Money is what makes the world go round; it's so important that day-to-day things like eating healthy and sleeping comfortably wouldn’t happen without it. To some, money is so important they would put it before their family. This issue can come from many things, but issues that plague society like the wealth gap and racial inequity can push these issues further. The play A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry analyzes ideas of race, money, and gender through the Younger family, a black family living in Chicago during the 1950s. In A Raisin in the sun, Lorraine Hansberry discusses how being selfish with money can cause turmoil in relationships through Walter Younger and his turmoil in his relationships with his wife, sister, and mother. Walter’s …show more content…
Yeah. You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see. That be ten thousand each. Course there’s a couple hundred you got to pay so’s you don’t spend your life just waiting for them clowns to let your license get approved-
RUTH. You mean graft?
WALTER. (frowning impatiently) Don’t call it that. See there that just goes to show you that women understand about the world Baby, don't nothing happen for you in this world ‘less you pay somebody off!
RUTH. Walter leave me alone! (Hansberry 33).
The argument in this scene stems from Walter’s want to become wealthy. He thinks that by owning a business, he will suddenly lift his family out of poverty and oppression. Ruth pushes back on this idea by calling his plan a “graft” to her; the idea of investing the little money they have into a risky business investment is sketchy and not realistic for their family. Walter blames this on her not “understanding” the world and that nothing will happen for a person if you don’t pay somebody else. This argument also creates tensions in their marriage, as Walter shuts down his wife’s valid opinion on whether or not he should spend their small amount of money on a business that would not likely flourish in her eyes.In addition to a struggling relationship with his wife, Walter’sgreed causes havoc in his bond with his sister.After talking to Asagai and reflecting on hopes and dreams Beneatha reflects on Walters's action by
A Raisin in the Sun depicts a couple of weeks in the life of the Youngers, an African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. At the point when the play opens, the Youngers are going to get a protection check for $10,000. This cash originates from the perished Mr. More’s youthful life coverage approach. Each of the grown-up individuals from the family has a thought in the matter of what he or she might want to do with this cash. The female authority of the family, Mama, needs to purchase a house to satisfy a fantasy she imparted to her spouse.
At one point in the story, Mama decides to give Walter the money to support his business because she felt as if she owed Walter. But, she
Introduction: In Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," the Younger family faces numerous challenges as African Americans living in poverty on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s. The play addresses themes of race, family, and the American Dream, which are still relevant in today's world. This essay argues that the experiences of Walter Lee Younger are most important to understand in our world today because they demonstrate the effects of systemic racism and the struggle for economic empowerment. Thesis Statement: Walter Lee Younger's experiences in "A Raisin in the Sun" are essential to understanding the impact of systemic racism and the fight for economic empowerment in our world today.
In the play "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, our character, Walter, wants to be the head of the family, but the choices he makes are stopping him from achieving his goal in the end because he is not earning the trust of his other family members. At the start, we can see Walter waking up and going to talk to his wife, where he begins to argue with her about the money. starting with asking about the money on page 26. "Check coming today? " Walter can't get his mind off money because he wants to make a business deal.
Walter experience betrayal, from his friend taking the money that manipulated his life totally. The money that was cooking spark the light and him inspiring him to worry more about his family and not only focusing himself. Only recognizing the smiles in his family. A Raisin in the Sun Walter talks about “he told me to keep my eyes on what counts in the world”pg 569 act
The author, Lorraine Hansberry, puts in different characters to help display these themes and the correlation between money and how it affects people. In A Raisin in the Sun, there is a connection between pride and money with more than one character. She puts these specific characters in to display the themes clearly. Lorraine Hansberry puts Walter in the beginning of the story as very pride driven, never wanting to show his son or family their financial struggles. He is a hard worker, but being a chauffeur for a rich white man is difficult for him and his pride and further into the play takes a toll on his attitude, ambitions and family’s future.
Being the man of the household, Walter dreams of owning a liquor store and plans on using Lena’s money to do so. Walter is always after money and believes that the only way to succeed in life is with money. For example, when Walter is talking about the check, he says, “Mama, sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool, quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back and talking about things, turning deals worth millions of dollars, sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me” (992).This shows how Walter wanted something more out of life and not just be a poor black man. Everyone in this family had dreams but no one supported each other dreams.
The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in 1959, and the movie was made in 2008. “A Raisin in the Sun” is about the Younger family, the fifth generation of lower-class African-Americans living in Chicago’s Southside. They are faced with problems such as racial discrimination, poverty, and conflicting dreams. As the family decides on how to spend the insurance check of $10,000 from Walter’s father’s death, these problems cause many conflicts to rise. Reading the 1959 play and the 2008 movie, I have realized certain similarities and differences in how the story plays out.
In the play Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry takes place on the southside of Chicago where Walter and his family are racially profiled and show us how the survive throughout their struggles. The central struggles for the younger family in their search for the American dream is mostly poverty and being racially profiled against for their actions. Hansberry challenges the traditional gender roles and issues of dominance throughout the play when Mama gives Walter lee the rest of the money at the end of the play. He becomes all excited and was supposed to save some for himself and put the rest of the money to Beneatha 's education. Instead, he gave all that money to Willy another character in the play which later on that he stole from him.
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
In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter and Ruth have a personality that correlates to the traditional gender expectation. Walter has an abrupt nature, while Ruth is demure and quiet; the temperament of the two characters corresponds to a man expectation to be dominant and superior to women. Walter comments, “Don’t call it that. See there, that just goes to show you what women understand about the world. Baby, don’t nothing happen for you in this world ’less you pay somebody off!”
This is proven when Ruth and Walter were together and “[they] held hands” (Hansberry 111). This made Ruth happy for the reason that, Walter and she haven't been romantic in a while. This made her feel love again for Walter and it was something that needed to happen to improve the relationship. When Walter and the family received the money he started to improve his life and behavior and repaired his relationship with Ruth. If the family didn’t receive the money they wouldn’t have been put in this situation and their relationship wouldn’t have improved.
Another way Hansberry elucidates the impact of being greedy is when Ruth goes to get her baby aborted and Walter says nothing about it. Once the audience learns that Ruth is going to abort her baby, Lena says, “When the world gets ugly enough -- a woman will do anything for her family. The part that’s already living” (Hansberry 198). Ruth rationalizes her decision to kill her baby by stating that killing the child will leave more money for the family, and since Walter only wants to be rich, he is not willing to save his child. Hansberry uses Ruth’s attempt to abort her baby to show the reader that being too money focused can lead a person to sacrifice their own family members for the sake of earning more money.
She defies the ideal life for a woman and expresses her opinion loud and clear. Beneatha throughout the play finds herself and her African American roots. Walter does not approve of Beneatha’s hopes to become a doctor he tells her, “If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people---then go be a nurse like other women---or just get married and be quiet. . .” (1.1.125) These social issues that the characters faced in their lives made them out to be the people that they were meant to be.
She is also upset because Walter is giving in to racial tension and calling Mr. Lindner back to negotiate taking money in exchange for not moving into the white neighborhood. Lena immediately snaps back and calls out Beneatha for not learning to care for her brother. In this scene Lena’s maternal instinct really shines through. Even though she is disappointed in Walters foolishness and lack of pride, she knows that Walter is at his lowest point and that persecution and ridicule will not help the situation in any way. She also understands that his pursuit of money wasn't for self interest but to make things better for the whole family.