Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

1283 Words3 Pages

Every member of the Younger family has their own dreams. For example, Ruth Younger wants to move out of their poverty stricken apartment, and Beneatha Younger wants to become a doctor. Throughout the play, the Youngers’ struggles to achieve their dreams and are driven apart from one another. It isn’t until the end of the play that the family unites together in hopes of achieving one unanimous dream among them. An analysis of characters in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun shows that dreams can be achieved with determination, effort, and unity. Walter Lee Younger, the protagonist, displays strong determination throughout the story. Walter is adamant about his dream of opening a liquor store with his partners Willy and Bobo. Despite …show more content…

Ruth wakes up before the rest of the family members to begin cooking breakfast, and to wake up Travis and Walter. Even though Ruth makes sure that the family is fed, the clothes are ironed, and always lends an ear for people’s problems, she seems to continually be picked on and disrespected by her husband and son. During a conversation with Travis, Ruth tells him that they don’t have a dollar to give to his teacher. Travis undermines her answer replying, “Maybe Daddy -- [will give me the money]” (Hansberry 1511). Walter then enables the situation by coming into the room and saying, “What you tell the boy things like that for? Here, son --” giving Travis the money he asked for as well as an extra fifty cents (Hansberry 1512). After Travis has left the room, Walter begins talking again to Ruth about his liquor store plans. When Ruth offends Walter by not agreeing with his plans he impatiently lashes at her saying, “That’s it. There you are. Man say to his woman: I got a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs. Man say: I got to take hold of this here world, baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work, Man say: I got to change my life, i’m choking to death, baby! And his woman say -- Your eggs is getting cold!” (Hansberry

