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A raisin in the sun beneath a analysis
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A raisin in the sun literary analysis essay
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Does money really bring happiness? This questions has been asked over and over throughout history yet there is no real answer for it. The only way to know is to learn from experiences. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun the characters are caught up in caring too much about money, and it effects them all in many different decisions that they make such as Ruth wanting to get an abortion, Mama buying them a house, and Walter investing in the liquor store. Ruth wanting to get an abortion shows that money has a big influence the character’s actions in the story. She is a woman of about thirty who has given up on life, but she is a kind woman who cares a lot about her family. She is described as “a pretty girl, but now it is apparent that life ahs been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face (Raisin in the Sun, p. 610).” Ruth knows that the family does not have enough money , and that they are cramped into a little house. When she learns that she is pregnant, she decides she is going to have an abortion because she feels they just don’t have any money to support another child. Her husband, Walter, does not believe she actually thinks of doing this, and tells his mother that Ruth would never do that. Ruth then comes into the room and tells him he is wrong and that she has already put down a down payment on the abortion (p.639). Another way that money is an influence to the characters in the story is when Mama receives the insurance check and buys a house for the family. At the beginning of the story all anyone can talk about is if Mama has received her check in the mail. Everyone just keeps asking each other about it. Whether it is Walter asking or even his son, Travis, it is the only thing everyone in the house can think about. The check that Mama is getting is an insurance check from the death of her husband. When the check finally does come all anyone can talk about is what she is going to do with the money. The money is not that important to Mama and she even says, “I spec if it wasn’t for you all… I would just put that money away or give it to the church or something, (p.
...the show Ruth discovers that she is pregnant, and because of her economic hardships, she is determining whether or not to keep the baby. This puts her stress level higher than ever. Ruth also starts off the show as a wife who doesn’t believe in Walter’s dream of owning a liquor store, But in the end, Ruth decides to keep the child and finds hope for her, Walter and the Younger family.
One of the first ideas mentioned in this play, A Raisin In the Sun, is about money. The Younger's end up with no money because of Walter's obsession with it. When Walter decides not to take the extra money he is offered it helps prove Hansberry's theme. Her theme is that money can't buy happiness. This can be seen in Walter's actions throughout the play.
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.
However, dreams are the factor that divide the Younger family, yet, also identify each family members personality, thoughts, and actions. For example, Walter wants to be a successful businessman, and make more money. Walter believes that money will solve all the answers economically and emotionally. In addition, Ruth wishes to move out of the apartment and rekindle the love within her marriage. Beneatha, on the other hand, wants to become a doctor to heal people. Hansberry, constantly uses direct characterization with Ruth to portray her characterization within the play, but also to portray the characters pain or exhaustion, “Drily, but to hurt” (16). Ruth Younger, wife of Walter and the mother of Travis, is a prime example. Within the play, she manages the upkeep of the apartment. Moreover, she is the mediator for Mama, Walter, and Beneatha. Ruth knows that her mediation between the family is essential for the sanity of the household. However, her mediation is mostly utilized between Walter and Mama. “No. Mama, something is happening between Walter and me. I don’t know what it is-but he needs something-something I can’t give him any more. He Needs this chance, Lena” (25). Ruth’s desire to reconnect with her husband and family allow her to struggle for what she
The role of money in people's day-to-day lives is quite amazing when it's put into perspective. The primary reason most Americans get up in the morning is so they can go out and make money. Money buys things; money influences people; money keeps us ali ve; money makes us happy. Or does it? In Fences, by August Wilson, the Maxtons get their money when Gabe's head is shot in the war. In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansbury, the Younger family gets their money when Walter's father dies.
To start off, Walter’s obsession with money is going to cost him a lot since it is the only thing he cares about. In the beginning, Walter starts out by only caring only about himself, but towards the end, he starts to care for everyone else as well. This shows that Walter is a selfish person. As Walter Lee states to Ruth, “Yeah. You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see” is the dream that Walter Lee has for himself (Hansberry 33). Walter wants the money that the Younger family is getting from the insurance company to buy the liquor store. He thinks that the liquor store will make them rich and the family would not have to struggle anymore. At the end, Walter changes his whole point of view towards the insurance money. Walter declares to Mr....
Their sadness at unfulfilled dreams overlain with the burden of Ruth's pregnancy gets out of hand when Walter says, "Who even cares about you?" The two of them realize at that time that their relationship has dwindled to nothing but nagging and rude comments. Walter may be sorry for having said that to his wife, because he probably loves her, but he is at the end of his rope. He feels that every dream he has had has been taken away from him, either by bad timing or by the white man in general. Ruth, on the other hand, has never had any other dream except to keep her family together and in working order, and now that is falling apart.
