Consider that the beginning of a human’s life is a single cell that progresses into a breathing infant and eventually an adult. Contemplate which part of the body would a person select to preserve if forced to cut off the rest. The brain governs personality, athletic competence, intellectual capacity, social aptitude, and emotional state. Furthermore, all of these characteristics are governed by both genetics and environment. Environment, however, has been scientifically proven to change the expression of genes. The most important aspect of a person's identity is transformation.
In “A Raisin in the Sun”, Walter, the main character of the play, demonstrates transformation. Walter’s actions are guided by his belief that money is a panacea, until
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the end. The entire family buys a house in a white neighborhood, consequentially, the home association offers to pay the family three times the money. Mama tells Walter to handle the situation and Walter told Mr. Lindner “We have all thought about your offer. And we've decided...to move into our house. Because of my father, he earned it...brick by brick. We don't intend to cause no trouble...or fight no causes. And we're going to try to be good neighbors. That's all. That's all we have to say. We don't want...your money.” (3.1) Before this scene, Walter is negligent with the money that was given to him and loses it. The diction of pauses reveals the difficulty for Walter to make this decision. He was previously stuck in a dream over owning a liquor store; he is presented with the opportunity to pick his dream or his family. His change of heart manifests when he decides for his family. Walter’s desire for money came from the desire to be a competent provider for his family; additionally, he becomes mindful that his family’s living circumstances will be greatly increased. Walters’s mistakes with money still came with good intentions. Sylvia Plath asserts transformation in “Mirror” as a force that acts upon identity.
The poem starts out with a mirror being personified “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. / Whatever I see, I swallow immediately. / Just as it is unmisted by love or dislike.” The mirror changes itself based upon what it sees regardless of what it is. Ironically the same can be said about humans that their environments also change them. Humans reflect diet through physique, smoking through tarred lungs, or self-esteem from social ranking. The poem then says, “It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long / I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.” This poem is reflecting patterns of which emotional states also transform the person. When a man spends enough time in a given area, he or she develops an emotional attachment to it. Another transformation “Now I am a lake.” This direct shift from a mirror that gives an exact copy transforms into a lake in which gives a reflection that’s murky and hard to make out. It goes on “A woman bends over me, / Searching my reaches for what she really is. / Then turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.” This section calls into question the objectivity of the previous reflections. The mirror that is now transformed into the lake and is suspicious to those that give light, which also reveals the actual object. It also could reflect that mirror is only as accurate as the observer and perception distort reality. A …show more content…
similarity between the three, each would only give a dim appearance of whatever is next to it. The last two lines say, "In me, she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman / Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish." The transformation of a girl aging is seen as a negative in front of the lake. This reflection has a vanity bias that aging is ugly and appearance holds weight. Plath uses age to show identity is bendable and in fact will change with time. Why this is important is because it breaks down the stability of identity itself as being a concrete entity. Identity is deeper than the color of the skin, religion, social class, or gender. Which leads into Mushrooms also by Sylvia Plath. Plath subtly illustrates the life of a woman during the 1950s and foreshadows the image of the woman transforming.
