Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

“Nobody in this house is ever going to understand me,” (Hansberry 929) exclaimed Walter Lee Younger. In Lorraine Hansberry's play, “A Raisin in the Sun,” she tells the story of an African American family, more specifically a man by the name Walter Lee Younger. Walter believed that no one understood the way that he viewed the world, that he knew the way of the world better than anyone else. Walter thought that becoming a man started with being rich; he was wrong. What he had yet to learn is that becoming a man meant hard work, dedication, and the understanding of things other than fortune and wealth. Walter put strong faith into achieving his dreams, but he wrongly pursued them due to his selfishness and jealousy of the rich white man.

Walters

Lee's dream may of happened to benefit others along the way, regardless of that it was acted upon in self interest. As stated by Lorraine Hansberry, “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun?” (Hansberry 918) This is asking the reader what happens to a dream that is put off, and then following that with the implication that it will become meaningless and dry up if action is not taken. I felt as if this quote was taken directly from speaking about Walter, this was the way to look at it from his eyes. He didn't want to see his dreams vanish because he put them off, so he had to act on them with haste. Walter felt as if he wasn't accepted and understood by his own family, but with good reason. Ruth, Walters wife, said to Walter after he expressed his feelings about his dreams, “Eat your eggs, they gonna be cold.” In which he responded with, “That's it. There you are. Man say to his woman: I got me 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 926) Looking at the argument from this standpoint I am in Walters defense. The part the play leaves out, yet implies is that this isn't the first time Walter is having this talk with Ruth and that this is actually a reoccurring dilemma Walter has. In adding that information it makes Ruth's response to him understandable.
Walter Lee is obsessed with his dream, not the obsessed that strives to complete the dream through hard work.

Rather the kind that will do anything to get to there dream as quick as possible no matter the casualties. In “A Raisin in the Sun,” Mama asked Walter, “Son how come you talk so much *bout money?” Walter replied to Mama with passion, stating, “Because it is life, Mama!” (Hansberry 950) This quote supports Walters belief that life revolves around money; he believes that wealth and fame is life's purpose. His dream was self-driven and focused on his success, even though all of his family tried to warn him over and over he continued to only believe in himself and in wealth leading to happiness. He wants to become a man with his big dreams, but a man earns his money and works hard to pursue hopes and dreams. He used money from his dead father to pursue a selfish goal. What kind of a man does that make Walter Lee

Younger?
Jealousy had employed Walter Lee's heart, as it filled with greed and envy of white men, he wanted more and more to become someone significant.

Every day Walter worked as a chauffeur always working under people, never the one to give commands or have a say in decisions to be made. He did what he was asked of, and that was all. It was early in the morning and Walter was getting ready for work. He decided to speak to Ruth about what was on his mind, he stated, “This morning, I was lookin' in the mirror and thinking about it ... I'm thirty-five years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live . . . ” (Hansberry 927). This really shows how much it bothered Walter that white people were privileged just by a shade of their skin. Tayebeh Nowrouzi claims, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” is meant to represent the blacks and equal rights. That the rights between whites and blacks were still not equal. Nowrouzi supports his claim, stating, “In 1950's society, Blacks and Whites were still separated; there usually existed no interaction between them apart from work. Lena and Ruth are maids who work for white women and, Walter is the chauffeur of a white man.” (Nowrouzi) This article is significant because it addresses the issue of racism that blacks dealt with in America even after gaining citizenship rights. It also elaborates on how much harder it was for a working man of color to

work his way up to his dreams.
Walter Lees hopes lies in achieving his dream, to open and run his own business, to not only be his own boss but to be the boss of others. For too long Walter Lee worked under people, he was sick and tired of feeling like he wasn't good enough. He was tired of his position at work, being a chauffeur, always working under the rich white man. Rather than Walter working hard to achieve his goal, he became self centered and impatient. He took selfish actions to pursue those dreams, using his fathers hard earned check that was meant to help with Beneatha's college, and to help Travis in the future with whatever expenses he had. It is easy for any man to live inside the hope of their dream, but to pursue that dream through hard work and self motivation, that is one of the hardest things any man can do.