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'Selfless Sacrifice In Lorraine Hansberry's Shaving'

879 Words4 Pages

“But now the window was full in the beam of the dying sunlight, and Barry stood there, illuminated in the golden warmth for a whole minute, knowing it would soon be gone”(116). This quotation comes from the short story “Shaving” written by Leslie Norris. It is describing Barry, who is struggling to fill the position of the man of the house, shaving his sickly father’s face. Barry sacrifices his time with friends to be able to do this deed for the one he loves. A Raisin in the Sun, a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, portrays Walter Younger to be a selfish man who sacrifices the family’s insurance money for a down payment on a liquor store. The novel, A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, shows the true meaning of selfless sacrifice when Sydney Carton, a low life drunk, sacrifices his life because he loves Lucy and wants her to be happy. Selfless sacrifice shows the true meaning of nobility.
Barry selflessly sacrifices his time with friends to go and take care of his sickly father in the short story “Shaving”. Barry sacrifices his time of being a …show more content…

Tho it is hard to see until the very end of the play, A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry shows Walter Younger is a big dreamer and wants to be rich. Younger is a very selfish man and shows his selfishness through his sacrificing of the family money. When the Younger family inherits ten thousand dollars from the death of a family member, Walter goes crazy trying to get his hands on the money to invest in the liquor store downtown. His selfishness is shown when Mama gives him what is left of the life insurance and he is told to save a generous amount of money for Beneatha’s schooling and then he can keep the rest for saving up. Instead of doing what he is told to do, he invests in the liquor store with his two other friends. This shows Walter to be a very selfish family member by not using the money the way it is suppose to be used

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“Part of growing up is just taking what you learn from that and moving on and not taking it to heart.” ~ Beverley Mitchell. Walter Lee Younger changes drastically throughout the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. Walter starts out as a person who whines and throws a fit when he does not get his way and turns into a responsible man who can care for himself and make important decisions. Three examples of this in the play is when Walter goes into a depression because Mama will not give him the money to open his shop.

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The title of the play “A Raisin in the Sun” comes from the poem “Harlem” written by Langston Hughes. The poem is asking what happen to dreams that are not accomplished, What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun (Hughes) in the play many character have unaccomplished or deferred dreams. Mama dreams is moving her family out of their small apartment and into a house in a nice area with a yard for Travis and a garden for herself. She has had this dream for a long time but has never been able to accomplish it financially. After the death of her husband, the family receives a $10,000 life insurance check this money gives mama of the opportunity to buy the house she has always dreamed for her family.

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(114-115) By giving up the money, Walter is shown to be spontaneous and quick to trust. He made a quick decision about giving Willy the money, without even thinking about the consequences, which shows his spontaneity and trust issues. He also didn’t even think to put any money away for Beneatha and he just trusted Willy to get the license before actually getting to know him. The play A Raisin in the Sun, shows how Walter settles on a brisk choice to give his Mamas insurance money to the character Willy Harris so he could purchase an alcohol store. Thus, his choice accounts Willy Harris to steal the cash which causes an apathetic temperament in the story and makes lost expectation in the family.

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1208 Words | 5 Pages

In today's world many people can get caught up with viewing failure as a negative when it can actually create a learning experience. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter's learning experience that accompanies his financial failure helps him change from insecure and selfish to him slowly becoming confident and selfless teaching him the values that allow him to become the leader of his family by the end of the story. At the start of the play, Walter is insecure and selfish because of his financial failure. He shows how insecure he is when talking to his wife, Ruth about their current living situation.

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869 Words | 4 Pages

So hearing from her son that money is the answer to everything did not settle with her so well. Walter and Mama’s arguments are very similar to Linda and her husband plus her son’s conflicts. With Mama and her family being a different race, money has not come by easy. Mama grew up in a harsh time frame, when being free and having families together was all that mattered. But since times have changed, Walter has grown up by being “free”.

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466 Words | 2 Pages

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry, both Walter and Mama have great dreams and encounter barriers on the path to achieving their dreams. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to better provide for his family, a dream that changes when he faces the barrier of his money being stolen by Willy Harris. Mama dreams of living in a real house with a garden and also encounters barrier of her money being stolen by Willy Harris. Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and being able to financially support his family. Walter’s dream is shown in act 1, scene 1 when he explains to Ruth how the liquor store he and his friends are buying will help their family have enough money to do more than just make ends meet (32,33).

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