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Who Is The Family In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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In “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry each family member has their own pursuit of happiness. Lorraine Hansberry depicts the Younger family as an ambitious group of people wanting either a little or a lot more for themselves. In this story a man named Walter plays both the roles of a protagonist and antagonist. He proves in the story that he can be helpful to his family, but he can also be their biggest critic through his dream for an investment in an alcohol business which represents his hope for manhood and “success”. Most people have a dream which is more or less hard to accomplish. Walter's dream did not come true because of the lack of money, the racism and the disloyalty of investors. The Youngers are a Christian, African-American …show more content…

Mama tells Walter to do what he thinks is best, but he has to do it in front of Travis and to make sure Travis understands what his father is doing. “Listen to me, now. …. I’m telling you to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be.” (2. 2. 495). Mama uses Walter's own dreams for her son to show Walter what is best for the family. Mama tries to teach Walter that money cannot solve all of their problems. Walter thought that being successful in business would teach his son that he could be anything that he wanted. Yet the lesson Mama tries to teach Walter is that no matter how much money you have you can still be the person you want, even if that is a servant.
"A Raisin in The Sun" is not just about dreams of a better life but pride and family values. Walter goes through great difficulty when he learns that his friend stole all of his money. It is always difficult to learn that our dreams could never come true because a dream is essential to live. It is the reason for we fight each and every day. Mama teaches Walter a lesson about life and about family. Mama's old-fashion pride and family values bring this whole family together when she taught Walter that money does not buy

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Walter’s American Dream of opening a liquor store and becoming successful is affected by his personality traits of selfishness, pride, and ambition. Although it sounds like negative trait, selfishness actually helps Walter get closer to his dream. This he

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In her play A Raisin in the Sun, author Lorraine Hansberry conveys that a change in character is essential in order to attain one’s dreams. Such changes can include a shift in perspective or personality. The most prominent difference is the altering of Walter’s perspective. Walter has always believed that the most valuable possession in life is money, hence why he is always requesting for funds to establish a liquor store. Walter considers success in life as having a good job with a steady income to support a loving family.

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A raisin in the sun talks about a poor African American family during the 1940’s. every person in the younger family had dreams but due to the financial issues, they could never accomplish them. After older Walter’s (Father) death, their dreams could come to reality with the $10,000 insurance check. Walter lee is a good example of a characters dream that went down the drain because of financial trouble. With the insurance money, Walter lee wanted to buy a liquor store with three of his buddies.

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Walter regains almost all of the levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs but still seeks self-actualizations as he continues to be more open minded in the future. This creates the effect of how the family will be more successful. If it weren't for Mama and her talk with Walter, there may not have possibly been a future where the family as a whole could achieve maximum potential and full

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1010 Words | 5 Pages

They do not want to sacrifice their own dreams to please the others. Unwilling to make a sacrifice proves to bring more animosity in a family as shown in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry through conflict involving money and how the characters handle their actions. Walter’s dream is to use the money to open up his own business even if it goes against his family’s wishes. Walter argues, “.... he’s

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943 Words | 4 Pages

In Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, we see the story of a young man who believes having money is the key to happiness. In the story, Walter recieves a check and with it, his excitement grows. However, his mother and wife do not share the same passion he does. " WALTER: A job.

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This indicates Walter has forgotten just how much this means to his family and that now he has put his own greed ahead of his sister’s future. Thus, the need of money making one forget his families and needs is shown through the climax of A Raisin in the

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617 Words | 3 Pages

In the domestic tragedy play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, describes how a family is dealing with financial expenses. The expenses are outrageous because Lena, also known as Mama, has a daughter named Beneatha and attends medical school while the family is paying for the house. The family wants to move into a nicer house, and they work hard to get there. Mama is expecting a ten thousand dollar check inherited by her husband that had died. The father, Walter, wants to buy a liquor store and to finally be in control, but the wife, Ruth, and, Mama, do not want him to.

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In "a raisin in the sun." Walter doesn 't believe that mom is trying to give them a better life. Walter thoughts on what she 's trying to do is dumb. Author believes he knows what he 's doing, and believes that his ideas of a bar is right. Beneatha Believe is the one what mama is doing is right and what she wants to do for the family.

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Walter feels as though nobody is listening to his dreams of the liquor store. He continuously asks Mama, but she refuses to give him the money. She does use the money, however, to buy a house in an all-white neighborhood. After Mama bought a house, she decided to give Walter the remaining $6,500 to put aside for Beneatha’s medical school, and for the liquor store.

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744 Words | 3 Pages

As the american novelist Gertrude Stein once said, “Each generation has something different at which they are all looking”. Oftentimes the differences in one's point of view causes conflicts with another individual, due to the age in which the person was brought up in. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Mama, Walter, and Beneatha have many conflicts between one another due to their different views on each others dreams. Beneatha strives to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor, while Walter wants to earn money and be able to provide for his family. On the other hand, Mama was raised during a time of prevalent racism and virtually no opportunity; therefore, she is unable to understand her children's dreams.

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Walter also wanted to start up his own liquor store business because he thought it was a great way to provide for his family sufficiently. Although their relationship experiences hardships, the Younger family perseveres because they unite as a family. Walter is a dreamer. He wants to be rich and devises plans to acquire wealth with his friends, particularly Willy Harris.

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860 Words | 4 Pages

Even without all the luck in the world, the family, as does the plant, continues to find a way to survive and keep moving forward. When Walter lost all the money, the family did not let the money define them, and they kept moving forward as the plant does with little nutrients. Henceforth, the Youngers ability to survive with what they have and keep moving forward bears a resemblance to the Mama’s

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1272 Words | 6 Pages

Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minster, once said that America “stands at the summit of the world”, and by the late 1950s it is easy to see why he came to this conclusion. Prospering economically after the end of WWII, many cities around the United States began to grow exponentially. This marked the beginning of the period known as the baby boom, in which over 70 million babies were born. Though there was much prosperity found thought the United States in the 1950s, African-Americans, and other minority groups faced many obstacles when trying to pursue their dreams. Tired of oppression and discrimination the 1950s also marked the new beginning of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

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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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