ipl-logo

A Raisin In The Sun Lena Younger Analysis

568 Words3 Pages

The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is about a poor African-American family living in a run-down section of Chicago in the 1950’s. The passage above is spoken by Lena Younger, also known as Mama, the matriarch of the family, to her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Lena’s son Walter, is feels emasculated due to his inability to be the “man in the family.” Walter equates manhood with his inability to provide financially for his impoverished family. However, Mama although a traditionalist, equates manhood with honor, and not with money as does her son Walter. Hansberry in the passage above, stresses the importance of obtaining self esteem from integrity or character, rather than from material wealth.

Walter Younger accepts conventional social norms about the role of the “man” in the family. By identifying with these norms, Walter allows himself to be demeaned due to his inability to provide financially for his extended family. Seeing her son getting increasingly depressed, Mama decides to give Walter a portion of the life insurance proceeds she receives from the death of …show more content…

When Walter rejects Mr. Linsner’s bribe, he regains his self-esteem by establishing himself as an equal with Mr. Linsner. Walter gives up his misguided impression that his status as a man comes from material wealth and gains his family’s respect by choosing dignity for the Youngers. Thus, the author Hansberry informs that reader that despite her society’s racist and sexist tendencies, choosing between right and wrong is ultimately what defines

Show More
Related
1148 Words | 5 Pages

All in all, Hansberry teaches the reader about the negative power of being wealth centered by the actions of the minor characters throughout the

Read More
877 Words | 4 Pages

In the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the main characters are from the Younger family, which consists of lower class African Americans in the Southern side of Chicago. They finally make a break when Walter’s father passes away and to his name the family receives $10,000. Walter, the oldest son, decided that the wisest choice was to invest the majority of the money into a soon to be liquor store. Willis was the man who Walter had given the money to and he ran off with it. Luckily Mama had invested some money into a house in a white suburban neighborhood, but this led to a feud between the neighbors.

Read More
594 Words | 3 Pages

This is the final development in the play on the topic of manhood and is quite a turn or the character Walter. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry develops the concept of manhood and what it means to be a true man by utilizing the protagonist Walter and showing how both he and the idea of manhood can change. Walter starts out by just hoping to attain material items and ends with a deeper knowledge of what it actually means to be a man. By doing this, the play is resolved in a positive manner and Walter has grown as both a character and a

Read More
1076 Words | 5 Pages

The definition of manhood is “The transition from a boy to a Man,” but is really what mahood means to men? Throughout the text the idea of being a man is a large role in Walter’s decisions and actions. Some may argue that Walter is not a man, yet some may argue that he is. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, has not put this topic in for no reason. Walter is very insecure about his manhood throughout the story and his mother even tries to give his manhood to him.

Read More
1500 Words | 6 Pages

This shows the family such as Mama and Ruth that they can’t trust Walter with anything now because he lost all of the portion of the money. He is looked down upon for not becoming the “Man” of the house and taking full responsibility when he is supposed to. Another traditional gender role that I see Hansberry challenging is Beneatha in the middle of the book. Beneatha explains how she has started taking guitar lessons Mama and Ruth laugh out loud making fun of her and asking why she wants to play the guitar. All of sudden she gets upset when Mama and Ruth don’t take it seriously “How come you done taken it in your mind to learn to play the guitar?”

Read More
550 Words | 3 Pages

Specifically, Hansberry addresses the issue of generational differences between Benny and Mama. Mama’s style of life was tremendously different from Benny in many ways, as she has an old school mentality. For example Mama believes that the world revolves around God as He decides everyones faith. Mama’s remarks describe her beliefs the best as she says to

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

Walter realizes that it is more important to move into a house for the family instead of taking money from people that don't want him in Clybourne Park and having no dignity. When Mr. Linder comes over to give the Younger family money in exchange for the house that they bought, Mama tells Walter, “Son – I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers – but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. We ain’t never been that – dead inside” (Hansberry 143). This statement towards Walter's cowardice and willingness just to accept something when money is involved causes Walter to realize that he is giving up in the face of hard times and that it is more important to provide for his family.