For context 1960 was the eve of the feminist movement. Preceding 1960, Men and Women had gender roles confining each to be a breadwinner and a nest builder. On top of that, Men were also seen above Women and with more rights. The third stanza says "Nobody sees us, / Stops us, Betrays us; / the small grains make room." The personification and metaphor of the mushrooms being women becomes more evident throughout the poem. Furthermore, this line highlights the value women were given at the time. Not that they were worthless but practically invisible. In the next stanza, “Soft fists insist on / Heaving the needles, the leafy bedding,” which is the most blatant feminine part of the poem. The soft hands allude to hands of a woman as they tend to have softer hands than men and "heaving the needles, the leafy bedding" infers to the caretaker sewing and making beds. Plath uses irony, in this stanza, to illustrate that the societal viewpoint of women is inaccurate. The placing of soft fists next to needles concurs that while seen as soft and dainty women have the same capacity as men. It also says "We are shelves, We are / Tables, We are meek, / We are edible,” This stanza once again reveals the treatment of women being poor. Those women are being treated as furniture in a house to be used. The last stanza, “We shall by morning, Inherit the earth. Our foot’s in the
door.” This part very clearly predicts the feminist movement that takes place in the future. It could even be said that Plath sees our society changing from a Patriarchy to a Matriarchy. Did women change or did simply the construct of what it means to be a woman change? This poem alludes that not only can a single identity change but also an aspect of identity can be bent all together, redefining each person carrying that same characteristic. This further shows that identity is heavily boxed by culture and can greatly change how a person is viewed depending on the country. Furthermore, this reflects that identity as social construct confines any given person allowing that person to only act within the behavioral boundaries of their gender, ethnicity, etc. However, the collection of characteristics of an individual that governs outcomes, outside of preconceived societal rules, is actual identity. The most significant facet of identity is transformation. The range of possibilities within identity that can evolve is finite from within that person's grasp. Moreover, Identity is also relative; a villain to one person could be a hero to another. Conversely, Identity can have stable concrete traits that never shift. Hansberry displays the transformation of an antagonist becoming the protagonist while Sylvia Plath encapsulates the subjectivity of perception. If Identity is exclusively a social construct then each human being is bound to having an existential crisis with solitude. On the contrary, if identity is constant or predictable throughout a lifetime, we can conclude that past our death, a human with the same collection of qualities as our lives on, points towards an abstract form of reincarnation. Identity has both objective and subjective points.
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.
In life there are always going to be ups and downs, good and bad times, because families go through extensive amounts of arguments. Within the play A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, there are a few complications that the Younger family face. Moreover, the main complications occur between Lena Younger (Mama) and Walter Lee Younger (the son of Mama). Throughout the play, the biggest complication they face is how to spend Walter Lee Senior’s life insurance money. The Younger family goes through several challenging times; however, the family shows that no matter what, everyone should stick together.
People go through a change when influences are made upon them. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry published in 1959 focuses on what life was like for the Younger family during the 1950s. During this decade there was two sides, the good and the bad, like two sides of a coin, they’re different on each side but they’re one of the same kind. They faced many issues such as discrimination, unequal rights, and financial problems. Throughout the play the three characters who undergo change the most are Walter, Beneatha, and Mama.
Someone once said,“People don’t change, they reveal who they really are.” Through the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry’s develops the character Walter the most as he transforms from self centered to a caring man.
From the play Raisin in the Sun, the decision that Walter makes to move his family to an all-white neighborhood proves how he's matured into a responsible, loving father. One can see evidence of Walter’s transformation through his sacrifice, as well as,his acts of courage.
In the Play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry there are two main character’s that many people debate upon to be the protagonist of the play. Those two characters are Mama and Walter. The story is about an African American family living in Chicago in the 1950’s. During this time period race was a large issue in that area. The family consists of three generations, Mama being the mother and grandmother has a lot of responsibilities as what I see her to be as the families anchor. The next generation is Walter his wife Ruth and his sister Beneatha. Walter and Ruth have a song Travis who is ten years old at the time of this play. Mama is the moral supporter of the family and believes that everything has a purpose and that things should be done by design. One of the main events in this play is the life insurance settlement check for ten thousand dollars that Mama receives. This being a large amount of money during that time period creates many arguments between the families about what to do with the money. Walter is the type of guy that believes his family shouldn’t settle like everyone else and believes that they shouldn’t be held back just because they are an African American family living in what is referred to as a “white man’s world”. I believe that Walter is the protagonist of the play for two main reasons, he isn’t a selfish man, he doesn’t feel the family should be limited because they are African American and he has distinct options or plans for the future of his family.
Lauren Oliver once said, “I guess that’s just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up” (Good Reads). This quote connects very well to the play, A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry. The quote conveys the message that if one loves someone, one must give things up. A Raisin in the Sun is about an African-American family living in the south side of Chicago in the 1950s. The Younger family is a lower-class family that has been struggling to make their dreams come true. One of the character’s in the play named Walter Lee has been struggling to make his dreams come true. Walter’s changes that are shown tie to the quote written by Lauren Oliver. The changes that are seen in Walter Lee throughout the book, A Raisin in the Sun, reflects the theme that one must sacrifice something for the love and happiness of one’s family.
The dominant theme in A Raisin in the Sun is the quest for home ownership. The play is about a black family living in the Southside of Chicago-a poverty-stricken, African Ame...
