Synopsis of A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

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“When a cat take off with your money he don’t leave you no road maps!(2.3, 128)” In the play, A Raisin In The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family each feels what it is like to lose hope in their dreams and have it deferred. Walter Lee wants to start a liquor store to support his family his own way. Beneatha wants to escape from the traditional views on women and become a doctor, but at the same time she wants to find her cultural roots. Ruth wants to be able to care for her unborn child and her son, Travis, in a home where they don’t have to worry about financial problems and to fix her relationship with Walter. And Lena, or Mama, wants to live in a house with a garden where her kids all live happily together. Walter, Beneatha, Ruth, and Lena each have a dream of their own, but one day when their check from their father’s insurance comes, each one of them find out that when following one’s dream, it can destroy dreams of others’ as well. In the beginning of the play, we discover that Walter wants to become rich by starting a business with two of his friends, Willy and Bobo, but in order to do so; he needs money from his father’s insurance check. We also find out that Beneatha needs the money to go to medical school and become a doctor. When Mama decides to give Walter a portion of the check to start his business, he loses the money from Willy, who ran away with all of the money including Bobo’s and Beneatha’s portion, which Mama told Walter to put in the bank for her. “He made and investment! With a man even Travis wouldn’t have trusted with his most worn–out marbles (3, 132).” Beneatha tells Asagai what Walter did with the money was a stupid decision. She mentions Travis because he is ten years old and Walter is in hi... ... middle of paper ... ...to come (3,139).” Mama thinks it’s best to not move anymore because she thinks she bought the wrong house and dreamed too high that all that has happened was because of her. Mama just wanted a happy family in a house where they didn’t have to worry about sleeping in the kitchen or on the couch, but after one wrong move, it all collapsed. After Walter’s decision to invest in all the money Mama gave him, all the dreams came crashing down, as well as his own. Beneatha’s dream to become a doctor and embrace her culture, Ruth’s dream to have a happy family without worrying about financial issues, and Mama who dreamed to live happily in a house with a garden with her children besides her. Even Walter’s dream to own his own business to support his family with his own achievements; it all went downhill when Walter made a terrible mistake of trusting Willy with the money.

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