The Glass Menagerie And A Raisin In The Sun

“People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get” – Fredrick Douglass. The Life of Fredrick Douglass by Fredrick Douglass was published in 1845. He was a slave who ran away to the North to be labeled as free in America. He soon became an abolitionist who was the voice of civil and political rights of slaves. On the other hand, a play called, A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1959, expresses how wealth is a dream in Walter’s eyes. The setting is illustrated in Southside Chicago and shows the struggle of a black family trying to prejudices when wanting to become successfully wealthy. Between these 2 excerpts, they show that their lives are similar, but have more differences in fulfilling their American Dream.

Greed. Betrayal. Mistrust. Slimy. Selfish. These are all traits that would describe Walter Lee and his actions. Walter Lee is a character from the play A Raisin in the Sun in which a black family tries to get out of poverty and go against stereotypes by trying to start over with their Grandpa’s life insurance money. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry explores the concept that greed leads to being blinded by money and forgetting about one’s loved ones as shown by the climax of the play, the character of Walter Lee, and the effect that his actions have on the rest of his family.

In A Raisin in The Sun there is certainly a lot of loss to go through, as well as many different and opposing values. Walter, for example, was obsessed with being able to provide for his family and have the money to show for it. In his attempts to achieve this goal he ends up bankrupting the family and leaving them much worse off than before, all through his own selfishness and sense of pride. Walter at first wants to open a liquor store with the money left over by his late father, figuring it would be a good way to get easy money for the family, though his family are against this idea.

In some plays the experience of an important character changes him or her; this can be said about Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. A perfect example of a changed character from this play is Walter Lee Younger. Through the trials and tribulations that him and his family are made to face he becomes a better man.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the character Walter Lee Younger, displays the demeanor of a character in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. In Hurston’s book, Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, was a woman with a very stubborn mindset on life, very similar to Walter Lee who presumably had life all figured out. They were portrayed as the antagonist in the novels but were just characters that meant well and had good intentions. Walter Lee Younger and Nanny are portrayed as selfish and emotionless characters by few critics but digging deeper into their situations and their decision making, they just wanted better for their loved ones and they both wanted one thing, a better life, whether it benefited themselves or the special people in their lives. To help better understand Walter Lee and Nanny, their actions verses intentions, along with the meaning behind what they did, and the reasoning behind it all will be broken down and examined throughout the paper. Inferring from the novels, both characters having similar lives, similar beliefs and share similar perceptions on how to make it the world they live in. Their experiences were the driving force and motivation behind their actions.

“There is no education like adversity” (Disraeli), is a quote which describes Walter Lee Younger, a 35 year old African-American man who undergoes many adversities until he becomes a strong leader who unifies his family. Walter achieves this growth by facing and learning from his many misfortunes. After the death of his father, Big Walter, Walter’s family is given a small fortune from insurance. Walter, believing he is doing what is best for the family, tries to invest the money only to lose it all. This event leaves Walter feeling hopeless but he manages to learn from this mistake and make a choice that unites his family and rekindles their trust in him. As a result of his adversities, Walter loses what he thought to be everything only to realize there’s more to life than money and power.

A Raisin in the Sun is a book about an african american family living in New York in a low income area. The whole family lives in one tiny apartment and there is only one person working.

Lorraine Hansberry, born May 19, 1930, made a very prominent contribution to society in her short lived life. She was born to a middle class family as the youngest of four children. Her father was a successful real estate broker who also founded one of the first Negro banks in Chicago (#1 247). In 1938, Lorraine’s father took a stand against the real estate covenants in Chicago due to the fact that they legally promoted housing discrimination. He chose to move his family into a predominantly white neighborhood to prove his point. The court case led to a lot of hostility from those around the Hansberrys. There was a violent attack on the family’s home by a mob who threw bricks into the house while shouting. Even with this reaction to the family

By investing his father’s insurance money Walter Lee creates conflict for his family which shows betrayal. Walter Lee, being the family man he is, takes a large gamble and tries to turn their living situation around. This gamble does not pay off as Willie Harris runs away with his families money leaving them with

Walter Lee ignores Ruth For most of the play and what she really wants for the family. Walter chooses to only focuses on what he believes the family should have.Walter Lee 's behavior towards her is taking a real toll on Ruth ,this is what has contributed to the deterioration of their relationship.

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. And that’s all we got to say about that,” (148). By saying this Walter demonstrates maturity for he firmly put Lindner down by articulating, “that’s all we got to say about that.” Resolutely but kindly telling Lindner that he and his family don’t change their minds so easily, and that they don’t care about the offer. Walter also hints that Clybourne Park has no right to ask them to leave and that there is no problem with the Younger family being in this all-white

Amanda continually reminds Tom and Laura of their traditional responsibilities, she also has them bound and imposes her social morays into their conscience, ill-fitting as it is, and out of place in the present era, Amanda not only castigates Tom and Laura repeatedly as she worries that Tom will turn out like his father (1621), and that it is improper and unacceptable for Laura to become an “old maid”. Her self-righteous attitude brings her to a point where she realizes her sacrifices have made her children disrespectful to her (1621).

Introduction Both these play namely rising in the sun and Glass menagerie primary focus is on the American dream this is shown through characters in the play they fail to live up to their potential. Both plays show the importance of dream regardless of various struggles that people come across

She's been acting weird since the night of the play... we made plans for lunch easiler, and I need to get there a little early so I can talk to Andrea about the plans for Melinda's birthday.

n Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie the most noteworthy and pressing theme is the fact that neither of the characters, in this memory play, can accept the harsh truth of their realities. Imprisoned by the impossibility of true escape is clearly imbedded in each character. Tom wants to escape his familial prison, paralleling his father’s escape. Amanda is in a stronger prison of her own, the prison of her imaginative past. Laura’s escape from her prison is apparent by her collection of fragile, make-believe glass figurines. The central symbolism of the glass figurines, is Laura’s dangerously delicate, incredibly fanciful fragility of her imagination.