Balance Beams The United States in the 1950’s was a combination between prosperity and social conflicts. Taking place in the same time period is the play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry. The Younger family are apart of the main story line, a typical low income African American family in Chicago’s south side. Due to a misfortunate however, Mama’s husband had recently passed, and the family is due to a $10,000 life insurance check. In the beginning the entire family has different ideas on what to do with their newfound riches. Walter wants to start a liquor business for the long game, and Mama wants to help fund Beneatha's education and buy them all a new larger home. However, due to the time period in which this story takes …show more content…
In the 1950’s most neighborhood were heavily segregated, and it would not be until many years later that his would change. In fact whites tried to keep it like that to prevent Blacks prevails in the changing economy. As explained in the article “Racial Segregation: 1950s and Today’’ by Raeshma Bedi, “Racial segregation in housing prevented blacks from moving into white neighborhoods and that directly affected employment opportunities, economic status and health outcomes of African Americans”. In order to preserve this segregation, the Whites would make threats, harm, or intice the pondering families with money in order to preserve their communities. As seen when Karl Linder attempts to buy out the Younger family in the story. Prior to 1948, the Youngers would never have been able to have moved in to their neighborhood if it were not for the Supreme Courts declaring covenants against Blacks being able to own certain homes as stated in “Black Neighbors, White Neighborhoods” by Jeff Nilsson. This ruling allowed the Youngers to eventually move into their dream house, and finally achieve their American
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Show MoreRelocating from a rural environment to this urban life imply acquiring jobs, which would be difficult to attain due to the atrocious belief of color superiority. Even though segregation was not legalized
Each of the adults in the house have their own individual ideas and dreams of what they can do with the money. In the beginning, Mama plans to divide the money in portion, mainly between purchasing a new house and to pay for Beneatha’s college education. Beneatha is very ambitious about her education and career pursuit to be a doctor, while Walther wants to invest in a new business. Both rightful in their pursuit, reveal Walter’s own sexism and as they continue to contest which of their goals is more
“Life will test you, but remember this, when you walk up a mountain your legs get stronger” ~ Unknown. Life tested the Younger family in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, when they receive a large sum of money and it places the family into a feud. Trying to stop the feuding of her children, and do what she feels the family must do in the 1950s racial prejudice against people of color. Lena Younger, a woman of great strength and dominance, makes difficult choices for the sake of keeping the family together in a time of hardship.
He wants to take all $10,000 dollars and use it to open a liquor store with his friends Willy Harris and Bobo. His mother doesnt really agree with his ideas but hands him the $6,5000 left over after the downpayment. She tells him to put $3,000 of it into savings for his sister Benny so that she can finish college and become a doctor, and tells him that he is free to do what he thinks benifits his family most. Instead of adhearing to his mother’s wishes, he gives the money to Willy Harris for the business venture. Willy then stabs his friend in the back when he runs off with not only Walter’s cash but his dreams as well.
The house Mama bought was $3,500 leaving $6,500. Mama asks Walter to take the money to the bank and put $3,000 away in a savings account for Benetha's medical school. Mama made a smaller decision to give Walter $500 more than Benetha. She felt as though, with the new baby coming, Walter and Ruth may need the money more than Benetha. The remaining $3,500 was for Walter and his family.
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
Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun (1959) asserts that in life, those with less don’t go there in one day but through a prolonged time of struggle and strife . The first scene of the novel describes that a family that once was united and loving evolved into one that continues to survive in the conflict of society. In order to do this the author describes the furniture of the house and explains how through time the decor seemed to get worn and torn out. This section gives the audience the sense that the moments you once had can be replaced by ones you don’t want.
The Younger family all had a dream of living a better life, and they made the right decision to move to the white neighborhood. Because it had the better living environment, it is was an easy way of taking a stand in against racial discrimination, and it gave the Younger family hope, taught them a lesson about the importance of family unity. Every day, people fight for their goals and dreams. In the process, individuals may face many difficulties and hard choices. Ordinary citizens would make their best effort on making their dreams come true, but sometimes they would also let them deferred.
Probably the most obvious example is how she handles the money. While both of her children have their own dreams of how the money will be split, it is ultimately Mama’s money. She has always dreamed of having a house with a garden and a yard for Travis to play in and for everyone to have their own rooms. So she uses some of the money as a down payment, but she wanted the other portion to go to Beneatha’s college fund and then the rest to Walter for his dream. Throughout the play we see Walter’s frustration grow because he feels as if no one listens to him or cares about his dream, but by giving him this money Mama is showing him that she does care and she trusts in the man that he has become.
Her characters like Walter and Ruth are forced to live in a cramped house because they don’t have the money to move out. Walter has to work as a chauffeur driving people around all day for a low wage. Just like in that time period when African Americans could not get high paying jobs, this aided in the racial problem because it kept blacks from being able to move into white neighborhoods. Another method used to keep blacks out of White neighborhoods was contract buying. “When selling on contract, the speculator offered the home to a black purchaser for a relatively low downpayment- often several hundred dollars would suffice.
Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun is set in a one-bedroom apartment shared by three generations of the Younger family: Walter and Ruth, their son Travis, Walter’s sister Beneatha, and their mother Lena. The Younger family is waiting for a $10,000 life insurance check resulting from the father’s recent death. The windfall represents a kind of liberation to the family with the central conflict over how to spend the money. Mama (Lena) puts down a payment on a house in an all-white neighborhood (Clybourne Park), while Walter wants to invest in a liquor store. Mama relents, with the condition that they carve out $3,000 for Beneatha’s college education.
Life can be full of false hope and promises, but what we decide to make of the situation is the defining factor. As children we dreamed of becoming doctors, lawyers, or business owners with the idea that our goal would be achieved. As we grow older and the time has come for our goals to be met we sometimes fall short or give up on our lifelong dream. Life can get in the way and things do not always turn out the way we intend it to. Our dreams do not seem as easy to obtain as they did when we were a child with a big imagination.
The family starts to tear apart as Walter decides to sell the house to Mr. Lindner and take the check. Mama and Beneatha try to explain to Walter that their family, through generations, would have never thought about taking money in hard times. Beneatha then begins saying that their dream of moving to a new house is now dead, which Walter replies, “What’s the matter with you all! I didn’t make this world. It was give to me this way!
Mama's husband passed away not to long before this play took place. In the play, the family gets 10,000 dollars from his life insurance and doesn´t know what to do with it. Each family member has different dreams, but the money will not go around for everyone to use it because of certain events that happen. Mama puts a down payment on a new house in a white neighborhood and gives the rest of it to Walter. Walter was supposed to put some of it in the bank for Beneatha for college, but instead he gave all of the money to Willy for his business.
What the money will be spent on is a topic of debate, as Beneatha needs it for medical school, Walter wants to invest in a business - a liquor store- with it, and Mama wants to buy a home with