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Character analysis in a raisin in the sun
Compare and contrast the main characters of a raisin in the sun
Character analysis in a raisin in the sun
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In order to survive in today’s world, people need money which is something most of us take for granted. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, she emphasizes how important money is to a poor African American family living in Chicago during the 1940’s. Walter Younger Sr. was a caring and loving man toward his family and when he passes away, the Younger’s receive $10,000 from life insurance. This changes his son, Walter Younger Junior’s attitude toward life. Money plays an important role in human life, and when Walter receives money, he becomes selfish, is unethical and loses his dignity. Walter Younger is the opposite of his father throughout the play. His father was a family oriented man while Walter is a selfish and …show more content…
inconsiderate father. Walter and his family escaped slavery in the South to start a new life up in the North. They bought an apartment in Chicago with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living/dining room with the bathroom in the hall. The Youngers do not have a lot of money and are desperate for help. Walter’s family consists of him, his sister Beneatha, his wife Ruth, his son Travis, and his Mama Lena. Travis is in elementary school and kids that age do not have any sense of money, so when Ruth says no to Travis’ request for 50 cents, Travis responds I will ask Dad (Walter). Walter gives in to Travis’ demand and says, “In fact, here’s another fifty cents … buy yourself some fruit today - or take a taxicab to school or something” (31). The Youngers clearly cannot afford Travis to take a taxicab to school, so Walter is expressing how nice it would be for them to live a luxurious life. Walter wants to give Travis hope and he doesn’t want him to feel like his father is a failure in life. Although Travis does not feel this way, Walter is disappointed by the way his life turned out. The Youngers background does not consist of wealth or money so when they are given the $10,000, they are so eager to spend it all. Because Walter Sr. cared about his family, it rubbed off on Mama when he passed away. Mama then decides to go out and spend it on a new house down in Clybourne Park, a town without a single African American family. When Mama sees that there is a house for sale, she grasps the opportunity with her bare hands and buys the house. When Walter hears about the new house, he says, “So that’s the peace and comfort you went out and bought for us today!” (93). This is a significant part of the play because they later on, buy the house that Walter was opposed to at the beginning. The Youngers need a fresh new start and that is part of the reason Mama bought the house. With a fresh start comes new opportunities, and that is portrayed by Beneatha. Beneatha wants to be a doctor and with the spare $3,500, she has the chance to go to school to achieve her dream job. Because of how selfish Walter can be, he decides to take the money and invest in a liquor store up in Springfield. Willy Harris, Walter’s friend, is in charge of the money with Bobo. Willy is not a wealthy man so when he is holding on to Walters $6,500, he is bound to steal it which he does. The Youngers think Walter put all the money in the bank account so when they find out otherwise, Walter loses the little respect and trust his family had for him. At the end of the book, Walter makes up for what he did by agreeing to buy the house. He decided to follow in his fathers footsteps and be unselfish, care about his family and make decisions based off of others. Walter Younger comes from a family with modest family where everyone respects what others believe in and everybody is caring of one another. Walter however, becomes unethical when he receives the life insurance check. When Walter Sr. dies, Mama becomes in charge of the family, which Walter cleary does not approve of. We see this many times throughout the play. When Mama talks about her family falling into pieces and how she hoped she taught Walter well, he replies, “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” (94 - 95). Walter views Mama as the head of the family. He is changing his way of life all because of money. Being ethical is knowing what’s right from what’s wrong and that is something Walter lacks for the 75 percent of the play. Walter has a tendency to do what he wants instead of what his family wants. So one day Walter decides to skip work and he goes on a three day adventure. On day three, Walter goes to the Green Hat to get a drink. Walter, as always, got drunk and screwed things up. Later on in the play, when Walter picks the money up from the table, Travis walks into the room. He asks his father if he is drunk and Walter answers, “No, Daddy ain’t drunk. Daddy ain’t going to never be drunk again” (107). This is a promise a father made to his son. After everything this family has gone through, Walter states that he will never be drunk again while holding more money than he could imagine. Money changes him and other people in a way we would never think possible. Sometimes in a positive way but sometimes in a negative way. The last and most important way money changes Walter is the fact that he loses his dignity.
Dignity is the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect. From an early age, everybody is taught to respect others and treat others the way you would want to be treated. Walter was raised to believe this way but when he is staring at $10,000 on his kitchen table, he makes a tough decision. That decision is to take the money or share the money. The difficult part about this, is that the money is not even his. Walter Sr. deserves that money because, “I seen him grow thin and old before he was forty … working and working and working like somebody’s old horse, killing himself … and you - you give it all away in a day - (She raises her arm to strike him again)” (129). Walters decision was to take the money and this is where his loses his dignity or honor. When we see that Mama is going to strike him AGAIN, we realize that Walter probably made the worst decision of his entire life. Walter has to admit what he did which is the most painful thing he has ever done. He stutters as he says, “Mama … I never … went to the bank at all … Yessss! All of it … It’s all gone …” (129) All respect is gone. Walter has hit rock bottom when giving up Beneatha’s medical money and the Youngers savings account money. Although Walter messed up multiple times, in life you have to learn to forget and that is how Walter gaines back his dignity. This evidence supports the idea that Walter loses his dignity when being faced with
money. A Raisin in the Sun teaches many values. Human nature is shown throughout the play. An example of this would be when respecting other peoples belongings. As readers we have to dig deep to figure this out because the money is not Walters but because of the way he acts, we tend to believe it is his. Life is a cycle. We start off being born, then we live our own life, and then as it happens to everyone, we die. This is how life works and we want to make the best out of what little or big time we have on this Earth. These are the values that we as readers should take away from this play.
