Mari Lopez Television, Film & Theatre “Raisin in Sun” Character Analysis One of the main characters in “A Raisin in the Sun,” written by Lorraine Hansberry, is the typical man of a household named Walter. This strong character had a lifetime dream of becoming rich in order to provide for his family as the wealthy families did. He is determined to become wealthy by investing in a liquor store with his father's insurance money, but that does not end up happening. Hansberry describes Walter as the typical tall African American who believes that his ways are always the best but, unfortunately, that is not exactly true. Instead, he causes quite a disappointment towards his family because he ends up losing his father's insurance money.
I support my point of view with this: Walter has had a lot of responsibility placed on him by the family and more so his mother. Being the oldest man (the only man) in a family that has recently lost the one person with whom they (the family) looked up too and counted on for their well-being. It is expected that he (Walter) has to, and will, assume the responsibility of, being the man of the house. With this responsibility, Walter feels the necessity to fill and walk the shoes of his father who in the eyes of the family was smart, strong and dominant. Let's remember that this family is going forward during a period in which blacks, for the most part, were poorly educated with no real understanding, e.g., education and or training of what success embodies.
As Walter life goes on he is formed by his childhood events. At first he is a rebel. He gets into many fight and lots of trouble.
The last reason why Walter is rude and disrespectful to his family is when mama came looking for him and found his at the local bar. She sat down with his and starting talking to him about everything like his life, how he has a good life and what kind of changes that need to be made. Once mama starting talking about money doesn't matter Walter totally disagrees with her. Mama: Son--how come you talk so much `about
Walter wants to have the ability to provide a better life for himself and his family but it is not within his reach to do so. Walter thinks that life is unfair at the moment. WALTER. This morning I was lookin’ in the mirror and thinking about it... I’m thirty-five years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room - and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live.
Walter further shows his false pride when he flaunts his newfound sense of power when Mr.Lindner, one of the Younger’s soon-to-be neighbors, offers him an unjust deal. Now that Walter has control over the family 's money, he considers himself the head of the family and decision maker; this plays an important role towards how Walter treats others now that he holds himself to a higher standard. This theme applies to Walter when the chairman of the “welcoming committee” (115) named Mr.Lindner pays a visit to the family a couple weeks before they 're supposed to move into their new home in Clybourne Park. During this visit, Mr.Lindner makes the offer of the Clybourne Park community “buy[ing] the house from [them] at a financial gain to [the] family” (118). Mr.Lindner’s offer represents the racial oppression and how the white community looks down upon and doesn’t want African american people dirtying their communities.
This decision, in turn, drastically changes Walter’s mood from negative, drunk, and rude to more positive, sober, and believing that his dream could actually become a reality. Previous to this decision, Walter’s emotional state would repeatedly change from angry to upset. He would constantly escalate a situation in order to create an argument. For example, after George Murchison’s departure from the Younger house, he calls Walter, “Prometheus” (86).
Walter’s statement tries to tell the women that he didn’t try to make the world the way it is now. Yes, he wants luxurious items for him and his wife. However, even though he seriously messed up, he’s still the man in the family and will continue to make the decisions for the
The way that Walter thinks is that if he had lots of money he would be better and act different, but sometimes people with too much don’t really act like they enjoy and also money never solves big problems but walter thinks it will. I believe that if you have too much money you think that everything is going so well at the moment and you don't care about spending money, but one day something could occur and you will lose all of so this just shows that no one should rely on money. In life you need to make sacrifices that could be should i spend money on an investment that could be helpful and help out my family in the future or if that I should buy something so I could help out my family instead of later. I believe that you should always help out the family when they are in need because something could happen and it could all go away. Having money should never define the person you are because you could be rich you could just be rude and not help anyone and be selfish and if you are wealthy you could have the nicest heart and be very helpful to people that are in need.
Gender Expectations in Different Cultures “Women are supposed to cook and do house chores… Women should be responsible for raising children… Men should tell women what they should do… Men are superior than women.” Gender expectations are evident in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and the society in Korea. Due to their different culture and lifestyle, The Youngers, the African American family, in A Raisin in the Sun have gender expectations that are different from the those in Korea.
Walter wants to be free from the family’s low income lifestyle, and becoming rich is Walter’s extrinsic motivation to live. Mama said to Walter, “Son-how come you talk so much ‘bout money?” Walter responded with immense passion, “Because it is life, Mama!” Walter looks at life, and like a bride sees through her wedding vail, Walter sees through money lenses. He sees his father’s money as a possibility in a world that revolves around a minimal supply of money.
Walter goes into immediate denial, making excuses for where Willy, their second business partner, could be with the money. He continues on until he realizes “THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY [HIS] FATHER’S FLESH-” (128) and he had lost it all; he felt he lost his chance of pursuing a better life now that he had even lost his father’s support. His false pride is severely injured up until he is struck with an idea which he believes could save the family. He abruptly calls Mr.Lindner, who he had originally turned away, and tells him to come by because he wants to take his offer of being paid to not move into the new house.
Although Walter eventually does the morally correct thing he still has bad morals. Walter does the right thing by standing up to Lindner. When Lindner actually arrives and Walter is about to disgrace himself and the black community by begging Lindner for the money he can’t do it. Instead he says, “We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors.
But what is rarely mentioned is all the behind the scenes work women were responsible for while men were off fighting in the military. The war disrupted their ordinary lives, and the everyday roles men were employed in needed to be filled. Women throughout the United States assumed untraditional roles to so that life would continue, now being involved in politics, factories, businesses, commanding the household, and helping during
Rebecca Parise Theatre 111 Professor LePine February 8 2017 Reflection Essay In order to make their plays stand out there are certain measures that playwrights tend to make. Lorraine Hansberry was very good at making not only her play, A Raisin in the Sun, standout, but she was also able to use diction and make this play into a beloved masterpiece.