Compare And Contrast Black Boy And A Raisin In The Sun

Why do people always criticize one another? You hardly hear people compliment each other, or congratulate another. Instead we bring others down daily and do not even think twice about what that negative comment can do to that person. In the autobiography Black Boy by Richard Wright and the film A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, both of the main characters are two good examples of people bringing people down because of their differences. They are also good examples of people who did not let racial discrimination stop them from achieving their dreams. Both Richard Wright and Walter Lee Younger have many similarities and differences of traits between them.
Richard Wright from Black Boy is very defensive when it comes to being blamed

for something he has not done. For example, when his Aunt Addie blamed him for eating walnuts in class, “I held out my hand, vowing that never again would this happen to me, no matter what the price. She stung my palm until it was red, then lashed me across my bare legs until welts rose. I clamped my teeth to keep from uttering a single whimper. When she finished I continued to hold out my hand, indicating to her that her blows could never really reach me, my eyes fixed and unblinking upon her face” (Wright 106). Richard’s Aunt Addie beats Richard in front of the class accusing him of eating and leaving crumbs when truly it was the kid sat in front of him. Richard does not fight back but instead stands there letting the pain enhance with every whip. Although Aunt Addie whips Richard in class, when they both get home she tries whipping him for a second time. “She stood debating. Then she made up her mind and came at me. I lunged at her with the knife and she grasped my hand and tried to twist the knife loose. I threw my right leg about her legs and gave her a shove, tripping her; we crashed to the floor. She was stronger than I and I felt my strength ebbing; she was still fighting for my knife and I saw a look on her face that made me feel she was going to use it on me if she got possession of it.

I bit her hand and we rolled, kicking, scratching, hitting, fighting for our lives” (Wright 108). Aunt Addie tries whipping Richard once again after they get home. Richard does not let her but does not want to be violent with her either. Eventually he lets the truth come out and tells his Aunt that he was not the one who threw walnuts on the floor. Instead of accepting this information and telling Richard that she was glad for his honesty, she tells him that she is going to whip him for not telling the truth in the first place. Unlike what happened in class, Richard fights back and does not stand for his unnecessary beating. Richard and his aunt do not have the best relationship. Although Richard and his grandmother do not get along so well either, Richard and his Aunt are always arguing and are not capable of having a decent conversation without them getting mad at each other. That being said, his Aunt is the one that provokes him the most. “For a month after that I took a kitchen knife to bed with me each night, hiding it under my pillow so that when Aunt Addie came I could protect myself. But

she never came. Perhaps she prayed” (Wright 135). Once again Aunt Addie was trying to beat Richard. And once again he did not let her. This time she threatened Richard to beat him while he was sleeping; because of this he kept a knife under his pillow for a month. Some people would classify Richard as a violent person for having a knife, or classify him as a violent person for the way he decides to handle a situation like this. Although it is true that having a knife and threatening your aunt to kill her every time she tries to beat you is unreasonable, I still would not classify him as a violent person. He is merely defending himself from an unrighteous beating.
Walter Lee Younger from the film A Raisin in the Sun is a man trying to provide his family with a better life. Walter lives with his wife, son, sister, and mother in a small little apartment. Walter’s father has just passed away and his mom is waiting to receive a life insurance check for $10,000. Walter is impatient for the check to arrive considering it will be a big help for the family. Unlike Walter, his mother is not so concerned about the money. She thinks they are doing just fine in their little home with enough money to keep them going. This does not mean that she is not grateful for the money. Walter’s mother is very religious and strict when it comes to her faith, so she does thank God for what she has and for what the money is to bring. When the check finally arrives, Walter is ecstatic and plans that he could use the money to invest in a liquor business. He wants to invest his mother’s money in a liquor business because it will gain them even more money. When he runs his plan by his mother, she does not approve. She does not want all her husband’s hard work and legacy to be drowned by the fact that his money is being invested in something useless as liquor. When Walter’s mother declines Walter the money he gets mad and runs off to go to a bar. His mom finds him there and after some talking gives him half the money (the other half being saved for Walter’s sister medical school). Walter invests all the money he gathers from his mom to the liquor and seems happy that his mother trusts him. Few days later one of his investment partners passes by his house to tell him some news. Their third investment partner, Willy, has taken all the money invested and took off. When he hears this Walter breaks down in tears, shocked that Willy would do that. Also mad that his late father’s hard work is now gone. Although he does not get to gain money by the liquor business and now has no money from his late father, Walter still does fine and accepts what has happened.
Richard and Walter are two similar but different people.

Both Richard and Walter Lee have dreams that they wish to reach. Richard’s dream is to be a writer and to be able to read anything he wants, while Walter’s dream is to have more money to support his family better. Richard comes from a poor family and wants a better life for himself. For example, he gets a job to work for his neighbor to gain money even though his grandmother and aunt refused for him to do so. In the same way, Walter wants a better life for him and his family. Though the plan Walter had in mind to make more money backfired, he still tried to give them a better life and it’s the thought that counts. In addition, Richard and Walter both are determined to achieve their dreams and not just sit around waiting for it to magically come true. However, as many similarities as they share, they also are different by the way they act. Richard loves his mother and wants to be close to her when she gets sick, but since Richard has not been exposed to a lot of love and support from people around him he does not really care much for family. In the contrary, Walter Lee is not only trying to make a better life for himself but also his

family.
Richard and Walter Lee are two similar people who share similar characteristics. Most importantly they share one big common similarity which is to show the people around them that no matter how low and useless African Americans have been made to feel, they are tough and can strive through any negative remarks thrown at them. Like Richard who was always made to feel like he could not do anything right and was always known as the bad child, you can also go out and achieve your dreams. It does not matter what people think you can or cannot attain, what matters is that you believe you can do it. If you believe in yourself then the rest of the work comes easily.