A Raisin In The Sun Walter's Dream Analysis

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry, both Walter and Mama have great dreams and encounter barriers on the path to achieving their dreams. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to better provide for his family, a dream that changes when he faces the barrier of his money being stolen by Willy Harris. Mama dreams of living in a real house with a garden and also encounters barrier of her money being stolen by Willy Harris. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to financially support his family. Walter’s dream is shown in act 1, scene 1 when he explains to Ruth how the liquor store he and his friends are buying will help their family have enough money to do more than just make ends meet (32,33).

Despite the fact that dreaming of a liquor store is shallow, Walter’s motivation to be able to support his family helps reconcile his somewhat immoral hopes. Later, Walter shows the idiocy of his plan to own a liquor store when he gets drunk. In act 2, scene 2, Walter borrows Willy Harris’s car and drives around Chicago for two days, then “just walked”, and finally “went to the Green Hat” (2.2 105). Through his actions, Walter shows that he is immature and cares more about pretending to be rich than his job that would allow him to provide for his family. He also demonstrates that he drinks too much and puts his drinking in front of his family, a bad habit that would be made worse if he owned a liquor store and had liquor more readily available. In act 2, scene 3, Walter faces the barrier of his money being stolen by Willy Harris (128). Immediately following the theft, Walter is crushed and wants to take the money the citizens of Clybourne Park raised to keep the Younger’s out of their neighborhood and use it to replace the lost insurance money (3.1 141,142). Finally, when faced with Linder, Walter has an epiphany and his dream changes to match that of his family. He realizes that