A Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis

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. Karl Linder showed up on their door steps to make them a better offer to leave the house. At first they were considering the money because of their financial status, but denied this offer in the long run. This is the right choice because it shows that they will not go to certain extents to gain wealth, put their dads name to shame, and can always get more money by hard work.

They previously lived in an apartment and had the all the necessities but had to work to get there. This money is an easy way out of their financial crisis and would lead to poor work ethic. ‘“Father, just gi’ ussen de money, fo’ God’s sake, and we’s, we’s ain’t gwine come out de and dirty up yo white folks neighborhood”’ (Hansberry 144). Walter states that all they want is the money and then they will get out of the white folks neighborhood. This shows how they are in desperate times and will do anything for money. The family thinks that this money will provide them happiness and in the end they realize that they were wrong. They decided not to keep the money because they didn’t need it, this was the right choice because it teaches them hard work pays