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Character Development In A Raisin In The Sun

503 Words3 Pages

To choose others before yourself requires generosity and true kindness which doesn’t seem very common anymore. Throughout the play “A Raisin in the Sun”, Lorraine Hansberry developed the theme of putting others before yourself through the financial welfare of the household, supporting extracurricular activities, and the responsibilities of being a parent. Even as the Younger family was poor and had no extra money to spend, they always found a way to make everything turn out okay. As Travis wanted extra money to spend, Walter tried to hide the reality of their situation as Ruth told Travis no, “cause we don’t have it” and Walter replies, “What you tell the boy things like that for? Here son-” (Hansberry 12). Ruth also looked out for others in a financial aspect based on the plot of her decision to get an abortion for the welfare of the family. Another example of a financial sacrifice is when Mama made the choice to get a house for the family which is developed through the plot of the struggle of her choice in retrospect of what is best for the family. The family also looked out for each other by setting side their struggles to support each other through extracurricular activities. Through all of Beneatha’s changing activities …show more content…

Mama developed her own dream but had to postpone for her children and reality, “Well, I always wanted me a garden… This plant is close as I ever got to having me one” (Hansberry 35). Big Walter always put his children first even if it meant working himself to death by working day and night to make ends meet. Ruth was looking out for the family which deciding what to do with the baby as her character develops with reason, sacrifice, and financial awareness. Walter even stood up for his son to prove a point when he stood up the Mr.Lindner by swallowing his

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Compare And Contrast The Movie A Raisin In The Sun

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The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in 1959, and the movie was made in 2008. “A Raisin in the Sun” is about the Younger family, the fifth generation of lower-class African-Americans living in Chicago’s Southside. They are faced with problems such as racial discrimination, poverty, and conflicting dreams. As the family decides on how to spend the insurance check of $10,000 from Walter’s father’s death, these problems cause many conflicts to rise. Reading the 1959 play and the 2008 movie, I have realized certain similarities and differences in how the story plays out.

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Another way Hansberry elucidates the impact of being greedy is when Ruth goes to get her baby aborted and Walter says nothing about it. Once the audience learns that Ruth is going to abort her baby, Lena says, “When the world gets ugly enough -- a woman will do anything for her family. The part that’s already living” (Hansberry 198). Ruth rationalizes her decision to kill her baby by stating that killing the child will leave more money for the family, and since Walter only wants to be rich, he is not willing to save his child. Hansberry uses Ruth’s attempt to abort her baby to show the reader that being too money focused can lead a person to sacrifice their own family members for the sake of earning more money.

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A Raisin In The Sun Literary Analysis Essay

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Decisions In A Raisin In The Sun

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A Raisin In The Sun Mama Character Analysis Essay

1089 Words | 5 Pages

This is seen by the actions she takes to get to her goal, statements she makes towards her family members, and how she responds to her family when they are troubled. Mama has lived in her apartment for a long time with her family and is about to get enough money to change that. An example of Mama’s motivation to achieve her goal is shown when Ruth, her daughter-in-law and Mama are talking about what Mama would do with the insurance money. Mama states, “Been thinking that we maybe could meet the notes on a little old two-story somewhere, with a yard where Travis could play in the summertime, if we use part of the insurance for a down payment and everybody kind of pitch in” (563). Mama is suggesting to Ruth of what could be a better future for her son and their family.

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Beneatha 's dream is to go to college and become a doctor. She wants to prove her family´s disbeliefs of her becoming a doctor wrong. Yet she feels defeated after her brother, Walter, goes out and gives away all of her college money to some man that ends up disappearing with the money. She faces challenges financially and faces backlash from her family.

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Beneatha wants to study to become a doctor, but instead Walter Lee wants to spend his family’s insurance money so he can open a liquor store with Willy and Bobo his friends and be a man. Since Walter Lee and his family were in a bad position and were very poor it was Walter Younger’s responsibility to keep the family together and he saw this a very big responsibility. He frequently complained about being a chauffeur and ridding rich people, every day when he woke up in the morning. He would always fight with his wife Ruth, Mama and his sister Beneatha. For instance (Hansberry 32-34) he says to Ruth his wife “You tired, ain’t you?

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Hardships of the Youngers In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the characters of Mama, Walter ,and Beneatha are faced with hardships associated with their dreams being destroyed by discriminatory housing,racial inequality and lack of support from her family towards her education. In the play all the characters have some kind of dream. Mama wants to get a house for the family, Walter wants to have money to provide for his family and plans to do that with a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to become a doctor. Beneatha is going to school and at the same time she’s trying to discover herself,but her family is not supportive of this.

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The Importance Of Family In A Raisin In The Sun

963 Words | 4 Pages

Mama is thinking that the family just shouldn’t move since all the money is gone. Ruth is trying to convince Mama to still move because the apartment is too small for another baby and having Mama not give up her hope of having a house with a garden. This shows Ruth just wants her family to have a nice home and is willing to work for it even more. Another example of Ruth working hard for her family is when, Ruth begs, “Lena—I’ll work…. I’ll work twenty hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago….

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Examples Of Family Relationships In A Raisin In The Sun

795 Words | 4 Pages

Especially towards his family. “Oh, Walter…(Softly) Honey, why can’t you stop fighting me? WALTER (Without thinking) - Who’s fighting you? Who even cares about you?” Walter was also very stressed and angry about his current situation.

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Relationships In A Raisin In The Sun

416 Words | 2 Pages

The novel begins with a portrait of comfort yet financial insecurity: the Younger household’s apartment. They are living in a cramped apartment in the slums of Chicago’s South Side, accommodating the “living of too many people for too many years” (Hansberry 3), desperately awaiting the arrival of the insurance check to fulfill the long awaited dreams of many of the characters. Almost instantaneously, as audience members are quickly processing the disorganization and volatility of the Younger’s apartment, Ruth, Walter’s wife, and Mama, enter the apartment conversing casually. Conversations in the play mainly center around finances, and this one is no different.

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466 Words | 2 Pages

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).

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825 Words | 4 Pages

In Act 1, Beneatha’s quest to find her personal identity is seen in the way she expresses herself, her ambitions, her roots and the way she deviates from what is acceptable in her family. She tries to find ways to express herself such as trying different hobbies. In the past, Beneatha has been a part of a play-acting group, horseback-riding club, and in Act 1 starts guitar lessons (47). She also has the ambition to become a doctor which is looked down upon by her brother, Walter Lee (38). Additionally, her African roots are important to her search for identity.

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