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How Does Walter Show Masculinity In A Raisin In The Sun

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Exploring Walter’s Understanding of Masculinity in A Raisin in the Sun

Ernest Hemingway, a Nobel Prize winner, argued that “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. This is something that Walter Younger learns throughout the play. Walter, a young man living in the Southside of Chicago has an all too common perception of manhood. Living in a snug house with three other women and a son, causes Walter to want to prove his masculinity. Especially, to his son Travis. Walter has a loving wife, Ruth, and he lives with his mother and sister additionally. He and the women in his family are constantly in conflict. This causes much tension for the entire family. The conflict is …show more content…

Being the only grown man in a family of five has always contributed to Walter’s perception of manhood. He believes that he, as a man, should be chasing his dreams and becoming an entrepreneur. Therefore, the women must stay back in the house and take care of everything else. He highlights this belief by saying “That is just what is wrong with the colored woman in this world…Don’t understand about building their men up” (Hansberry 32). Since it’s the 1950s, Walter feels the need to assert himself in a room full of women. Walter believes that women, especially Black women, should be there solely to support their husbands. He believes that as a man, he should have his liquor store and be a successful entrepreneur while his wife sits back and supports him. His ideas about white women versus Black different are very different. Despite being a Black man himself, he believes that white women are …show more content…

He especially wants to prove this to his son, Travis. When Walter finds out that Mama put aside money for him to purchase the liquor store, his mood is immediately lightened. Travis enters the room and jumps to the conclusion that Walter is inebriated again. So, he asks Walter if he is drunk. Surprisingly, Walter responds with “ No, Daddy ain’t drunk, Daddy ain’t going to never be drunk again…” (Hansberry 107). This is him letting his guard down to his son and showing his dedication. His relationship with his son changes his perception of manhood. Instead of being upset that he immediately assumed that he was drunk, he promised to Travis that he would no longer drink. This concept of opening up was never prevalent at the beginning of the play, as men having feelings was taboo at the

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In the beginning Walter is basically perceived as a jerk-he doesn’t seem to get along with anyone, not even his own family. His character likes to turn discussions into fights, make rude comments to his wife, and act all around immature. A part that accurately shows the way Walter conducts himself is when he is arguing with Ruth and says “Man say: I got to change my life , I'm choking to death, baby! And his woman say- Your eggs is getting cold!”

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In today's society, people are becoming more aware and welcoming of those who are not of the same perceived social ranking. When people are alienated, it creates a separation and divide throughout the community, causing conflict. Scout, who once discriminating against Walter, grows to enjoy his company. However, Scout’s Aunt Alexandra does not reach that level of enlightenment and will not allow Walter to come over after school because of his filthiness. Although Walter is poor, he still strives to be the best possible version of himself.

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Walter embodies the image of his father and his morals when he scolds Lindner, "My father almost beat a man to death once because this man called him a bad name or something, you know what I mean?”(147). Walter’s euphoric pride in his family was evident as his affiliation with his father’s principles was prominent. When Willy escaped with his money, Walter originally resorted to tomfoolery and begging to cope with his newfound pain. But when Mama reaffirms her faith in his judgment, he loses his vanity and ego, becoming a man his family respects. Walter continues to stand by his new beliefs when he lectures Lindner about self-worth, "And we have decided to move into our house because my father --my father--he earned it for us brick by brick”(148).

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She lets Walter control how to spend the rest of the money. Walter decides that he has a better idea. He gives all of the money to a buddy, who is supposed to obtain a liquor license, however, his buddy never gets one. Walter later admits to his family that he never put the money away for his sister's schooling and had lost it all. With all that had happened, Walter’s wife, Ruth, is not considering aborting her

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I do not understand why Walter became so upset when he found out that Mama bought a house. Respond: If the Younger family were a white family, they would definitely have less financial and social problems. Every member of the Younger family has a low paying, labor intensive job. During the time period when this was written, it was difficult for black people to find high paying jobs, considering most of them were open to white people first and foremost.

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This is the final development in the play on the topic of manhood and is quite a turn or the character Walter. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry develops the concept of manhood and what it means to be a true man by utilizing the protagonist Walter and showing how both he and the idea of manhood can change. Walter starts out by just hoping to attain material items and ends with a deeper knowledge of what it actually means to be a man. By doing this, the play is resolved in a positive manner and Walter has grown as both a character and a

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1414 Words | 6 Pages

A Raisin in the Sun To be prideful is human nature, even when it hasn't been earned. Being proud of who you are and what you have accomplished is an important part of everyone's life, but sometimes we are prideful without something to be proud of. This kind of pride is shown in the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry through the character Walter Younger. He enters the play with a false sense of pride in being a man, despite the fact that he is a chauffeur who is struggling to support his family.

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This shows the family such as Mama and Ruth that they can’t trust Walter with anything now because he lost all of the portion of the money. He is looked down upon for not becoming the “Man” of the house and taking full responsibility when he is supposed to. Another traditional gender role that I see Hansberry challenging is Beneatha in the middle of the book. Beneatha explains how she has started taking guitar lessons Mama and Ruth laugh out loud making fun of her and asking why she wants to play the guitar. All of sudden she gets upset when Mama and Ruth don’t take it seriously “How come you done taken it in your mind to learn to play the guitar?”

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Although Walter does not deserve the power, the manhood of Walter Lee enables him to “control” the family. Conversely, Beneatha’s talkativeness and her aggressive personality are against how a 1950s African American should act. Ruth asks “Can’t you be a little sweeter sometimes? (Act 1, Scene 1)” to indicate the modest characteristics women should have. Furthermore, Ruth’s decision of abortion at the beginning of the play was unconventional since it was against gender expectation because it is against her duty as a wife and a mother.

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THe intention of being motivated for travis differs from what the Younger family has done to lead to his final decisions in the play. Reflecting back on Wlatrers past, it was recognized that he values the work his father had contributed to the family to earn them money. In return, Walter also wants his work to pay off with the dream of living as an average family rather than a poor one. The dreams and desires of Walter Lee encourages to opus forward with his liquor store idea as it enlightens his ideas to earn money to successfully provide for the family like he should

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923 Words | 4 Pages

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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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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950 Words | 4 Pages

Walter was introduced as a man who cared about nothing other than his business. He had sacrificed his sister’s dream of becoming a doctor, and held the power to wipe out Mama’s dream for a better home. Walter sees the gender roles as boundaries keeping him from loosening up to his family. He is given the insight that men must be powerful, wealthy, and demanding for them to truly be the head of the household. However, Walter sees past these gender roles, and not only challenges these rigid roles, but he also regains his family’s trust along the

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779 Words | 4 Pages

Walter’s statement tries to tell the women that he didn’t try to make the world the way it is now. Yes, he wants luxurious items for him and his wife. However, even though he seriously messed up, he’s still the man in the family and will continue to make the decisions for the

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Hansberry portrays the role of fathers within their families through her only male character in the play, Walter Lee Younger. She stresses the fact that the role of fathers is to be a role model for his child. Fathers influence their children significantly especially their sons. Boys will model themselves after their dads since they look at fathers’ behaviors and recognize those behaviors as successful (Gross). As a father, Walter believes that he is not a qualitative role model to his son, Travis Younger.

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