One of the first ideas mentioned in this play, A Raisin In the Sun, is about money. The Younger's end up with no money because of Walter's obsession with it. When Walter decides not to take the extra money he is offered it helps prove Hansberry's theme. Her theme is that money can't buy happiness. This can be seen in Walter's actions throughout the play.
In life there are always going to be ups and downs, good and bad times, because families go through extensive amounts of arguments. Within the play A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, there are a few complications that the Younger family face. Moreover, the main complications occur between Lena Younger (Mama) and Walter Lee Younger (the son of Mama). Throughout the play, the biggest complication they face is how to spend Walter Lee Senior’s life insurance money. The Younger family goes through several challenging times; however, the family shows that no matter what, everyone should stick together.
Ruth was being prevented from having a baby because of money problems, Walter was bringing him self down by trying to make the liquor store idea work. Once Mama decided to buy the house with the money she had received, Walter figured that he should further go on with the liquor store idea. Then, when Walter lost the money, he lost his dignity and tried to get some money from the “welcome party” of Cylborne Park. Mama forced him to realize how far he went by making him show himself to his son how low he would go. But he showed that he wasn’t susceptible to the ways the racism created.
Walter brings to topic his importance to the scenario, and decides to break away from the event and think of his answer towards his wife’s information and response. He later is shown the understanding of his wife by the reaction of his mother, who questions his standing on how his father would have reacted. This brings Walter to think of why he should change and not walk out on times of importance. Walter discovers that his turmoil of drinking and appearance on the topic could end up losing the life of his newly developing child. At the discussion over selling the house owned by the family to Mr. Linder, Walter is shown the original faith that the selfish purpose of the money for himself would be better the property that would benefit the entire family, including his child.
In the Play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry there are two main character’s that many people debate upon to be the protagonist of the play. Those two characters are Mama and Walter. The story is about an African American family living in Chicago in the 1950’s. During this time period race was a large issue in that area. The family consists of three generations, Mama being the mother and grandmother has a lot of responsibilities as what I see her to be as the families anchor. The next generation is Walter his wife Ruth and his sister Beneatha. Walter and Ruth have a song Travis who is ten years old at the time of this play. Mama is the moral supporter of the family and believes that everything has a purpose and that things should be done by design. One of the main events in this play is the life insurance settlement check for ten thousand dollars that Mama receives. This being a large amount of money during that time period creates many arguments between the families about what to do with the money. Walter is the type of guy that believes his family shouldn’t settle like everyone else and believes that they shouldn’t be held back just because they are an African American family living in what is referred to as a “white man’s world”. I believe that Walter is the protagonist of the play for two main reasons, he isn’t a selfish man, he doesn’t feel the family should be limited because they are African American and he has distinct options or plans for the future of his family.
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 every black male struggling to provide for his family by any means necessary. Although Walter has a job, it seems inadequate for his survival. As a result, he has become frustrated and lacks good judgement. Throughout this play Walter searches for the key ingredient that will make his life blissful. His frustrations stem from him not being able to act as a man and provide for his family and grasp hold of his ideals to watch them manifest into a positive situation. Walter Lee Younger, a man who is vehement for his family, has many ambitions in life, and dreams of the biggest dreams out of anyone else in the play.
Primarily, in A Raisin in the Sun Walter is an example of one struggling to achieve their dream or desire. Walter serves as the hero and villain of the play due to the actions he takes revolving his dream. “Walter, who firmly believes in the American Dream of economic independence, wants to own his own business, and a liquor store, because he despairs over what he perceives to be his inability to support the family and to provide for his son’s future” ( __ __ ). Walter’s dream is to be sole the provider for his household and give his family a better life. He plans by doing this through a liquor store investment with the insurance money given to Mama from Big Walters death. “In the play Walter loses much of the insurance money that he planned to invest on a liquor store to a con artist” ( ___ ___ ). Walter’s decision on investing in a liquor store turns out to be a horrific choice. In the play although Walter is regretfully deceived and looked down upon as a result of the liquor store ambition, he makes up for it by at the end finally reaching his manhood. During the time of the play the husband of the family is mainly the sole provider for the family. In the case of the play, Walters mother is the sole provider for the family. Walter strives to be the “man” of the house.“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. (Very quietly) Mama, I don’t know if I can make you understand” ( Hansberry , Pg.73). “Walter minimizes the position of a car driver because to him it diminishes his manhood and his sense of individual worth.
