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Character analysis from a raisin in the sun
Literary Analysis of Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine hansberry’s a raisin in the sun summary
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Mama, unlike other typical grandmothers, does not spend her days baking cookies or spoiling her grandchildren. She is the kind of Grandma that is willing to look her children and grandchildren straight in the eyes and say the honest truth because she wants what is best for them. She is a wholesome woman that constantly looks out for the best of her family using her faith as guidance. In act one scene one, when her husband's life insurance check comes I the mail, Mama is quick to dismiss Walter, her son's, dream of opening a liquor store. Mama expresses to her son how she feels the money is best used for a house and not a liquor store: MAMA. ...And there ain't going to be no investing in no liquor stores. WALTER. But, Mama... MAMA. ...You
Walter wants to open a liquor store until the money is lost “Man, please, not with that money he … Oh, God Don’t let it be true …” Hansberry, Lorraine (2011-11-02). A Raisin in the Sun (p. 128). Ruth and the mother desire to move into a house and Beneatha’s money for the school to pursue her dreams as a doctor. Finally, the family realizes in the end if the work together as a team can accomplish goals. During the ear in which the Younger and the Garcia girls both family face racism this sometimes hinder their goals. For instance, the Younger faced this issue with Mr. Linder, a representative from the community where the Younger desired to live and had placed a down payment on the
The first problem Ruth faces is how to support her family. Accused of not paying enough attention to her son, Ruth snaps at Mama shouting, “I feed my son, Lena!” (1880). This encounter with Mama displays an uptight, stressed side of Ruth, who balances a job, a son, her husband, and keeping the expected baby a secret. With so much preoccupying her mind, Ruth still tries to make money while feeling ill telling Mama, “I have to go. We need the money,” (1881). Money becomes a topic of great interest in the Younger family causing everyone to worry entirely too much about it. Ruth puts her family before herself caring about their conditions and the money they make over her own health. The next struggle Ruth encounters is deciding what option is best for her family and possible new baby. After finding out about the pregnancy, Ruth assures her family “she”, the doctor, confirmed everything is fine (1888). The slip up reveals that Ruth is considering getting an abortion. Furthermore, pushing her own conflict aside, Ruth still supports her family’s dreams, encouraging Mama to “open it”, meaning the check, for Mama’s own benefit and use toward a better lifestyle (1893). Ruth solves her own conflict by deciding to keep the baby and motivate her family in whatever way possible in the new challenges to
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.
Mawmaw is a brown hair brown eyed beautiful, yet fierce woman. She was born on August 18, 1947 making her 68 years old now. She was blessed with three beautiful children, two girls, and one boy. She also has nine grandchildren, with me being one of them, and spends a lot of time with them. Mama is married and has been married twice prior to the current marriage she's in now. She has four siblings and all, three brothers and one sister. This making Mawmaw the second oldest, yet she has always been the oldest when it comes to wisdom and responsibility of her siblings. With having a life that wasn't the easiest, she made the best of it and definitely has a good story to tell now.
However, Walter Lee Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun tries to convince or persuade his wife Ruth, his mother Lena, as well as his sister Beneatha that his investing in this liquor store will give them a better chance to have a good place to live as well as to provide a room for his son Travis and eventually a garden for his mother, but he has a hard time persuading them that all this will work until toward the end of the whole entire play.
As the eldest person in the Younger household, Mama is the authoritative figure and has the most traditional views. Being a part of the GI Generation, she shares the
Readers can see early on in the play the importance of money to Walter Lee. In a scene in Act 1 we see Walter trying to talk his mother, Lena, into giving him the money to invest in a liquor store. We can see him growing more and more agitated with her because she has already made her decision on the matter. Walter responds by saying,
The protagonist, Mama, shows two distinct traits throughout the story. She possesses a hard working demeanor and rugged features, leading to her insecurities shown throughout the story. She raised two children without the assistance of a man in her life, forcing her to take on both roles, and further transforming her into a coarse, tough, and burly woman. Mama portrays this through her own account of herself, saying “[i]n real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man”(Walker 1312). It is very difficult for Mama to raise her kids on her own, but she does whatever
Mama is the head of the house. She dreams that her family will be happy and that her children have the best life they can have. She does what ever she can to make her children’s dreams come true.
She has an uncanny gift for seeing right to the heart of her family 's strengths and weaknesses, and dishing out firm advice, spiritual sometimes and practical always. That 's until she has a stroke, falls into a coma and is hospitalized. Young Ahmad goes to visit her, and in a low-key, emphasized way, seems to communicate telepathically. (He agrees with her about plans for the garden, even though she of course cannot speak.) Later in the movie, it is Ahmad who understands Big Mama 's desires for the family, and brings them about through some sneaky planning of his
Mama, as a member of an older generation, represents the suffering that has always been a part of this world. She spent her life coexisting with the struggle in some approximation to harmony. Mama knew the futility of trying to escape the pain inherent in living, she knew about "the darkness outside," but she challenged herself to survive proudly despite it all (419). Mama took on the pain in her family in order to strengthen herself as a support for those who could not cope with their own grief. Allowing her husband to cry for his dead brother gave her a strength and purpose that would have been hard to attain outside her family sphere. She was a poor black woman in Harlem, yet she was able to give her husband permission for weakness, a gift that he feared to ask for in others. She gave him the right to a secret, personal bitterness toward the white man that he could not show to anyone else. She allowed him to survive. She marveled at his strength, and acknowledged her part in it, "But if he hadn't had...
just make do with what she has. Mama is a loving person, she is wise but
In the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker, we learn about a family that includes a mom called “Mama” and two very different daughters named Dee and Maggie. One daughter, Dee, has had a much easier life than her sister, Maggie, in many aspects. The relationship between Mama and her daughters provides the basis for Mama’s actions. The story is told from the perspective of Mama, allowing readers to learn about her thoughts and the motivation behind her actions. At the beginning of the story, Mama worries about what Dee thinks of her and tries to please her by giving her anything she asks for. By the end of the story, we see Mama changes because she stands up to Dee, resulting in her finally able to give Maggie something she desires. Mama changes because she realizes Dee shouldn’t control her actions and that Maggie deserves better treatment. Mama’s choice to stand up to Dee is crucial to understanding her character because we’ve seen how Dee has controlled Maggie and Mama for a long time and this action shows a turning point in all of their lives.
Words I would use to describe Mama include: 1) Dreamer-in her description of meeting Dee on the Johnny Carson show, 2) Workhorse-able to, “work outside all day, clean a hog, and kill a bull calf ”, (Walker, 1943, p. 477), 3) Hero-due to the fact she pulled her daughter, Maggie from their burning home, 4) Mother-of two daughters, Dee and Maggie, 5) Obese- in reading her statement, “My fat keeps me hot in zero weather” (Walker, 1943, p. 477), 6) Uneducated-only went to school until second grade, 7) Religious-talks about singing church songs to herself, 8) Proud-of her heritage in discussing the quilt’s assembly and pieces especially in describing one piece that, “ was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War” (Walker, 1943,
Mama is a powerful, strong witted person. She has a lot of control in this play and dominates as a woman character. This is unusual because this is usually a male’s position in life. She is a woman, “who has adjusted to many things in life and overcome many more, her face is full of strength”. In this play she is illustrated as taking over for the head of the family and controls the lives of everyone in her house. Rules are followed to Mama’s extent. She controls what is said and done in her house. After Walter yells, “WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE LISTEN TO ME TODAY!” (70). Mama responds in a strong tone of voice saying, “I don’t ‘low no yellin’ in this house, Walter Lee, a...