Read More
667 Words | 3 Pages

A Raisin in the Sun Dignity is the most important thing to Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. While in the beginning, Walter states that “Life is money,” by the end, he seems to value his dignity more. Throughout the play, he wants, more than anything, to be an owner of a liquor store. He soon decides, however, that it’s more important for his family to have dignity, than to give in to what society expects of them.

Read More
941 Words | 4 Pages

In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha has one relationship with George Murchison, the other with Joseph Asagai. The relationship that Beneatha has with these two men are different in health, Beneatha’s relationship with Asagai is healthier than her relationship with George. The author is using Beneatha’s contrasting relationships to show that wealth and upbringing do not define how a one treats another in a relationship. Beneatha’s relationship with Asagai is healthier because Asagai has a more positive view on the world, Asagai is friendlier to Beneatha’s family, and Asagai cares about what Beneatha wants in her life.

Read More
916 Words | 4 Pages

The author, Lorraine Hansberry, puts in different characters to help display these themes and the correlation between money and how it affects people. In A Raisin in the Sun, there is a connection between pride and money with more than one character. She puts these specific characters in to display the themes clearly. Lorraine Hansberry puts Walter in the beginning of the story as very pride driven, never wanting to show his son or family their financial struggles. He is a hard worker, but being a chauffeur for a rich white man is difficult for him and his pride and further into the play takes a toll on his attitude, ambitions and family’s future.

Read More
604 Words | 3 Pages

Hansberry illustrates this through a conversation between Mama and Walter, in which they talk about what “is life”(Hansberry 74)? Throughout the argument Walter argues that money is life, that life has always been about money. Mama on the other hand says that “Once upon a time freedom used to be life”, and she questions the way she raised her son, that he would forget the pain and turmoil she went through, escaping the south and escaping slavery, trying to be free. Later on in the play, Hansberry contextualizes the difficulties of male validation and the consequences of entrusting something valuable in someone who is too ambitious for their own good. Mama gives Walter the money, she gives him all of it and tells him that he is the man of the house now.

Read More
643 Words | 3 Pages

Walter explicitly tells Phyllis that he has been working for this insurance company for fifteen years, yet he creates a whole plan to out win the company (7). When Walter states how successful he is for his spring sales, one thinks that he makes good money. So then why does Walter need more of it? The character of Walter represents the ambitious man in the 1930s whom seeks to make quick cash at any expense, in this case by betrayal and murder. Overall, Double Identity themes of infidelity and ambition reflect the effects of the historical background going on during the 1930s, the Great Depression.

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

In “A Raisin In The Sun,” the character of Walter is expected to be the breadwinner and the head of the household, while his wife, Ruth, is expected to take care of the home and the children. Similarly, in “Marriage Is A Private Affair,” the character of Okeke is expected to follow the traditions of his tribe and marry a woman from his own culture, while his fiancee, Nene, is expected to be obedient and submissive to her husband. These gender norms limit the personal growth and autonomy of the characters, as they are expected to conform to societal expectations rather than pursue their own dreams and aspirations. The evidence that supports this argument is the way in which both stories depict the struggles of the characters in breaking free from gender norms. In “A Raisin In The Sun,” Walter’s desire to start his own business and become financially independent clashes with his wife Ruth’s desire for stability and security.

Read More
873 Words | 4 Pages

Out of a family of five, three people work: Walter Lee as a chauffeur to a wealthy white family, Ruth as a housemaid, and Mama as a nanny to other peoples children. This is clearly necessary to afford basic needs as shown in their apartment, with “weariness [having], in fact won” (Hansberry pg.23). It is clear in Hansberry’s characterization that the members of the Younger family are dissatisfied with their station in life, albeit to varying degrees; Walter Lee in particular is very vocal regarding their poverty, as he states at one point: “I got boy who sleeps in the living room- and all I got to tell him is stories about how rich white people

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

He has worked his entire life as chauffeur and has always wanted to go beyond being that though he has nothing to look forward to due to lack of economical power. In families, usually the one who brings money home leads and has the power. In the play, Walter has no control of his family mainly because his salary does not give him power. Also, Lena Younger has the insurance check from Big Walter which contained $10.000, making the Youngers depend on her and not on Walter Lee’s budget. As he is seen in the play, it can be deduced that his stressed personality mainly comes from the fact that he has no money to portray power.

Read More

More about A Raisin In The Sun Lena Younger Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document