LaQuanda Clayton April 17, 2024 Block 4 The idea of assimilation becomes an important theme in A Raisin in the Sun. The Younger family, an African American household, struggles to balance their cultural identity with the pressure to conform to white, middle-class norms. As they consider how to use their insurance payout, the family must decide whether to invest in a home in a white neighborhood or start a business, reflecting the tension between assimilation and preserving their roots. The play’s title, “A Raisin in the Sun,” relates to the dreams of the main characters. Like a raisin drying up in the sun, the characters’ aspirations risk withering away if not properly nurtured. For Mama, it is the dream of providing a better home for her family. For Walter, it is the dream of becoming a successful businessman. For Beneatha, it is the dream of becoming a doctor and embracing her African heritage. The title serves as a metaphor for the …show more content…
The insurance payout represents a chance for the family to improve their circumstances, but it also becomes a source of tension as they debate how to use the funds. Walter’s desire to invest in the liquor store reflects his desperation to achieve financial security, while Mama’s decision to use the money for a house speaks to her commitment to providing a stable home. The power of money shapes the characters’ choices and the trajectory of the play. The balance of power and authority shifts throughout the play as the characters navigate their individual and collective dreams. Initially, Mama held the most authority as the matriarch of the family. However, as Walter’s ambitions grow, he seeks to assert control over the family’s finances and decision-making. The arrival of Mr. Lindner, representing the white community’s resistance to the Younger family’s move, further complicates the power dynamics, forcing the family to unite and stand their
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 dominant theme in A Raisin in the Sun is the quest for home ownership. The play is about a black family living in the Southside of Chicago-a poverty-stricken, African Ame...
In Chicago, in the 1950’s, black families were confronted with many challenges, faced much racial prejudice, were typically poor, working-class families, and were not wanted in white communities. In A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger Family is different, they are poor, but they are able to overcome that fact and fulfill their dreams, despite the prejudice that comes with them. Because the Youngers have a strong sense of pride and loyalty their dreams are achieved by prevailing over their challenges and staying together through the end.
The Younger’s, an African American family living on the south-side of Chicago in the 1950s, live in an undersized apartment for their family of five. Lena Younger, the mother of the house, receives a check of ten thousand dollars and dreams of owning her own house in a white neighborhood. Beneatha’s brother, Walter, has high hopes of investing the money in a liquor store. Walter’s wife, Ruth does all she can to support his ideas while caring for their son, Travis. But, to become a doctor, Beneatha wants and needs the money to pay for her schooling. Walter and Beneatha’s wants for the money cause disputes throughout the house.
Throughout a Raisin in the Sun, Each family member has their own pursuit of happiness, which is accompanied by their American Dream. Mama wants to have a better quality of life for her family. Beneatha aspires to be a successful Doctor and an Independent woman. Walter wants to invest in a liquor store and live in luxury. In A Rasin in the Sun, we see that each character goes through their own struggles and frustrations to accomplish their American Dream, but in the end, they all find their happiness within in each other unified as a family.
“A Raisin in the Sun” is set at in an area where racism was still occurring. Blacks were no longer separated but they were still facing many racial problems. The black Younger family faced these problems throughout the play. The entire family was affected in their own way. The family has big dreams and hope to make more of their poor lives. Walter, the main character, is forced to deal with most of the issues himself. Ruth, his wife, and Travis, his ten-year-old son, really don’t have say in matters that he sets his mind to. Beneatha, his sister tries to get her word in but is often ignored. Lena (Mama) is Walter’s mother and is very concerned about her family. She tries to keep things held together despite all of the happenings. Mama’s husband had just recently died so times seemed to be even harder. They all live in a small apartment when living space is very confined (Hansberry 1731). They all have dreams in which they are trying to obtain, but other members of the family seem to hold back each other from obtaining them (Decker).
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.
A Raisin in the Sun is a set in 1950s after the Second World War which was an age of great racism and materialistic in America. It is about a black family living in south side of Chicago and struggling through family and economic hardships, facing the issues of racism, discrimination, and prejudice. The family consists of Lena Younger known as Mama; Walter Lee Younger who is an intense man, Ruth Younger who is wife of Walter Lee, Travis Younger who is son of Ruth and Walter, and Beneatha Younger who is Walter’s younger sister. The whole family lives in a two bed room apartment and don’t have money to live a better life. youngers are tired from their struggle to ...
