Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun Essay

Two of the main characters, Walter and Beneatha, in Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun” do not get along very well. They are siblings that have lived together for all of Beneatha’s life, because she is the younger sibling. Walter and Beneatha both want to pursue their dreams. Both dreams are to help people but they want to help different people. Walter wants to help himself and his family while Beneatha wants to help other people. Beneatha’s dream is also more realistic while Walters is a farfetched dream. Walter wants to help himself and his family to make their lives better. Walter is tired of living in a small apartment with his mother and sister where it is not big enough for his son to have a bed to sleep in. Walter wants to make his life better for his son to know there is more in life than the small amount they have. When Walter asked his son, Travis, what he wanted to be when he grows up Travis said that he wants to be “a bus driver” (Hansberry 757). Walter thinks that “ain’t nothing to want to be” when he grows up (Hansberry 757). He wants Travis to inspire to be something bigger. Walter wants to be able to give Travis anything he wants. The way Walter plans to do this is with the money his mother is getting for insurance that she is getting from Walter’s father’s death. Walter and two of his

They have different ways of doing what they want to obtain their dreams. However, their dreams are very similar to each other’s. Walter wants to make his life and his family’s life better while Beneatha wants to make everyone’s lives better. It is just getting to their dreams overlap each other’s and cause tension between the siblings that make it a challenge during their everyday lives. This could also show a good example on what could happen to any siblings when one gets more than the other or if they want to do the same thing and the family are not able to give it to both or