A Raisin In The Sun Quote Analysis

A raisin in the sun

"Dreams and dedication are a powerful combination," William Longood wrote. The dream of man will live, but with no force to go after it, it will defer. "I gotta go get it, I gotta go get it, I gotta go get it, I gotta go get it." The fast moving pace and forward ethos is quick and thoughtful. Walter's mindset shifts throughout A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry in stages that are represented by the song, King's Dead, as made popular by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake through his intoxication and anger, his selfishness, and finally his acception of himself and his family.

Walter's intoxication is a gateway to his true feelings. His anger matches that of Lamar in the song. The song starts off with

an angry chorus, "Miss me with that bulls**t. You ain't really wild, you a tourist (a tourist)" According to Genius user, DonPabloe, "This could mean that you’re simply a passer-by to a life that only [one] knows." In the play, Walter gets very intoxicated and has spiteful anger towards his own family, "[Your shoes] look crazy as hell." Kendrick Lamar's angry rant saying "you a tourist," has a tone that refers to people not thinking themselves through. Walter has a similar line, "Why all you college boys wear them f*ggoty-looking white shoes?" Walter, not comfortable with the "other," as his id is on display because of his drunkenness. In verse two of King's Dead, Lamar has a breakdown in an unconventional time signature. He is rapping a constant flow of ¾ rhythms over an 4/4 beat. "The outro is in 4/4 time, but the beat emphasizes a ¾ feel, always returning to the root note (D♭) on the count of one." This matches with the drunken stupor of Walter, as if Lamar was just ranting and stopped to breathe occasionally. "Born warrior, lookin' for euphoria But I don't see it," Lamar raps. His dream is not being achieved - he was born strong, like Walter. Walter's father was a strong, working class man, which prompted Walter to work the same way. Walter discovers alcohol, "lookin' for euphoria" and uses that as a vice to keep him going.
Walter cares only about himself and what he gains. "La di da di da, slob on me knob," Future raps. This is an allusion to two very famous rap songs, the first being La Di Da Di, as made popular by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, and the second being Slob on My Knob, as made popular by Tear Da Club Up Thugs with Juicy J, with a line going, "Slob on my knob like corn on the cob," a demeaning call to someone to proverbially "slob" on one's "knob." Walter's demand of his mother to give him the money is not unsimilar to this, as he tries to force his mother to give him the money. "You ain’t looked at it and you don’t aim to have to speak on that again? You ain’t even looked at it and you have decided—(Crumpling his papers) Well, you tell that to my boy tonight when you put him to sleep on the living-room couch," Walter says to his mother in regards to the money not being given to him. He eventually gets money from his mother, but his selfishness leads to his entire family losing a fortune. "I don't feel it, I'm paraplegic, Tapped in when I'm maxed in," Lamar raps in verse 1. His acknowledgement of selfishness and weakness in this hectic verse has a similar demeanor to that of Walter when he loses much of the family's money. "Mama … I never … went to the bank at all …," Walter says. He hangs his head here, thinking it is all over. His mind is clouded of any future prospects. His earlier demand for money makes himself shut down and grow sheepish. The false pretense of extra monetary gain was only for Walter himself, even though he may have put it under the veil that it was for the family.
Walter finally accepts that he will have to move on from his dream, and like Langston Hughes says, "defer" it. "f*ck integrity, f*ck your pedigree, f*ck your feelin's, f*ck your culture
f*ck your moral, f*ck your family, f*ck your tribe, f*ck your land, f*ck your children, f*ck your wives, Who am I?

Not your father, not your brother, Not your reason, not your future, Not your comfort, not your reverence, not your glory, Not your heaven, not your angel, not your spirit, Not your message, not your freedom, Not your people, not your neighbor, Not your baby, not your equal, Not the title y'all want me under," Lamar raps. This seemingly divine section, still part of the wonkily timed verse (which is now an anthem for Walter) starts off with Lamar "mocking others ('f*ck your feelings, f*ck your culture' etc.), before turning the lens on himself with the sudden question, 'Who am I?'" He answers it by saying who he is "not," "not your brother… etc." Lamar is asking this existential question of who he is, and, like Walter, has to answer that with his origins. Lamar says "not your people, not your neighbor," perhaps alluding to having it be his people, his neighbor. Like Walter says to Beneatha at the end of the play, "Africa! What he want you to go to Africa for?" He is unconscious of other people's peoples. His fear of the "other" again is a showcase of his own internalized oppression. He perhaps is jealous of the ability to see the original culture. His final acceptance is bitter for him, but he pulls through in the

end.
Walter's mind moves in stages that are represented by the song, King's Dead, through his blasphemy and aggravation, his selfishness and brute force, and finally his bittersweet acception of himself. "Dreams and dedication are a powerful combination," This means so much more. When one can put their mind to it, and lead their life into it, it can work. Once everyone can realize this, the world can have their cake and eat it too, "a proverb literally means 'you cannot simultaneously retain your cake and eat it'. Once the cake is eaten, it is gone. It can be used to say that one cannot or should not have or want more than one deserves or is reasonable, or that one cannot or should not try to have two incompatible things."