A Raisin in the Sun is a play set in the south side of Chicago during the 1950s. During this time the civil rights movement was happening and racial tension was at a high. Many African
A Raisin in the Sun is set in the South of Chicago in the 1950’s and portrays the lives of an African-American family, the Youngers, who like many other African-American families migrated from the South to the North to leave behind the social, economic and educational oppression. Unfortunately this is no different in the North. In the play it is seen how Mama solely believes that the meaning of life is freedom and Walter, her son, believes that money is life. Both these characters have conflicting ideas on what they perceive life’s meaning to be. These ideas will be closely analysed, with evidence from the text, to illustrate why they are relevant to Mama and Walter. The function of time will be closely analysed as well to show how over the course of a few weeks it influences their particular meanings of life. I agree with Mama saying that their interpretations of life are due to intergenerational differences, and not on what Walter suggests about life always being about money. The aspect of the deferred American dream, which I feel is a central problem in the play, will also be dealt with in relation to Mama and Walter’s dreams and how time functions in relation to this.
The conflict that involves Walter and Mama superficially concerns Mama's receiving an insurance check for ten thousand dollars, which she hasn't yet decided what to do with. Walter has hopes for using the money to invest in a liquor store, with the profits providing him and his family a better quality of life than what they have endured in the past. What really is at stake here, though, is more than money. Mama and Walter have different visions of what happiness is and what life is all about. For Mama, the best thing to do with the money is to make a down payment on a house. This house is to be situated within an all-white neighborhood, and represents assimilation. This is Mama's dream, and the dream ...
In the words of Jim Cocola and Ross Douthat, Hansberry wrote the play A Raisin in the Sun to mimic how she grew up in the 1930s. Her purpose was to tell how life was for a black family living during the pre-civil rights era when segregation was still legal (spark notes). Hansberry introduces us to the Youngers’, a black family living in Chicago’s Southside during the 1950s pre-civil rights movement. The Younger family consists of Mama, who is the head of the household, Walter and Beneatha, who are Mama’s children, Ruth, who is Walter’s wife, and Travis, who is Walter and Ruth’s son. Throughout the play the Youngers’ address poverty, discrimination, marital problems, and abortion. Mama is waiting on a check from the insurance company because of the recent passing of her husband. Throughout the play Walter tries to convince Mama to let him invest the money in a liquor store. Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor while embracing her African heritage, and Ruth just found out that she is pregnant and is struggling to keep her marriage going. The Youngers’ live in a very small apartment that is falling apart because of the wear and tear that the place has endured over the years. Mama dreams of having her own house and ends up using part of the insurance money for a down payment on a house in an up-scale neighborhood. The Youngers’ meet Mr. Lindner, who is the head of the welcoming committee. Mr. Lindner voices the community’s concerns of the Youngers’ moving into their neighborhood. Is the play A Raisin in the Sun focused on racial or universal issues?
Apple is a Company based out of the United States, and was impacted greatly by our economy here. Though it didn't suffer as much as other corporations during the recession, they still took a hit from it. Since then the economy has gotten much better overall. The unemployment rate as of December 2013 was 6.7% which is much lower than the 7.3% it was in July 2013 ("Economy at a Glance "). As a number it doesn't mean much but after analyzing it you can conclude more people will have jobs now, and with jobs be able to spend more money. This will come to benefit corporations like Apple who are in the business to sell their products, because this year they will be able to sell more than the previous year. Since the 2008 recession the Federal Reserve has bought $85 billion worth of securities to help boost the American economy. The economy is doing better as of now and the Federal Reserve is buying $65 billion worth of securities this year drastically less than the $85 billion in 2008 ("US Central Bank"). This will initially help Apple because the economy is doing better which will allow more consumers to purchase Apple products.
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.
The late 1950s was filled with racial discriminations. There was still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites were not for any change or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells a story of a black family that is struggling to gain a middle class acceptance in Chicago. The family of five, one child and four adults live in a tiny apartment that is located in a very poor area. Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals is two key parts played out throughout the whole play. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends met to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have help the family and not only himself, if he would have thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to setup for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand history of racial discrimination and how racial discrimination has an effect on the people in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as how that has an effect on the characters within the play.