The story of “A Raisin in the Sun” is during a time where racism was still very alive and threatening to the African American race. A black family, the Younger’s is affected by this reality throughout the course of the play. Each family member is affected in a way uniquely their own. This essay will explore these occurrences and as a result what effect they have on the family. The Younger’s as a whole hope to make something of themselves and rise above the unspoken cultural limitations on black family unit of the period. The main character Walter ends up fronting the majority of the strain these challenges present on the family. As a result he alienates himself from the other members of the family and overtime becomes a harsh and negative person towards every other character. This presents a conflict of authority as Walter’s mother Lena (Mama) wishes to help guide the troubled family and met with resistance from her son. With the recent death of her husband she has seen order and stability in the family plummet and is more worried than ever about the direction the family is headed. To compound matters further they all live in a small apartment, which further intertwine each characters fate. This ends up causing conflict as each family has different dreams which in turn bring down dreams of the other members. This is displayed in the relationship between Walter and Mama; Walter has a low income job and makes him desire any opportunity to create more money. As a result he is consistently investing in get rich quick schemes and other unsound investments. Lena desires consistently, stability and gradual traditional growth in the related group and so is naturally opposed to these developments. Although Walter is seen as a ha... ... middle of paper ... ...and doing so through the means of her boyfriends. She discovers an opportunity to do so through moving to Africa, but almost lets it pass her by because of her brothers’ persecution over money. She finds outs through experience and sound counsel that money isn’t everything and it won’t help her reach all her goals in life, it will simply make the journey easier. In this story, it seems that money that is the root of all barriers that keep this family from their chosen dreams. The Youngers come together in the end in finding that if you let it, money will control your life. So it is important to make proper use of its investment before it, like raisins dry up over time in the sun. Though they are confronted by multiple challenges of an economic and racial nature the Younger family uses the adversity to reveal their common standing values that hold them together.
You ever wonder how money can effect and change your life? A great example is a play called A Raisin in the Sun, the play was writing by Lorraine Hansberry. The play debuted On Broadway in 1959. The play is narrates the life of an African American Family living in Chicago in the 1950s. The family is about to receive an insurance check for 10,000. This money comes from the dead of the Mr. Youngers for his life insurance. But who would have known this money would cause the family so many problems. During the play the Youngers faced racial problems, conflicts between each other but they all have dreams in which they are trying to obtain but sadly some of the family members are making difficult for them.
Walter Sr. was Walter and Beneathas father he died and his wife mama received ten thousand dollar for life insurance. Walter wants the whole ten thousand dollars for himself and put it down on the liquor store. But Beneatha wants to go to medical school and be a doctor. Walter thinks that it is selfish of Beneatha that she wants to attend medical school because he then wouldn't get all of the money for the liquor store. Beneatha "that money belongs to Mama, Walter, and its for her to decide how she wants to use it. I don't care if she wants to buy a house or a rocket ship or just nail it up somewhere and look at it. It's hers. Not ours hers." Mamas getting all the money and it is up to her if she wants the money for herself give it to Beneatha for school or give it to Walter for the liquor store. Now that it is getting closer to the date in which the money will arrive. Walter is acting more and more desperate for that money.
I. Conflicts in the Play - There are many types of conflict evident in this play. Some are as follows:
“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).
In the play “A Raisin in the Sun”, Lorraine Hansberry describes the new lives of Africans living in America after the period of slavery. The lives of African change drastically, and they have to encounter new obstacles after slavery ends. These obstacles are racism, unequal opportunities, and hatred from the society they live in. Hansberry illustrates these facts through Walter’s family. Each member in Walter’s family has his or her own ambitions and dreams. These characters represent a particular group of Africans who live in the post World War II. In comparison to other characters, Walter stands out the most compare to other characters due to the characteristics he possesses. Walter transforms from an ambitious dreamer
The idea of family is a central theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry alludes to the Old Testament book of Ruth in her play to magnify “the value of having a home and family”(Ardolino 181). The Younger family faces hardships that in the moment seem to tear them apart from one another, but through everything, they stick together. The importance of family is amplified by the choices of Walter and Beneatha because they appear to initiate fatal cracks in the Younger family’s foundation, but Mama is the cement who encourages her family to pull together as one unit. The hardships of the family help develop a sense of unity for the Younger household.
Many obstacles can prevent people from accomplishing their goals. The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is about a lower class, colored family that has to overcome many obstacles. Lena, often referred to as Mama, receives a life insurance check of $10,000 due to the death of her husband. Her son, Walter Lee, wants to use to money to go into business and invest the money in a liquor store. However, her daughter, Beneatha, hopes that the money goes toward her schooling to become a doctor. Walter Lee’s wife, Ruth, believes that Mama should spend the money how she wants to without the influence of her children. Mama has been pondering the idea of buying a new house because it has always been a dream of hers. It is very difficult
The Youngers just like many families in America have a dream. Even though each of the members of the family may be different dreams, they each all want a better life for the family. For most people dreams are what make people go through life everyday. If people did not dream they would not want to work hard in life. The Younger’s dream show that the American Dream is still alive even though for some of the family their dreams did not become reality. However; at the end of the day the family is living in a house that they may have thought that they would have never lived in without the money Mama
Everyone dreams of having the perfect life. For hundreds of years, America has remained the land of opportunities. The American Dream is simply what lured millions to start the lives in America. It’s theoretically the basis of American life. However, in post World War 2, the American Dream seemed to be only targeted to white males. The American Dream seemed unattainable for racial minorities. Not only was life hard for non-white Americans, women also had a difficult time fulfilling their dreams. White males reigned supreme while everyone else was left in the dark. A Raisin in the Sun does a stupendous job of painting a picture of what hardships and injustices non-whites and women faced in the segregated 1950’s. A raisin in the sun focuses on
The play A Raisin in The Sun the author shows us how a black family that is hard working tries to survive after one person receives a lump sum of money. In black families people do not acquire
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?
In 1961 David Susskind produced an adaptation of Lorraine hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun. The cast was Sidney Poitier (Walter), Claudia McNeil (Mama), Ruby Dee (Ruth), and Diana Sands (Beneatha). All of the actors were part of the theatrical play as well as the movie. It was a success, with two of the actors receiving nominations for the golden globe award, Poitier and McNeil, and Dee receiving best supporting actress. It also, was one of the first movies that featured an almost all black cast.
To start off, since Walter is the oldest male in the house, his decisions are responsible for the whole family and he dignifies that he needs to make smarter decisions. One part where Walter identifies that he needs to make an important decisions is when Linder offered the Younger family money for them to move out of the neighborhood. Linder thought that the Younger does not belong to an environment where a majority of the population in the neighborhood is white, and he advise them is was the best interest for them to move out. As the man of the house, Walter politely declined the offer because he knew that this was the chance for the Younger family to be happy and to prosper. For instance “… what I mean is that we come from people who had a lot of pride. I mean – we are very proud people. And that’s my sister over there and she’s
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.
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.