In the 1960’s Lorraine Hansberry created a play called “Raisin in the sun”. The story takes place on the south side of Chicago, The play was inspired by Langston Hughes poem “Dream Deferred”. The play follows the Younger family as they try to make their dreams come true. In her play, Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry uses Walter, Mama, and Beneatha to show the negative consequences that occur when you defer your dream. First, Hansberry uses Walter to show the consequences that occur when you defer your dream. Walter is a black man in his 30’s who is selfish and drinks a lot, lives with his mom, wife, sister, and his son Travis. He lives on the southside of Chicago and likes to be the boss of everyone. His dream was to open up a liquor store with his two best friend’s Willy and Bobo. As the story continues Mama finally decides to give Walter the rest of the money, $6,000 for his sister Beneatha and $500 for him from his father's life insurance. But Walter decided to be selfish and take all of the money that Mama gave him and give it to his friend WIlly so that they could invest it on the liquor store, but little did he know that his friend Willy had betrayed both him and his friend Bobo and …show more content…
At that moment Walter knew that there was no turning back and he knew that his dream was completely gone. Soon after that he decided to call Mr. Lindner, a man who offered them money to sell them back the house they got and to tell him that he was going to accept the money. Walter says, “ All right Mr. Linder- that’s your neighborhood out there! You got the right to keep
Walter, distraught after Mama had denounced his ambition to run a liquor store, had skipped work for three days, borrowing Willy Harris's car to drive around the city. Mama, seeing Walter so defeated, decided to entrust the remaining 6,500 dollars of her 10,000 dollar check to him, saying, "It ain't much, but it's all I got in the world and I'm putting it in your hands." (Hansberry,) Having incessantly denied Walter's dream,
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.
Walter, however, was taken advantage of due to his naive nature of believing as a black man that he could become rich. Walter has the ideal life planned out for his family because he has the dream of being able to provide for them and become rich, for example sending Travis off to any college of his choosing. One of these dreams aso includes being able to live in the house that Mama plans on having the family move into. The Younger family believed that they were going to get the house, but a man of the name Mr. Lindner attempts to stop the family from moving in and crush their dreams by not wanting them to move into the new neighborhood. This was solely due to the Youngers race and was very oppressive for Walter and all of his dreams that he had planned out. Mr. Lindner explains to the family that, “It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities” (Hansberry 100). Since the neighborhood doesn’t want the Younger family based on their race, they are making Walter realize his American Dream for his family very difficult to be obtained since he has imagined so many good things to happen. This oppressive and racist views from Mr. Lindner and the new community emphasize the setback
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.
After Walter gets the money from Momma he takes it and gives it to Willy, who is supposed to help him with the liquor store, but instead of doing the right thing Willy takes the money and runs. Momma and Benetha are both present to find out Walter betrayed their trust. Consequently, leaving Walter without really any
Living in a poverty stricken area, Walter can only think about one of the many things he lacks, money. On the contrary, there are African Americans on the other side of Chicago who do have money and run large businesses. This pushes Walter to not only want to provide more for his family, but also dream big and become determined. The only way that he sees fit for him to make his dream come true and earn more
Walter is determined to provide a new life for his wife Ruth and his son Travis. He wants to be the ultimate father and provider. Walter says to Ruth, “You tired, ain’t you? Tired of everything. Me, the boy, the way we live-- the way we live-- everything.
Walter lives with his mother, sister, wife and child Travis. After the receival of a life insurance check from the deceased Walter Lee Senior, Mama makes a decision to give it to Walter to make him feel like the man of the house. She places endless trust into her son; she gives him the money that is needed for his sisters school, and the house payments. She has high hopes Walter would not let her down by the use of it for something that goes against her values. Unfortunately, as he receives the money one can see how hastily he works to use it for a meer liquor store as he confesses his wrongdoings: “Mama… I never went to the bank at all… It’s all gone.” (Hansberry 129). Prior to this moment, Mama had asked Walter to
He struggles every day to achieve his dream of getting more money. When the $10,000 check came in, it was his shot at success. His mother gave him a big chunk of it and he invested it in a liquor store and lost the money. After that, Walter became very depressed. He had lost the trust and respect of his family.
Walter fights for what he thinks is right, which is starting the bar with help of his 2 friends. He is trying to convince the family that opening the bar is a good Idea. Walter is trying to get approval so that he can get the money from Mama's
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.
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.
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?.
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
Walter wants the insurance money so that he can prove that he is capable of making a future for his family. By doing well in business, Walter thinks that he can buy his family happiness. Mama cares for Walter deeply and hates seeing him suffer so she gave into his idea. Mama gives Walter the rest of the money and tells him to put half in a bank for his sister's schooling and he could do whatever he wanted with the other half.