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How Does Walter Give Up In A Raisin In The Sun

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Recommended: Racial discrimination in early 20th century

Vidur Jain Ms. Grande Academic English I 9 February 2023 A famous American professional boxer, Muhammed Ali, once said, "You don't lose if you get knocked down; you lose if you stay down." This quote states that they encounter many difficulties trying to achieve their dreams, but they should keep on trying until they succeed. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Mama, and Walter never give up, even though they face many obstacles in pursuing their dreams. Many African-Americans struggled to financially support their families mainly due to the racial discrimination they faced in their society, whereas Mama and Walter continued to struggle attempting to achieve their dreams due to various factors in society. Despite all this, …show more content…

Hansberry illustrates the idea that they should not give up on their dreams and goals despite the inequalities they face, as Walter and Mama work tirelessly to achieve their dreams and overcome the injustice of society. Walter initially dreams selfishly, disregarding others' thoughts, but then he realizes his mistakes and becomes selfless. As a lower-class male, Walter feels that the only way to provide for his family is to "make a transaction .. . a business transaction that’s going to change [their] lives"(108). Family members such as Mama don't want Walter to start his business as she doesn't "want that on [her] ledger this late in life"(42). Even though Walter wants to start a business that provides for his family, Mama strongly disagrees with his idea as selling liquor to people is against her beliefs. Due to this decision, there are continuous arguments between Mama and Walter regarding the liquor store. Eventually, Mama agrees with Walter and lets him put the money "in a checking account with [his] name on it"(107). Mama trusts Walter to spend the money wisely and she thinks he is capable of becoming the "head of this family from now on like [he's] supposed to be"(107). Mama shows extreme confidence in Walter by trusting him to properly use the allotted money.

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He can't just be a giant that no one can talk to, he needs to be responsible and hold himself accountable. Walter calls Lindner over and informs everyone that he will go and scam Lindner to make him pay them a lot of money when he comes to buy the house back, they all hate it and say he's not even a man anymore. This becomes rock bottom for the Youngers. However when Lindner makes an appearance , Walter informs him that they deny his offer, and plan on moving into the house, and he makes his family proud and gives them all hope for the future. Mama wanted to move out and he didn't let her dream die.

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She showed this throughout the book by buying a house which allowed them to have more space for themselves and she also did Travis's chores in the beginning. In the beginning, she had her own ways of loving the family and the family disliked her ways, so they kept ignoring the fact that she loves them and Walter even used it against her by saying that she "butchered" his dreams. However, Mama didn't give in until the middle. In the middle, she started to become weaker and feels like she was not giving enough love to her children after seeing that Beneatha did not like her life and Walter did not like his life. She forced herself to contort to believing that loving her family meant following her family's wishes even if she had to go against herself.

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When Walter said that sentence the whole argument about responsibility and taking care of the money started (129). With mama saying, “I seen…him…night after night…come in and look at that rug…and look at me…the red showing in his eyes… the veins moving in his head… I seen him grow thin and old before he

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In the text Mama told Walter, “[There is] something eating you up like a crazy man. Something more than me not giving you this money. The past few years I have been watching it happen to you. You get all nervous acting kind of wild in the eyes” (Hansberry 72).

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You could almost say that Walter has a roller coaster of emotions. He starts off as selfish because Mama refuses to invest her money in a liquor store for Walter. He then puts up a stink and goes missing throughout the day. This all quickly changes when Mama gives Walter what he has been wanting and hands him the rest of the insurance money. Clearly, Walter only shows happiness when he has what he wants.

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Walter embodies these traits, making it hard for him to realize his own faults in the process. Money also symbolizes the cracks in their relationships with one another. Even though they are family, they continually try and fight for something that was not theirs in the first place. Mama is being attacked from all corners because of some money. Mama, however, came to the decision that she would split the money.

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Mama made a decision that put Walter in charge of the remaining money, however she did not know that this decision might not have been the best for the Younger family. Walter was hesitant in taking the money, but Mama reassures Walter by saying, "I ain't ever stop trusting you" (Hansberry 546). This line from Mama foreshadows the possibility that Walter will not obey her and do something foolish with the money. Walter proves this foreshadowing as he is talking to Travis and says, "... your daddy's gonna make a transaction... a business transaction that's going to change our lives" (Hansberry 547).

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Josh Jameson, an avid author, once said, “There comes a time when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book.” When facing a crossroads in life, one must always question whether to face adversity or give up in the pursuit of happiness. This idea also applies to the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, where Big Walter and his son, Walter Lee, choose between sacrificing their lives and dreams or giving up and living a monotonous life. Big Walter is an overworked father whose death provides his family a chance to escape their financial crisis. All the while, Walter is sacrificing his dream of investing since no one supports him.

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Walter feels his job is more than unsatisfying, and can not make Mama understand, since her simplistic views are just like Ruths. In spite of his personal inadequacies with his job fulfillment, Walter shines in the end of the story with understanding and growth of his own fathers not so wonderful job. Walter seems to be reflecting on his own status as a

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The play "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry examines the hopes and challenges faced by the Youngers, an African-American family living in Chicago during the civil rights movement. Mama's plant, Beneatha's hair, and the insurance money, are all utilized throughout the play to symbolize the characters' dreams and goals. While Mama's plant stands in for her drive to provide a loving and warm home for her family, Beneatha's hair signifies her quest for individuality and desire to go against social standards. The insurance money, which the family got from Mr. Younger, symbolizes both Walter's aspiration for financial success and the families shared motivation to have a more prosperous future. These symbols reflect on the racial and economic discrimination that

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At one point in the story, Mama decides to give Walter the money to support his business because she felt as if she owed Walter. But, she

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In the play Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry takes place on the southside of Chicago where Walter and his family are racially profiled and show us how the survive throughout their struggles. The central struggles for the younger family in their search for the American dream is mostly poverty and being racially profiled against for their actions. Hansberry challenges the traditional gender roles and issues of dominance throughout the play when Mama gives Walter lee the rest of the money at the end of the play. He becomes all excited and was supposed to save some for himself and put the rest of the money to Beneatha 's education. Instead, he gave all that money to Willy another character in the play which later on that he stole from him.

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This could be for a variety of reason such as the way walter acted once mama received the money. He was always upset about not being the complete “breadwinner” and he technically wasn't the head of the house because mama was. Walter tries to make more money by investing in the liquor store. He loses the money because the man runs off with and mama warned him before so of course she becomes disappointed. “THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY FATHER’S FLESH!”

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Through the use of the historical lens, looking specifically at the economic struggles, the struggle of unequal opportunity, and the housing covenant that African-American’s faced in the 1950’s, Hansberry’s message of A Raisin in the Sun is revealed: the perseverance of an ethnic minority in a time of racial discrimination. A Raisin in the Sun is set in a time of great racial discrimination, the 1950’s in the united States. This featured racism towards those of color or non-caucasians, and the struggles commonly faced by the African-American family is shown through the eyes of the Younger family through the writing and experiences of Lorraine Hansberry. Of the three major struggles the Younger family faced, the most prominent in Act one is that of financial disability. This is best shown through the working lives of the family.

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Just within the recent decades, men and women started to fight against the gender stereotypes and started to challenge their roles in a family and in the society. The play, A Raisin in the Sun, portrays the lives of African–Americans during the 1950s. Lorraine Hansberry, a writer and a social activist, reinforced the traditional gender roles, especially female’s, by depicting how the Youngers interact and how they act in an economical struggle. Throughout the play, A Raisin in the Sun, she uses Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Lena Younger to reinforce the traditional role of fathers, wives and mothers within a family.

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