In America, every citizen is guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Although each person is given these rights, it is how each person uses them that defines how successful they will be in America. There are several obstacles that some Americans face on their pursuit of happiness. In this country’s past, Americans lived by a very specific set of beliefs that valued the importance of hard work, faith, and family. As time progressed and America began to evolve as a nation, this capitalistic society no longer devoted itself to family and faith but rather success, and the pursuit of prosperity. The shift from dependence on tradition towards a society that values success and how people struggle to b successful when society makes it difficult marks a common theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun. Two of the main characters in this story Lena Younger (Mama) and her son Walter Lee directly reflect the shift from tradition to a focus on success and capital and the struggles they face in regards to racism. Mama and Walter Lee’s contrasting values about the American dream and the way in which they pursue their own dreams while facing racism exemplifies the shift from valuing tradition like in previous generations in America, to valuing success and prosperity like in more current generations.
In the beginning of the play, Walter is foolish and quarrelsome, with his heart set on becoming affluent. As he grasps how hard work his father worked and how hard his family works, he reasons that living by his standards is more important than gaining wealth, and he stops feeling resentful towards them. This play highlights how many members of society focus more on making money than living by their ethical
Although Mama is getting the money she would do anything to support her family saying “When the world gets ugly enough -- a woman will do anything for her family” this shows that she is willing to do anything just to protect her family even if that means giving or not giving Walter the money, which shows how Mama has a different perspective than Walter who worships money (1.2.75). When the insurance money has come Mama decides to use part of it to buy a house because their recent one does not have enough space that Travis has to sleep on the couch when Walter heard it he went on a rampage of rage. Mama had known she did the right thing but Walter doesn’t Mama just “wished you’d [Walter] say how deep inside you think I done the right thing) (2.1.94). Walter was enraged because he believes strongly that Mama should’ve just given all the money to him so he could buy the liquor shop and be better off. Eventually Walter had done something for the greed of his liquor store and broken the family he tries to fix it by letting the neighborhood buy the house that they had just bought which would get them more money. Consequently, Walter is not praised for what he has done, for he had only done it for money. Later on right when the man comes to buy the house Walters son Travis walks in and
Walter Lee Younger, the man of the house, has high aspirations for himself and his family. He dreams of co-owning a liquor store so he can get his family out of their small apartment and provide for all their needs. Walter’s father has recently died; as a result, Mama (Mrs. Younger) will Freceive 10,000 dollars for her family. Walter longs to make a downpayment on the liquor store with some of that money even though Beneatha, his sister, is trying to become a doctor and also needs money. He states “Yeah. You see, this
In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the character of Walter stands out for his initial greed. Throughout the novel, more of Walter is uncovered when he has to face difficult obstacles and still be a father, a husband, and a son.
When he says “I’m thirty-five years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room --- and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live”(Hansberry 34), he shows that he is ashamed that he cannot provide for his son and give him something more. Walter despises the rich white people because they have money that he does not and he believes money “is life”(Hansberry 74). “Although he denounces wealthy people who consider themselves superior [he] is willing to use flattery to make the wealthy assist him, and he wants to give his son a better life,” (Sova) showing that Walter is willing to do anything he can, despite his beliefs, to become the provider for his family and give his son a better life. When he first attempts to take control and become the head of his family, he plans to act like a stereotypical crazy black man that is portrayed in movies to get money by selling their newly obtained house to back to the white neighborhood that did not want them to move in in the first place. Although selling the new house would bring an income to his family, it would stip them of their dignity as they would succumb to the white people’s racist ideals as they did not want black people living in their neighborhood. Even Mama questions Walter’s choice of losing his dignity by stating, “You won’t have nothing left then, Walter Lee” (Hansberry 144). Although selling the house back to the white neighborhood would strip Walter of his dignity, he believes that receiving money and selling the house, in turn losing his dignity, is the only way he can become a provider for his
Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals are two key parts played out throughout the whole process. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends meet to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have helped the family and not only himself, if he had thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to set up for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand the 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.
Throughout the play each character and individuals in the reality nowadays struggle with whom they are because of the career or work one has chosen. Each one fights the poverty and circumstances in which they live. In the play, Walter Lee confronts Mama about him wanting to be a liquor store owner, but she does not agree and says “there ain’t going to be no investing in no liquor stores” (1.2.1175). On the other hand, Beneatha does not have a job but according to her friend Asagai she ignores her African roots when she straightens her hair because she is not comfortable with her afro hair. Nevertheless, Walter Lee and Beneatha cannot change who they are and become a store owner or a doctor because they need money. Walter Lee does not have the money to invest in a liquor store and Beneatha has no money to attend medical school and become a doctor. Thus, Mama gives the rest of the insurance money to Walter Lee to share the money with his sister for her school costs, but one of Walter Lee’s friends run off with the rest of the insurance money. Now with no money, Walter Lee and Beneatha ares not able to change who they are, to become someone else with different career or work and therefore unable to gain a new identity in