Primarily, in A Raisin in the Sun Walter is an example of one struggling to achieve their dream or desire. Walter serves as the hero and villain of the play due to the actions he takes revolving his dream. “Walter, who firmly believes in the American Dream of economic independence, wants to own his own business, and a liquor store, because he despairs over what he perceives to be his inability to support the family and to provide for his son’s future” ( __ __ ). Walter’s dream is to be sole the provider for his household and give his family a better life. He plans by doing this through a liquor store investment with the insurance money given to Mama from Big Walters death. “In the play Walter loses much of the insurance money that he planned to invest on a liquor store to a con artist” ( ___ ___ ). Walter’s decision on investing in a liquor store turns out to be a horrific choice. In the play although Walter is regretfully deceived and looked down upon as a result of the liquor store ambition, he makes up for it by at the end finally reaching his manhood. During the time of the play the husband of the family is mainly the sole provider for the family. In the case of the play, Walters mother is the sole provider for the family. Walter strives to be the “man” of the house.“A job. (Looks at her) Mama, a job? I open and close car doors all day long. I drive a man around in his limousine and I say, “Yes, sir; no, sir; very good, sir; shall I take the Drive, sir?” Mama, that ain’t no kind of job. That ain’t nothing at all. (Very quietly) Mama, I don’t know if I can make you understand” ( Hansberry , Pg.73). “Walter minimizes the position of a car driver because to him it diminishes his manhood and his sense of individual worth.
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.
In the book A Raisin in the Sun, the time period is set in 1955. A time in America where African Americans still dealt with a constant struggle between them and the rest of the country. It touches on subjects that were very sensitive especially at the time the work was released. Even though the setting of the book was in the north, Lorraine Hansberry seemed to want to show that things weren’t that much better in the north than they were in the south at that time. Segregation was still being implemented in the law system, and there was a missing sense of equality among everyone. It shows that Lorraine Hansberry took what was going on around her environment and portrayed those situations into her work. The three events listed include Rosa Parks
One huge social issues explored by the play “A Raisin in the Sun” would be racism. The Young family individuals all hold jobs, but none pay like the jobs of whites. Their pay was justified by their skin color and education level. Some African Americans were limited on their education level, some had no history of it. Although African Americans were seen to not having high paying jobs and especially women, the character Beneatha strives to go
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down barriers to become an African American female doctor. Lastly, is Walter Lee Younger, son of Mama and husband of Ruth. Walter dreams of economic prosperity and desires to become a flourishing businessman. Over the course of Walter's life many things contributed to his desire to become a businessman. First and foremost, Walter's father had a philosophy that no man should have to do labor for another man. Being that Walter Lee was a chauffeur, Big Walter?s philosophy is completely contradicted. Also, in Walter?s past, he had the opportunity to go into the Laundromat business which he chose against. In the long run, he saw this choice was fiscally irresponsible this choice was. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee's dreams, which are his sole focus, lead to impaired judgement and a means to mend his shattered life.
Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals are two key parts played out throughout the whole process. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends meet to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter makes a bad decision regarding money that could have helped the family and not only himself, if he had thought smarter. His pride and dignity are tested throughout the story and he is forced to set up for his family. The Raisin in the Sun helps readers to understand the history of racial discrimination and how racial discrimination has an effect on the people in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as how that has an effect on the characters within the play.
The author applies sight and personification to accentuate the mirror’s roles. The declaimer of the poem says “I am silver and exact [and] whatever I see I swallow” (1, 20). The purpose of these devices is to convey the position of the mirror in the poem. As an inanimate object, the mirror is incapable of consuming anything but the appearances of entities. Furthermore, the glass’ role accentuates an inner mirror, the human mirror which does not forget instances of misery and contentment. According to Freedman, the mimicking image emulated by the mirror elicits “… a look for oneself inside” as observed from the life of the elderly woman in the sonnet (153). Moreover, as the woman looks into the lake, she commemorates her appealing and attractive and pleasant figure as a young girl. As time passes, the inevitability of old age knocks on the door of the woman, readily waiting to change the sterling rapturous lady perceived by many. One’s appearance can change; it is up to an individual to embrace it or reject it.