A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

555 Words2 Pages

In a house with five people, everyone has different dreams. With a ten thousand dollar life insurance check on its way, which dream will come true? Due to so many different dreams and ideas, tensions are high in the Younger household. Everyone wants he money to go towards their dream. Along with the power to crush a dream, Mama has the power to choose whose dream will "dry up like a raisin in the sun" (Hughes 2-3). Mama has the power to choose if she will honor what her husband, Big Walter, wanted what she wants, and what is best for the family, or if she will choose her son, Walter Lee's, dream.
Walter Lee's dream for himself is to own a liquor store. In order for his dream to be fulfilled, he will need the full ten thousand dollars from the insurance check. His plan is to go into business with his friend, Bobo, along with a business partner, Willy. Walter is careless about what he would do with the money: "Invest big, gamble big, hell, lose big if you have to, you know what I mean" (Hansberry 84). In other words, Walter is completely blinded by his dream to the point where he does...

Show More
Related

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    While Mama is talking to Walter, she asks him why he always talks about money. "Mama: Oh--So now it's life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life--now it's money. I guess the world really do change . . . Walter: No--it was always money, Mama. We just didn't know about it." Walter thinks that the world revolves around money. He wants to believe that if his family were rich they would have perfect lives. This isn't true though, and Mama knows it. She knows that no matter how much money Walter has, he will never be happy unless he has a family that loves him. Before Walter goes out to invest in the liquor store he has a talk with his son. "Walter: You wouldn't understand yet, son, but your daddy's gonna make a transaction . . . a business transaction that's going to change our lives. . . ." Walter thinks that this transaction will make their lives better. What he doesn't realize is that he already has a good life and he doesn't need more money to make him happy. He should be grateful for what he has instead of worrying about money.

    Read More

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together.

    Read More

  • A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Each character in A Raisin in the Sun has grown through out the play. The first character I will begin to talk about is Walter Lee Younger (brother). He is Passionate, ambitious, and bursting with the energy of his dreams, Walter Lee is a desperate man, influenced by with poverty and prejudice, and obsessed with a business idea that he thinks will solve all of his problems. He believes that through his business idea, he will collect all the money he will ever need. Once he has done so, he will improve himself socially and be able to impress others.

    Read More

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lorraine Hansberry’s novel, A Raisin in the Sun, revolves around a middle-class African-American family, struggling during World War II. By reading about the Younger’s true to life experiences, one learns many important life lessons. One of the aforementioned would be that a person should always put family’s needs before their own. There are many examples of this throughout the novel. Just a few of these would be the example of Ruth and her unborn baby, Walter regaining the respect of his family, and Mama and her unselfish ways.

    Read More

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun - Dignity and the American Dream

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Dream, although different for each of us, is what we all aspire to achieve. In Lorraine Hansberry's, play, A Raisin in the Sun, each member of the Younger family desperately hopes for their own opportunity to achieve the American Dream. The American Dream to the Younger family is to own a home, but beyond that, to Walter Younger, it is to be accepted by white society.

    Read More

  • Dream Deferred in A Raisin in the Sun

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ccomplish this if they all understand what is important in life. All of Mama’s dreams are eventually recognized, although they certainly appear hazy throughout the play. The question about whether or not they should keep the house forms inside Mama’s head near the end of the play, but she quickly changes her mind. Mama never lost sight of her goals, no matter how hard nature attacked them.

    Read More

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun - Money

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    Where money is but an illusion and all it brings are nothing but dreams, one family struggles to discover that wealth can be found in other forms. In the play "A Raisin in the Sun," Lorraine Hansberry uses the indirect characterization of the Younger family through their acquaintances to reveal that money and materialism alone are worthless.

    Read More

  • A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry

    1849 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, has often been dubbed a “black” play by critics since its debut on Broadway in 1959. This label has been reasonably assigned considering the play has a cast that consists primarily of African American actors; however, when looking beyond the surface of this play and the color of the author and characters, one can see that A Raisin in the Sun actually transcends the boundaries of racial labels through the universal personalities assigned to each character and the realistic family situations that continue to evolve throughout the storyline. As seen when comparing A Raisin in the Sun to “The Rich Brother,” a story for which the characters receive no label of race, many commonalities can be found between the characters’ personalities and their beliefs. Such similarities prove that A Raisin in the Sun is not merely a play intended to appeal only to the black community, nor should it be construed as a story about the plights of the black race alone, but instead should be recognized as a play about the struggles that all families, regardless of race, must endure in regard to their diversity and financial disparity. A succinct introduction and excellent writing!

