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Raisin In The Sun Moral Beliefs

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In the play, A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry, the conflicting moral beliefs between the characters prevents the Younger family from achieving the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that nothing is impossible to achieve, because anything is possible in America. Yet this play is set in the 1950s, so there are many conflicting moral beliefs on pressing issues, such as religion, women’s roles in society, and even racial equality. As a result, the Younger family faces many obstacles while trying to achieve their individual American Dreams because of clashing core values in society at this time. A critical factor that keeps the Younger family from achieving their American Dreams, are the conflicting moral beliefs between …show more content…

Willy Harris was a friend of Walter’s, and they agreed to start a liquor store together. Walter believed Willy Harris to be a friend of his, as he states “I been out talking with people who understand me. People who care about the things I got on my mind” (66). Ruth follows this by asking if he is talking about Willy Harris, which Walter confirms. Walter sees Willy as a friend, as someone who understands him and his dreams. However, Willy does not see Walter the same way, as he betrays Walter and runs off with his money. This is a prime example of Walter being kept from his American Dream, because his investment was taken away. Walter whimpers “Man … I trusted you … Man, I put my life in your hands …” (101). Walter gave all he had for this dream, Willy Harris took all Walter’s money for his own; therefore Willy Hariss took Walter's American Dream. Walter did not just invest his own money, but he also invested his sister’s colleague fund money. Beneatha is distraught by this news, as she cries out, “I sound like a human being who just had their life taken right out of her hands!” Beneatha’s money that was supposed to go toward her following her American Dream was taken too. Walter and Beneatha become unequipped to follow their American Dreams because Willy Harris had much different moral standards, and ran away with their

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It’s all gone . . . (page 102)” This quote perfectly explains why Walter is rude to his family because when he got the money he was suppose to give some to beneatha and put some in the bank. Instead he gave all the money to Willy Harris. Then Willy took the money and bought the liquor store without asking or even telling Walter, Now you have a more reasons to show why Walter is very very rude and ignorant to his family.

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Despite the fact that dreaming of a liquor store is shallow, Walter’s motivation to be able to support his family helps reconcile his somewhat immoral hopes. Later, Walter shows the idiocy of his plan to own a liquor store when he gets drunk. In act 2, scene 2, Walter borrows Willy Harris’s car and drives around Chicago for two days, then “just walked”, and finally “went to the Green Hat” (2.2 105). Through his actions, Walter shows that he is immature and cares more about pretending to be rich than his job that would allow him to provide for his family.

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This is proven when he tells his son Travis, “You wouldn’t understand it yet, son, but your daddy's gonna make a transaction ...a business transaction that’s going to change our lives...” (Hansberry 108.) This leads to Walter being betrayed by his business partner, Willy Harris, who takes off with all the investment money. The family was already living in cramped conditions and struggling to make ends meet, so the loss of $6,500 left them in a dire situation. Walter's dream of investing in a liquor store seemed like the answer to their financial woes, but it turned out to be a fraud, leaving the family with

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