Manhood In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

He feels that if he cannot achieve greatness and get his family out of the slums of Chicago, then he has failed at everything. It not only concerns his family that he sees his human worth out of money, but it worries them because they are not able to trust him to be responsible and just when making decisions. While the Younger family wants to own a house and receive a stronger income, Walter is the only one who obsesses over it and allows it to alter the ways in which he treats important people in his life. Segregation caused dreams to become deferred, and weights were put onto the families during the 1950s. Due to segregation, they could not afford what white families could, and this was because they were paid less in the workforce.

He is certain that he should be the head of the family and solely be the provider for the Younger family. He struggles deeply with the fact that his family members have a lack of faith in him and his role in their family. He blames his lack of power on the female members of his family as well as his race. “We are one group of men tied to a race of women with small minds.” (Hansberry, 2011, p. 19)

Introduction It is not manly being a Mr. Mom! At home, parenting has several negative connotations, that ranges from issues like boredom, loss of professional networks, socialize judgement such as laziness to name only a few (Kane, SPRING 2015), not even to talk about the discrimination that stay at home dads are facing. They face remarks that is humiliating like; what is this man doing in the playpark, do you think he is a pedophile? Then there is the stereotyping and perception that the man is the breadwinner and that it is unmanly to take-up the role as the caregiver are issues that they experiencing when interacting with the working class. By society they are perceived as the outcast.

This, in turn, caused Troy 's mother to abandon him, leaving him without love from a parent or anyone to show him the correct way to treat females, a sin that affects his relationship with Rose as an adult. His father 's treatment of Troy made Troy believe there was more to his suffering than what was humanly possible "The gal jumped and run off...and when my daddy turned to face me, I could see why the devil had never come to get him...cause he was the devil himself"(Wilson 52).This metaphor used by Troy, adds a certain weight to the gravity of his situation as a teen. His father wasn 't just cruel but was the devil, a symbol of pure hate and all evil.

Incredulously, he accuses her of “ [butchering] up [his] dream” with little regard to how he felt; full of despair he fails to attend three days of work, claiming that no one can understand him or his vision. ( Hasnberry, 95} In juxtaposition to his wife Ruth, Walter cannot find any happiness for his mother’s investment in a new house. Walter’s desire to achieve his goals blinds him to what may help or hurt his family, only allowing him to see the monetary gain possible from investing in a liquor store. He cannot overcome his skeptic nature enough to believe that his family can acheive contentment without money

The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.

Calixta and Bobinot seem to experience a complicated marriage. Calixta worries for Bobinot as if he is her second child. While trapped in the store, Bibi is more concerned with the safety and well being of his mother more than Bobinot. Bibi acknowledges that his mother may be afraid but to his dismay his father claimed that she would be okay that Sylvie would is with her. “No she ent got Sylvie.

Troy’s outlook on life is more narrow minded however, his family is more optimistic for a better future. Troy was raised by a very dominate male figure who was abusive. His father would be little him and made him like he would not be able to overcome racism. Troy despised his father who was mean and never showed him any love.

In the story, their choices affect Paul by causing him to have low self esteem, fearing his brother and feeling isolated. A choice made by Paul’s mom drops Paul’s confidence very rapidly. Her reluctance to be strict with her eldest son cause Paul to not be assertive enough. Throughout the novel, readers can point out that Paul is very similar to prey, while Erik acts like the hungry predator. In the novel, the author wrote,” Forget it dad, forget it mom, someone has to pay for this...

Even though Frankie hated the fact the the Angel on the Seventh Step kept bringing babies, the suffering of his mother and the fact the his father is worthless, he still did all he could to make something out of nothing. He became a man a young age and wanted to make his mother proud. In the story Frank states, “ I’m a man now…” to indicate that he felt like a mane because he was going to make some coins (258). This reminds me of the story “The Rocking Horse Winner”, where the boy only wanted to please his mother who was just as weak minded as Frank’s mother. Angela, Frank’s mother is very weak minded.

Witnessing my father chasing down my mother because of a pointless argument of my parents not caring about my siblings and I where abouts would be devastating to say the least. In The Glass Castle Jeannette and her siblings chose to appreciate the small things as they got older because they were not given materialistic items or a hot meal when they could afford it. Their mother made poor financial decisions and hardly ever put the kids first. For example, the mom chose to rent a piano over buying Brian a pair of male jeans. He had to suffer wearing girl clothes that did not even fit.

Masculinity could be displayed in multiple ways throughout generations. However, in most cases, masculine men are mostly perceived as active or powerful, while women have to be passive and supportive of men ideas and decisions. A Raisin in the Sun demonstrates these ideas into a play, written by Lorraine Hansberry, and is about an African American family, where each individual attempts to achieve their own goal in life. Lena (Mama) Younger is the mother of Walter and Beneatha Younger, who receives the check of $10,000 to spend after her husband's death. She is the backbone of the family and strengthens the family’s relationship throughout the play.

Every day, I think to myself, how could I make myself a better person? Well, it can differ based on where one stands in life. For example, it is uncommon to meet someone who has reached their maximum potential during their younger years. This is also known as a lack of self-actualization.

As we read the story, we can feel that Ruth was not in the good mood that morning. She was not happy about Walter’s friend staying late sitting on the couch where her son Travis supposed to sleep. Then, Walter feels that Ruth is mad, so to ease her temper he tells her on his way out to work that she looks young and call her baby to have her attention and make her feel good before he lives. They are both need attentions in other to subsist and that will never be enough. The plant symbolizes to Mama her wish for the family to live together.

In every story each character influences the plot in some way, even if it’s something tiny. Just like the story Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansbury. The two main characters that influence the plot most through actions and dialogue are Walter and Lena Younger. Lena (also known as Mama) influences the plot in a positive way and does as much as she can to make her family happier. While Walter influences the plot in a negative way and brings the family down by pushing them away.