A Line Between Love and Hate In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the character Walter Lee Younger, displays the demeanor of a character in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. In Hurston’s book, Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, was a woman with a very stubborn mindset on life, very similar to Walter Lee who presumably had life all figured out. They were portrayed as the antagonist in the novels but were just characters that meant well and had good intentions. Walter Lee Younger and Nanny are portrayed as selfish and emotionless characters by few critics but digging deeper into their situations and their decision making, they just wanted better for their loved ones and they both wanted one thing, a better life, whether it benefited themselves or the special people in their lives. To help better understand Walter Lee and Nanny, their actions verses intentions, along with the meaning behind what they did, and the reasoning behind it all will be broken down and examined throughout the paper. Inferring from the novels, both characters having similar lives, similar beliefs and share similar perceptions on how to make it the world they live in. Their experiences were the driving force and motivation behind their actions. Walter Lee …show more content…
Nanny’s portion of the novel shines a light on how Janie really views the world compared to her grandmothers. Ultimately Nanny wants Janie to be happy and well taken care of by any means necessary, regardless of how Janie feels. Nanny grew up while being in slavery and lived a hard, loveless life. She ended up getting pregnant with a white man, which to some degree helped her life and the life of her daughter better than it was before. Nanny believes that having the “ultimate life” is based off of status and what the man can bring to the table and provide for her, not solely from mutual