ipl-logo

A Raisin In The Sun Lena Character Traits

400 Words2 Pages

Harleigh Vinson April 18th, 2024 4th block. A Raisin in the Sun Character Analysis Lena Younger, often referred to as Mama, is a central character in Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun.” She embodies strength, resilience, and a deep commitment to her family’s well-being. At the start of the play, Lena is depicted as the matriarch of the Younger family, grappling with the recent death of her husband and the challenges of raising her children in a cramped apartment on Chicago’s South Side. Despite these hardships, Lena remains steadfast in her faith and determination to provide a better future for her family. One of Lena’s defining traits is her unwavering faith in God, which serves as a source of guidance and comfort for her throughout …show more content…

Lena’s faith is not only a personal belief, but also a driving force that shapes her interactions with her family members, often serving as a moral compass that guides them through difficult times. Lena’s role as a mother is central to her character, and her love for her children is evident in her selfless sacrifices and unwavering support. She works tirelessly to instill values of integrity, responsibility, and respect in her children, often acting as a voice of reason and wisdom amidst their conflicts and struggles. Despite her own desires and dreams, Lena’s primary concern is always the well-being and happiness of her family. Throughout the play, Lena undergoes a significant transformation as she confronts various challenges and obstacles. From the moment she receives the insurance check following her husband’s death, Lena is faced with the daunting task of deciding how to use the money to secure her family’s future. Her decision to purchase a house in a predominantly white neighborhood symbolizes her determination to defy racial barriers and provide her family with a better life. In conclusion, Lena Younger is a complex and multifaceted character whose strength, resilience, and unwavering faith define

Show More
Related
915 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout her childhood, Lena held an accentuated uniqueness to her identity, unfortunately due to the laws of society she chose to frown upon

Read More
990 Words | 4 Pages

She could have choose other options and consider the fact that she was involved with Joe before committing to Spunk. Her inability to sacrifice was shown when she said nothing standing next to Spunk as Joe plead his love for her, “‘Lena, ain’t I yo’ husband?’” (Locke, “The Harlem Renaissance”). Lena was determined to have things the way she wanted. She refused to leave her house as Spunk advised, but didn’t want to struggle financially with her husband.

Read More
1388 Words | 6 Pages

When her husband, Walter, ask her to persuade Mama to give the money to Walter, even though she didn’t want to, but because he was her husband, he wanted to do what he had ask. So she said to Mama, “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 anymore. He needs this chance, Lena.” She is also a very kind person, even when she was about to give up on life and think that the way she lived was not of her dream, she stills stays with

Read More
423 Words | 2 Pages

At first, Lena, the mom, had control over the money from her husband's death. In (Act I, Scene 1), Lena says, "I'm telling you to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be." But as the story unfolds, her son Walter wants to make his own decisions about money and his business idea. In (Act II, Scene 2), Walter insists, "A man needs a woman to back him up, yessir." Meanwhile, Beneatha, Lena's daughter, questions traditional rules and wants to find herself.

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play which contains many different obstacles that the characters face. One character, Beneatha, faces an obstacle that is out of her control. This obstacle is gender inequality. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, gender inequality is experienced by Beneatha and reflects the struggles women faced in the 1950s. One of the issues that Beneatha faces in the play is her relationships with two men in her life, George Murchison and Joseph Asagai.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

Hassenberry wrote her play about a poor African American family by the name of the Yongers. Mrs. Younger, Walter Lee, and Beneatha all have there own individual dreams. , But are consistently being differed. Lena Younger, otherwise known as, “Mama” is Walter and Beneatha’s mother and the head of the household. With her deceased husbands ten thousand dollar insurance check Lena bought a three thousand-dollar house with a garden where her family would be happy and hopes to save the rest of the money for Beneatha’s medical school.

Read More
888 Words | 4 Pages

Until one day Lena met this family and saw their troubles and how it strengthened their love for one another. When Lena got older she looked back on how she, “..used to wonder which was worse, our side or theirs.” (118). The family through the wall and Lena’s family had many differences in how they interacted. Lena began to compare the shouting to the silence and debate which was

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

As time went on Lena spent time in the city where she felt like an outcast due to her Indigenous roots. She felt like the blue door and stood out which was a feeling she didn’t favour at the time. When she finally returned home she felt safe and comfortable.

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

Lena is a caring woman who loves her family. She is understanding of the problems of others, and can look past their mistakes no matter the gravity of what they've done. Even though both of her children are grown adults, she still has the motherly drive to protect them as if they were still young children.

Read More
795 Words | 4 Pages

Since her husband died she has taken charge. In every decision she makes she shows how much she cares about her family and puts them first. After her husband unexpectedly died the dreams he had for his family were placed into her hands and sprouted from there. Lena is very caring supportive, not only of her kids and

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

Lena Younger was a religious mother to her family regardless of the anger that her family has towards one another. Lena faith was soon tested when she gave her son the rest of the insurance money to put towards Beneatha college funds and the rest in his name. Instead of doing exactly what his mother told him Walter put the rest of the insurance money towards his liquor store plan only to receive the news from his friend, that the entire plan was a money scheme and Willy Harris ran off with their money. Heart broken by the hard work her husband put towards his life and her son spent the entire money out of selfishness she still loved her son. Lena was a part of faith which is also symbolized through the plant that she carried for the received little sunlight.

Read More
1177 Words | 5 Pages

Lena describes her mother as being very timid and apathetic to her circumstances, especially after she loses a baby. Although she is always technically around, Ying-Ying is a very absent mother to Lena. Lena realizes this upon observing the life of her neighbor, a girl about her age named Teresa, who comes from a loud Italian family. Lena believes that Teresa’s mother is going to kill her, as they are always yelling at each other. However, upon talking to Teresa, Lena finds out that they yell at each other so much because Teresa can be reckless, and her mother cares about her well being.

Read More
1502 Words | 7 Pages

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun presents the rise of feminism in America in the 1960s. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, with the feminist notions displayed in the play, women establish their rights to fulfil their individual dreams which diverge from traditional conventions of that time. Beneatha Younger, Lena Younger (Mama) and Ruth Younger are the three primary characters displaying evidences of feminism in the play. Moreover, Hansberry creates male characters who demonstrate oppressive attitudes towards women yet enhance the feminist ideology in the play. A Raisin in the Sun is feminist because, the play encourages women to develop an identity for themselves, particularly through education and career.

Read More
1499 Words | 6 Pages

She is clear- headed of what she wants. Although Lena is a woman of the 1950s, she is progressive. With the insurance money she received, she decides to buy a house in a white neighbourhood because she wants a better life for her family. Such a masculine personality in Mama comes from her experience to true oppression – slavery. Mama says that Walter is a “disgrace to [his] father’s memory” as she challenges Walter to fulfil his moral duty to succeed his father.

Read More
845 Words | 4 Pages

Just within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.

Read More

More about A Raisin In The Sun Lena Character Traits

Open Document