Have you ever found money coming between you and your family and disrupting love and life? Money can destroy families and change them for the worse. In the Raisin in the Sun, the author Lorraine Hansberry, uses events of her life to relate and explain how the Younger family, of Chicago's South side, struggles and improves throughout the book. One main cause for their family's problems is because of money and how it causes anger to control the family. The play deals with situations in which the family is dealing with unhappiness from money. Walter, the man of the house in the Younger family, tries impressing Travis, his son, too much with money instead of teaching him the more important lessons of life. Walter also dreams to invest in a liquor store and make a lot of money and becomes overwhelmed and badly caught up in his dream. Lastly, the Younger family is much too dependent on the check their Mama is receiving. The family has lost the fact that their mama tries to tell them, before, freedom was life but now money seems to have the controlling factor in life. When money becomes an obsession for a family, problems occur.
A Raisin in the Sun In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry portrays obstacles that the Younger family and other African Americans had to face and over come during the post World War 2 era. Obstacles that had to be over come by the Youngers were economical, moral, social, and racist obstacles. Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play had to face one of these as well growing up. Born in Chicago on the south side in an all black neighborhood, Lorraine Hansberry and her family had to deal with segregation.
Lorraine Hansberry is the author of the play A Raisin in the Sun. This play is very significant because it was the first play written by a black playwright to win the Best Play of the Year Award. Another interesting point about the play is the title. The title A Raisin in the Sun also refers to Langston Hughes poem Harlem. In many ways Langston Hughes’ poem relates to Lorraine Hansberry’s play. In the play a family of black Americans have a chance to move ahead in the cruel prejudiced world. Lorraine Hansberry shows the frustrations that occur when one’s dreams are deferred. The Younger family in the play experiences these times of misery when those dreams are broken.
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.
Walter wants to have enough money to provide for his family and get them out of the horrible conditions they live in. He hopes to open a liquor store with his friends in order to have enough money for his family but his friend ends up taking the money and he looses all of those hopes. A major thing throughout the story is the gender roles of each character and how they differ. Walter is the man of the house when his father dies. He has to take care of everyone and he thinks money will do that. He starts to get into arguments with everyone and he always thinks he is right. During this time, men always thought they were right, even when they were completely wrong. When he realizes he can’t do it alone, he begins to understand his wife, mom and sister and wants to do what is best for
In the exposition of the play, Walter is obsessed with the check coming in the mail, and Mama giving him the money so he can open a liquor store with two of his friends, Bobo and Willy. The liquor store is the way in which Walter plans to provide a decent life for his family and for himself. He wants the power over the white man, and he believes the liquor store will make him even, or even superior to the white man during the times of oppression. He feels undermined, because he is a chauffeur and because his son, Travis, has to sleep on the couch because they cannot afford to buy a bigger place. However, his obsession with his dream takes a negative toll on the other members of his family. The money is Mama’s and so she gets to decide what to do with it. She plans to put part of it toward her daughter, Beneatha’s, tuition to become a doctor. Beneatha and Walter’s wife, Ruth, both share the belief that the money is Mama’s to spend and she should be the one to decide what to do with it. Walter is so obsessed with his dream that he fails to notice his wife’s unhappiness that pushes her to the decision to get an abortion. His dreams of a better life actually cause h...
The connection between money and power is prominent in this play because the Youngers are struggling to get by and believe that money is the only solution. They believe that money is purely a necessity for their personal gains. Hansberry also employs the motif of money in order to portray the hope and optimism that the characters associate with money. Walter thinks of money as a representation of success and joy. When Walter plans on investing the money into the liquor store, he envisions the success that will come from it. He goes into great detail about the life they would have after the Youngers became rich from his investment, “You wouldn’t understand yet, son, but your daddy’s gonna make a transaction . . . a business transaction that’s going to change our lives. . . . And Ruth will come downstairs… And we’ll kiss each other… And we’ll go up to your room to see you… You just name it, son . . . and I hand you the world!”(Hansberry 69-70). Walter is certain that the money will bring them happiness. He never says “if” or “might” instead he sounds certain of the outcome saying “going to” or “will”. He describes a better life for them illustrating a perfect picture of their life with money. He envisions a better relationship with his family once he is wealthy, and believes he will be able to give his son whatever he wants. Through this description, it is known that
Many books, movies, and even plays use the stigmas of money perception as key plot points in the stories. The book Kite Runner hints at the perception of money and how it clouds our minds when Amir is telling Hassan a story. It's about a man who is poor, but relatively happy and he hardly cries. However, when he does cry, he cries pearls. The man begins inflicting pain upon himself so that he can have more pearls. The story ends with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls holding his wife’s lifeless body in his hands (Hosseini 31-34). Now, hearing about the story, you can understand why the man did the things he did. He needed to cry, and the only way to cry is to lose someone you care about or injuring yourself, right? Wrong. After Hassan praises the story, he asks Amir why the man did not cut an onion to gain tears instead (Hosseini 31-34). What is about money that makes us so greedy as to not remember the simple and harmless things that we can do to get