    Read More

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    The chasing of a mirage is a futile quest where an individual chases an imaginary image that he or she wants to capture. The goal of this impossible quest is in sight, but it is unattainable. Even with the knowledge that failure is inevitable, people still dream of catching a mirage. There is a fine line that separates those who are oblivious to this fact, and to those who are aware and accept this knowledge. The people who are oblivious represent those who are ignorant of the fact that their dream will be deferred. This denial is the core of the concept used in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. The perception of the American Dream is one that is highly subjective, but every individual dream ends in its own deferment.

    Read More

  • Hindrance In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    561 Words  | 2 Pages

    When finalizing your dream and you know what you want to pursue in life, you will need a kick-start to get the momentum for your dream. Beneatha has dreams of becoming a doctor, but because of Walter, she is unable to final her goal of becoming a doctor. “He made an investment! With a man even Travis wouldn’t have trusted with his most worn-out marbles” (132). When Mama receives her check for ten thousand dollars, she buys a house with it and gives the remainder of the money to Walter to pay for Beneatha's medical school tuition and to open an account at the bank under his name. Consequently, Walter decides to invest all the money Mama gave him in a bar he opened with Willie Nelson and Bobo. After the transaction is completed, Walter finds out that Willie Nelson ran away with the money, leaving Walter and Bobo to suffer. When Walter tells Beneatha and Mama the news, they are upheld and

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun By Lorraine Hansberry

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, one of the main characters Beneatha Younger tries to find herself and figure out exactly who she is. She is a twenty year old black woman who attends college in the South Side of Chicago. One of her closest friends, Joseph Asagai, is from Nigeria and he really has Beneatha’s best interests in mind. Nigerian culture is very significant in the play because Asagai tries to teach Nigerian culture to Beneatha, in order for her to discover who she wanted to be. Right when Beneatha first met Asagai she said, "Mr. Asagai — I want very much to talk with you. About Africa. You see, Mr. Asagai, I am looking for my identity" (A Raisin in the Sun). So Asagai began to teach Beneatha African and about Nigerian culture. After visiting his family in Nigeria, Asagai brings back Beneatha Nigerian music, beautiful Nigerian robes and even invites her to come and live in Nigeria with him, to try to teach her to respect and embrace this other culture that she is somewhat connected to. Nigerian culture is a key factor in A Raisin in the Sun, and Nigerian music, Nigerian clothing and other aspects of Nigerian culture is very important to Beneatha on her quest to discover who she is.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in A Raisin in the Sun

    1733 Words  | 4 Pages

    The two most common American dreams that the Youngers family want to achieve is to be

    Read More

  • Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    Final Character Analysis Essay of Walter Lee Younger A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, marking her first play ever written. Lorraine Hansberry was the first African American woman to write a play that was produced on Broadway. Also, A Raisin in the Sun won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, becoming the first African American play to do so. A Raisin in the Sun was written in likeness of a true story that Lorraine had experienced growing up.

    Read More

  • A Raisin In The Sun Walter Lee Character Analysis

    549 Words  | 2 Pages

    Walter believes that this will improve himself socially and will be looked up to by others. Walter Lee is stuck on a business decision that he believes is a no brainer choice. Willie, Bobo, and Walter all need to put in money to start the liquor business. Walter has been saving up for the business but is still short. Shortly after the passing of his father the Younger family was going to receive a life insurance check worth ten thousand dollars.

    Read More

  • A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry is a play about an African-American family, who faces discrimination and financial struggles, but still remains united throughout their journey in buying a new home. Just like the Youngers, people create lifelong goals and dreams, in which they want to accomplish. When they do not fulfill their dreams, it simply becomes “a raisin in the sun” because just like a raisin loses its juice when kept outside for too long, a dream loses its significance as well. The Younger family all have distinctive dreams and throughout the play, they do not realize the importance of family until their dreams became deferred. The title “A Raisin in the Sun” is a representation of all the characters’ dreams being deferred.

    Read More

More about A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Open Document