How Does Walter Lee Respond To The American Dream

Amber LaCourt

ENG 0235

Professor Jackson

3/29/18

Response Paper #2

Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun” invoked the idea of “angry black men” by expressing the struggles of grasping the American dream and early feminism during the late 1950’s early 1960’s. Characters like Walter Lee Younger, a husband and a businessman is struggling to grasp and attain his version of the American dream. Walter tries to convey that by being the breadwinner in the household and show is stern authority. However, characters like Bernetha is expressing her ideas of becoming a doctor by providing early feminism by expressing the role of being self-orientated and independent. In many ways, this play sort of reads off as “angry” deposit the idea of being a

Walter Lee shows what is like to overcome class inequality, his character is often positioned as an “angry” black man by trying to overcome class inequality and trying to fulfill his dream of owning his own liquor store. In the opening credits, the way Hansberry in the stage directions introduces Walter as “A lean, intense young man in his middle thirties, inclined to quick nervous movements and erratic speech” (Hansberry 475). Bernetha tries to match and mirror her brother Walter’s anger but often knows how to use it in certain situations when it's needed, she's not as hot headed and quick to react. Her anger often appearances to the audience as mutable but often is repeating itself in different ways. In many ways Bernetha wants to prove to the other characters because she's often underestimated. She gets a lot of backlash especially from Mama about getting married and starting a family. But Beneatha doesn’t want that, in an exchange between the both Mama and Beneatha. This exchange occured in Act one Scene one and Mama says to Beneatha “ Ain't nobody trying to stop you. I just