A Raisin In The Sun Analysis
670 Words | 2 Pages
This show takes place in the dilapidated, two-bedroom apartment of Walter and Ruth Younger, their son Travis, Walter’s mother Lena, also known as “Mama”, and his sister Beneatha. This award winning production of the 2014 revival of A Raisin In The Sun shows the talented Denzel Washington fill the shoes of Walter Younger, the story’s main character. He stars alongside LaTanya Richardson Jackson, who plays the part of Ruth. The 1859 classic depicting the lives of this African-American family’s life in South Side Chicago during the 1950s. Walter is barely getting by financially, due to his low income as a limousine driver, desperately has the desire to become wealthy--who doesn’t?. Walter plans to invest in his own liquor store which he will run alongside his good friend Willy, and plans to do so with his portion of his mother’s insurance check; did I mention that the check was for $10,000! Mama puts down money for a house --a house, in an all-white neighborhood, with a lawn, that her grandson will be able to play on. This has always been a dream of her and her husband, and now that he is gone, she only wants it more.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
570 Words | 2 Pages
Mama talks to Walter about her fears of the family falling apart. This is the reason she bought the house and she wants him to understand. Walter doesn't understand and gets angry. "What you need me to say you done right for? 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. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." Walter is so obsessive over money that he yells at his mom for not giving him all of it. He doesn't know that what his mom is doing is for the family. He thinks that having money will make the family happy, when in reality the family doesn't need anymore than what they have to be happy.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
759 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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Free Raisin in the Sun Essays: Bad Dreams
781 Words | 2 Pages
Walter tells Ruth that she shouldn't tell Travis that they can't give him fifty cents because they don't have it. I believe Walter is upset because he realizes that he isn't able to provide his son with pocket change without becoming broke. What kind of man would he be? What kind of role model would he be for Travis if he can't bring home enough money to support his family? How would he be a strong black man for his family?
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A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury
1060 Words | 3 Pages
After Walter foolishly loses all of his mother's money to his friend, he begins to hate himself, the only emotion that allows him to consider selling out his race and accepting Lindner's offer. It is a good moment for Walter, because Travis is watching him. Walter cannot bring himself to except.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
530 Words | 2 Pages
A Raisin in the Sun In the book “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, there were characters whose dreams were stated, some of which were shattered by greed and misfortune and others which would eventually come true. The first dream that came about was Walter’s dream of one day owning and maintaining a liquor store. He would do anything to attempt to get his dream to come true, but his mama wanted anything but that to happen. His mama had a dream of her own, though, she dreamed of one day owning her own house, where her whole family could stay comfortably.
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A Raisin In The Sun Walter A Dynamic Character
755 Words | 2 Pages
In a conversation between Walter and Travis, Walter tells his son about his dream for his son and his own success, which focused on Walter working in offices and making a lot of money for his family. Walter says, “After what your daddy’s gonna do tonight, there’s going to be offices, a whole lot a offices” (P. 108). Walter really wants to make his family happy and by he thinks they way to do this is with money. From the beginning of the play Walter has matured and realized that he needs to be there and help his family. Similarly, Walter wants to show his son that he will do anything for him and he would give him the world. Walter says to Travis, “You just name it, son ... and I hand you the world!” (P. 109) He wants to give Travis the world because he wants to show him how much he loves him. Throughout the whole play Walter has been focusing on money and he never gives any attention to his family so he wants to let his son know how much he loves him and how much he cares about
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A Raisin In The Sun Character Development
546 Words | 2 Pages
Walter is confronted by the event of having another child when his wife, Ruth, shares the information about what has happened and what her plans are to resolve and continue the scenario. Walter brings to topic of 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 lose the life of his newly developing child.
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A Raisin In The Sun Ruth's Dream
472 Words | 1 Pages
Ruth’s dream is to have a happy and loving family. Ruth’s dream is revealed in act 2, scene 3, when she is ecstatic because she went to the movies with Walter and they held hands (111). This exposes Ruth’s dream because her greatest moments are when she is with someone in her family and they are happy to be together. Walter stands in the way of this dream because money is his first priority. In act 1, scene 2, Walter declares that money is life (74). This demonstrates Walter’s obsession with money because he informs Mama that money means everything to him. In act 2, scene 2, Mama tells Walter that she would do anything for him and gives him a lot of money; after Mama gives her heartfelt speech, Walter just stares at the money (106). This shows money is more important than family to Walter because his mother just told him she would do anything for him, but Walter only cares about the money in front of him. However,
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Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
1051 Words | 3 Pages
Walter wants the best for his family and he thinks the liquor store will provide him the financial security needed to boost them out of poverty. "I'm thirty five years old; I've been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in living room (Hansberry 34). best describes the sympathy and compassion Walter feels for his son. Although his family's financial position has a strain on it, Walter doesn't want his son to see him struggle. Even in today?s world, children are very susceptible. Walter displays a selfless characteristic which becomes overshadowed by unwise decisions later in the play. In one particular scene, his son Travis asked both parents for money. Walter acts out of pride by giving Travis his last pocket change. This symbolizes Walter's willingness to be a moral father. In a different situation, Walter would not display his selfish intentions. This behavior can be attributed to working in a degrading, underpaid position and not seeing results. Metaphorically speaking, Walter can be related to the furniture in the small apartment, ?tired and broken in spirit?.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
591 Words | 2 Pages
The civil rights movement brought enlightenment towards the abolishment of segregation laws. Although the laws are gone does segregation still exist in fact? “What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?'; said, in a poem by Langston Huges. The story, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry showed segregation and its affects upon all races. This essay will show how Assimilationists and New Negroes fought for their own identity in the mid twentieth century. Whether they were being true to themselves or creating carbon copies of oppression was determined by one’s view upon society.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun – Freedom
957 Words | 2 Pages
Walter seems to be a good father to Travis, but starts to lose control by the end of the play. When with Travis, Walter relates too much to money, instead of focusing on their family fun in life. Walter tries to impress Travis with money and thinks that teaching Travis to be rich is the happiest way to go. In the play, it shows that Travis is becoming like his father and is starting to think about money at too young of an age. In scene two in Raisin in the Sun, Travis complains to his mother, Ruth, that he wants to work so he can earn some money. His father responds by giving Travis money and trying to impress him. Walter says to Travis, "In fact, here's another fifty cents... Buy yourself some fruit today or take a taxicab to school or something!"(Page 30). It is all right to be happy with money but it shouldn't be the reason to be proud of your family.
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Materialism In A Raisin In The Sun
1269 Words | 3 Pages
After buying a house, Mama gives the remaining money to Walter, telling him to save some for Beneatha’s medical school, and that he can decide what the rest of the money can go to. Walter tells Travis that he is going to change their lives with the money: “One day...I’ll pull up on the driveway...just a plain black chrysler… though I’ll have to get something a little sportier for Ruth---maybe a Cadillac convertible...and I‘ll go inside...to see you sitting on the floor with the catalogues of the great in America all around you… just tell me what it is you want to be---… and I hand you the world!” (108-109). Walter fantasizes about owning classy cars and being able to pay for his son to go to any of the top-notch schools in America. His visions for the future reveal that his perception of reality is unrealistic and that wealth matters very much to him. He is very confident that he will be able to give Travis “the world”, which shows that he has excessive faith in his business deal. His delusions and excitement can hinder his ability to make calculated decisions. Without saving any money for Beneatha’s medical school, Walter gives the money to his friend, Willy, to invest in liquor stores. The next day, Walter’s other friend, Bobo, visits Walter to tell him that Willy ran off with the money. Walter melts down and yells, “Man, I put my life in your
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Characters Dreams Deferred in Raisin In The Sun
553 Words | 2 Pages
Walter is Mama’s oldest son. His dreams are to be wealth but at the same time wanting to provide for his family. His own personal dream is to open liquor store with his money he receives from Mama.
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun
763 Words | 2 Pages
Walter is obsessed with the insurance check that the family is waiting for, ten thousand dollars, will solve all his financial and social problems. The fact that the money is really his Mama’s because of the death of his father complicates the issue. But he points out "He was my father, too!" (38). Walter wants Mama to give him the money so he can open a liquor store with two friends. He feels as if this will finally allow him the opportunity to provide all the material things, necessities and luxuries f...
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Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

A Raisin In The Sun Analysis