Raisin In The Sun: A Literary Analysis

The actions that a person can get away with are determined by their social status. When the Younger family is going to move to the home, they are visited by Carl Lindner who is trying to dissuade them moving to the home. He says to them “ I am sure you people must be aware of some of the incidents which have happened in various parts of the city when colored people have moved into certain areas” (Hansberry 552). They, being colored people in the 1950s of a lower class, are having their right to choose where they live overlooked because of where they stand on the social pyramid. The actions of individual characters are also hindered by social standing. One such character is Walter Younger who wishes to own a liquor store, but during this time

it was hard for African Americans to own a business. This is one side of the spectrum. On the other hand you have those of a higher class who are able to get away with actions that those of a lower class would be unable to. This can be seen in Gatsby when Nick is telling the audience of Tom and Daisy's behaviors; “ They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and retreated back into their money” (Fitzgerald 191). Repeatedly throughout Gatsby, characters could get away with wrong doings they had committed, even Daisy murdering Myrtle. A common occurrence throughout the novel, the wealthy get away with more than anyone of a lower class would.
Both texts show that wealth, or the lack thereof, is the focus of everyday life for both the upper and lower classes.

In Raisin, Ruth tells Mama that she should take the check and just go on vacation: “Shoot—these here rich white women do it all the time. They don't think nothing of packing up they suitcases and piling on one of them big steamships and—swoosh!—they gone, child” (Hansberry 502). She believes that as long as Mama has the money to do that she should. To her it does not matter whether they are colored or not, white women can do it. An opportunity that due to their social standing Mama could not normally take. Another situation being where Walter repeats how a man should be able to buy some pearls to go around his wife’s neck. Consumed by the lack of wealth, the Younger family and others of the lower social class see those who do have more wealth and flaunt it. When Nick first sees the home of Tom and Daisy, he recalls it as such: “Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens—finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run” (Fitzgerald 9). The people who are rich often show off their money and they could not imagine life without it once they have it. Other members of the upper

social class would often throw elaborate parties simply because they could, Jay Gatsby being one of those people. On one hand you see those who have so little they could never just go and take a vacation. On the other side, you have those who simply have money to waste and enjoy doing so. Two very contrasting ways of life, but each are centered around the wealth the class possesses.
Of all of the differences between social classes and what they dictate, the dreams of those within them have got to be the most contrasting. In A Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family have a check that could change their lives, but everyone has their own hopes for it. Much like buzzards over a carcass, the family argues with one another’s intentions. After the money gets taken, the family is distressed. Asagai says to Beneatha, “Then isn't there something wrong in a house—in a world—where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man?” (Hansberry 565). He is telling her the root of her dreams is wrong, they should not have to rely on someone else’s death to attain their goals. How often is it that this is seen in families of the lower class? Then what about upper class dreams? It can be seen that the upper class’s dreams are not centered around gaining money, but using it. Gatsby wanted Daisy and to get her, he tried incredibly hard to impress her by getting wealthier and wealthier and showing her that wealth. Nick says,“He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’ After she had obliterated three years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken” (Fitzgerald 118). He only wanted her love. Tom already had it and he wanted more from Myrtle, Jordan also wanted attention even though she already had wealth. Dreams are very much centered around a person’s social class, upper and lower.