Manhood In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

The definition of manhood is “The transition from a boy to a Man,” but is really what mahood means to men? Throughout the text the idea of being a man is a large role in Walter’s decisions and actions. Some may argue that Walter is not a man, yet some may argue that he is. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, has not put this topic in for no reason. Walter is very insecure about his manhood throughout the story and his mother even tries to give his manhood to him. The only thing that Mama does when she tries to “fix” Walter’s manhood is make him more depressed and insecure about his role of a man in the world. In “A Raisin in the Sun” manhood plays a role of a brick wall for the characters, especially Walter. Walter is the father of Travis and the husband of Ruth but he doesn’t run the household. The apartment is his mother’s. The idea of manhood to Walter is more than just running the household but supplying for his family and allowing them to be happy. At the time, the Younger family is struggling financially and they the mother of travis, Ruth, is going to have another baby. He then blames his relationship with his wife as holding him back from becoming a good husband. This shows that Walter can’t do anything while himself and his family does not believe in him.

As he progresses through the story he starts to get more and more “manly” and acts more like a man. In the beginning of the story Walter is very disappointed with the life he and his family are living. He is all depressed due to the fact that the household is run by women which gives him perception that he is failing the general idea of being a man. There are many stereotypes of men that are true and false. Some of these would be that a man has to be the worker in the family or men have to make the most money. The only thing that Walter is trying to do is live up to these fake perceptions, and there is nothing wrong with