“Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value.” - Albert Einstein. Some have different opinions over what being a man is, especially the three characters from Lorraine Hansberry’s, A Raisin in the Sun, Asagai, Mama, and Walter. A Raisin in the Sun is about a poor African American family, the youngers, living in a small apartment in Chicago and how a big check was changing their family. Asagai put thought of “being a man” as respecting your heritage and woman. When Mama hears a man, she thinks of her late husband and how he did everything he could for his family, but Walter thought of how much he made for his family. Each of the three characters’ point of view is what caused them to believe, what they think “being a man” applies.
Even though Asagai was only in 2 of the 3 acts he was an important character and had important messages. The character Asagai was a man who was all about his heritage and his girlfriend, Beneatha. Asagai is from Nigeria and came to America to go to college. Even though he never said anything about being a man, you can tell
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When Walter was younger, he thought of his dad as someone who got him everything he needed. This caused Walter to think that “being a man” meant making as much as he could for his family. He could not have seen his father struggle like his mother did, so when Walter struggled he gave up, because he did not understand that his father struggled too. That is why when he lost the money he was suppose to save for his family and Beneatha’s college he quit his job and started drinking. When he looked at his son during a decision about what was more important money or honor, he finally realized it was not about being rich, but it was about doing everything he could for his family and making sure they were happy. This is when he started thinking of “being a man” the same way Mama