this moment, Mama had asked Walter to
“Mama (To Walter) Son- (She goes to him, bends down to him, talks to his bent head) Son… Is it gone? Son, I gave you sixty-five hundred dollars. Is it gone? All of it? Beneatha’s money too?”(Act 2 Scene 3 Pg. 129). Mama told him that she did not want her late husband’s hard earned money to go into a liquor store. Walter did not listen; therefore, he was held responsible and Mama punished him by beating him( pg.129). She further makes him face the consequences by telling him that he got them into this mess, and as head of the family he needs to get the family out of this situation but not at the cost of the families pride (
Bad Dreams in A Raisin in the Sun The issue of racism is one of the most significant themes in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Many black men have to deal with inherent racism. The frustrations that they deal with do not only affect them, but it also affects their families as well. When Walter Lee has a bad day he can't yell at his boss for fear of losing his job.
At the beginning of the play, Walter is a self centered character. In a conversation with Mama, Walter wants to make sure she does not spend all the money. Walter states, “Where were you, mama? Mama, You didn’t go do something with that insurance money, something crazy” (P. 90). It is revealed that Walter is desperate for money and achieving his big idea of owning a liquor store. It’s important to know that this money is Mama’s and not Walters to spend. Instead of being the man of the house
The plot orbits around the decisions and actions that he takes. As an African American male, his character evolves the most throughout the play. Moreover, Walter is living in a home that has overlooked his need to be the head of the family. “I want so many things that the are driving me kind of crazy… Mama-look at me” (Hansberry, 60). This quote reveals the use of indirect characterization, revealing Walter’s need to succeed, to obtain security, and become the head of the family. However, Walter’s mother Lena remains the matriarch of the family until the end of the play. Constantly looking for financial prosperity, Walter believes that money will solve all of the family problems. Yet, his obsession with money eventually becomes his downfall. Most of his actions and mistakes hurt his family greatly, but his belated rise to manhood makes him a sort of hero in the last
Walter wants the best for his family and he thinks the liquor store will provide him the financial security needed to boost them out of poverty. "I'm thirty five years old; I've been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in 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. Even in today?s world, children are very susceptible. Walter displays a selfless characteristic which becomes overshadowed by unwise decisions later in the play. In one particular scene, his son Travis asked both parents for money. Walter acts out of pride by giving Travis his last pocket change. This symbolizes Walter's willingness to be a moral father. In a different situation, Walter would not display his selfish intentions. This behavior can be attributed to working in a degrading, underpaid position and not seeing results. Metaphorically speaking, Walter can be related to the furniture in the small apartment, ?tired and broken in spirit?.
Lorraine Hansberry’s carefully selected words in the play A Raisin in the Sun, prove to be a metaphor of the Younger’s past, present, and future life. During this time in American history it was hard for black people to make a name for themselves, and they were almost never seen as equals to white lives. As Hansberry describes the house in which the Younger’s live, she is always describing the struggle that they face. She starts this by saying “The Younger living room would be comfortable and well-ordered room if it were not for a number of indestructible contradictions to this state of being” (Hansberry 23). One could assume that has Hansberry speaks of the living room she is actually speaking of the lives of the Younger’s. Therefore as we
To start off, Walter’s obsession with money is going to cost him a lot since it is the only thing he cares about. In the beginning, Walter starts out by only caring only about himself, but towards the end, he starts to care for everyone else as well. This shows that Walter is a selfish person. As Walter Lee states to Ruth, “Yeah. You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see” is the dream that Walter Lee has for himself (Hansberry 33). Walter wants the money that the Younger family is getting from the insurance company to buy the liquor store. He thinks that the liquor store will make them rich and the family would not have to struggle anymore. At the end, Walter changes his whole point of view towards the insurance money. Walter declares to Mr....
Both Charaters had different dreams, walter dream was to be able to get rich and support his family, while Frederick Dream was to become a free man. However, Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin the sun was published 1959, during this time the social conditions of African-Americans and their journey for identity in a discrimitive society " A job. (Looks at her) Mama, a job? I open and close car doors all day long. I drive a man around in his limousine and I say, "Yes, sir; no, sir; very good, sir; shall I take the Drive, sir?" Mama, that ain't no kind of job … that ain't nothing at all" (Hansberry 2). Also, In the narrative of Frederick Douglass, he applies that slavery is as harmful to whites as it is to slaves, he demostrates his trait of individualism througout his life by willing to take risk to overcome placed in his way to achiveve his American " As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers. With their kindly aid, obtained at different times and in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read. When I was sent to errands, I always took my book with me, and by doing one part of my errand quickly, I found time to get a lesson before my return" (Douglass
This episode illustrates a major conflict throughout the story. As Walter dreams bigger and bigger he seems to leave the 'smaller' things such as his family behind. This movement away from the family is against the furtherance of the values and morals of the family. While his father would have been happy simply working and caring for his family, Walter is more concerned with becoming a 'mover and shaker' without thinking about the resulting consequences for his family.
Although Mama, Ruth, Beneatha and Walter all live in the same house, there dreams are all different. All the characters want to for fill there dream but, what happens if these dream are deferred?
What happens to a dream when it suspends in time? Does it stay suspended within a man through his lifetime, dormant, unreachable, and far away? Does its power grow and ultimately force him to act to make it happen sometime in the future-if not in his lifetime then in the future members of his kin? On the other hand, does it eat away at him, crystallizing and internally segmenting his own derived purpose and meaning of life until it is indiscernible from its original state of grandeur and grace? Those are some of the questions that Lorraine Hansberry poses for consideration in her play, A Raisin in the Sun. It is no accident that she chose Langston Hughes' poem as a gateway into the incredible experience of true life, living, dreaming and working for a better tomorrow as enacted and emoted by her play's characters, the Youngers. More specifically, she uses Mama Younger to echo the poem's style of thought-provocation to at least partially surmise an answer of whether dreams deferred do, in fact, dry up, crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet, or sag like a heavy load.
Walter feels a step closer to accomplishing his dream, and freedom from being oppressed by his own family. Because Walter’s condition at the time feels good to him, he tells his son that night “Daddy ain’t going to never be drunk again” (Hansberry 107). But, he abuses his newfound money. He goes against his mother and uses all of
Research Paper Outline The following paper will explore the history and causes of Running Amok, a rare Culture-Bound, psychological disorder. Those diagnosed with Running Amok have displayed aggressive behavior, going on a homicidal rampage, suicidal tendencies extremely likely after, and in some cases have experienced amnesia. This conditioned has been recognized by the APA, despite its rare and nearly incurable nature. Amok was originally believed to be indigenous to Malaysia.