The Importance Of Money In A Raisin In The Sun

“Me and Ruth done made some sacrifices for you – why can’t you do something for the family?” (Hansberry 1.1.118). The Younger family has grown up without much and when the father dies, he leaves an inheritance that can get the family into a comfortable living position. The only problem is that they all want to use the money for different reasons. Each character wants to make their own dreams come true. They do not want to sacrifice their own dreams to please the others. Unwilling to make a sacrifice proves to bring more animosity in a family as shown in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry through conflict involving money and how the characters handle their actions.

During the 1950s in Chicago blacks were in poverty. The city was filled with discrimination, racism and segregation. The Younger family was a black family living in a one bedroom apartment in Chicago at the time. They had big dreams but lack of money. In the play, A raisin in the sun, Lorraine Hansberry created the central idea of “feeling trapped” in the character Mama through the setting, symbolism, and figurative language.

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. Mama made a decision that put Walter in charge of the remaining money, however she did not know that this decision might not have been the best for the Younger family. Walter was hesitant in taking the money, but Mama reassures Walter by saying, "I ain't ever stop trusting you" (Hansberry 546). This line from Mama foreshadows the possibility that Walter will not obey her and do something foolish with the money. Walter proves this foreshadowing as he is talking to Travis and says, "...your daddy's gonna make a transaction... a business transaction that's going to change our lives" (Hansberry 547). In this line, Walter is hinting at the liquor store investment, that no one in the family approves. A few days later, Bobo pays the Younger's a visit to update Walter on the investment. Walter finds out, along with the rest of the family, that Willy, their other business partner took all of the money and ran off with it. This upsets the whole family and Mama says to Walter, "You mean...your sister's school money...you used that too...?" (Hansberry 561). On page 561, Walter finally admits to his mother that he never went to the bank and instead, invested the money in the liquor business. This has a lot of impact on Benetha because she lost $3,000 for schooling as well as Travis. It affects Travis because previously on page 547, Walter says to Travis, "Just tell me where you want to go, and you'll go". Walter promises Travis that the money Mama gave Walter will change their lives forever. Now that the money is gone, there is

“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.

Money is often what is associated with greed in this world. It can blind people to the point where they disregard the situation of all others. In the play “A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter Lee wants the money that was left from his late father’s life insurance to invest in a liquor store. Everyone else in the family thinks that it’s a very bad idea. His mother, also known as Mama, is the one receiving the money, and wants it to be spent on bettering the family. But Walter is forgetting the situation that the family is in,

When people are poor, they often have a lot of problems in their life. They struggle through every day, but they learn to appreciate everything that they have. However, when people are going through tough times, they often think that money will solve all of their problems. In “A Raisin In The Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, she guides the audience through a black family -- impacted by the need for money -- living on the south side of Chicago. The Younger family gets Lena Younger’s dead husband’s insurance check and buys a house in a white neighborhood, and they save the remainder of the money for Beneatha’s medical degree and for starting a liquor store. Willy Harris steals the $6,500 used to start the liquor store and for Beneatha’s college money,

By the end of “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger’s lives are beginning to improve. Compared to the state of the family at the opening of the play, most considered that play ends on a joyous moment. However; that is not so for the Younger family. The way the play ends is not a happy ending because the Younger family does not have the funds that they need, two people are further from their dreams, and they are moving into a neighborhood to could be dangerous for them. Although one may be excited that things appear to be better for the Younger’s, the reality is that things could possibly be worse for them.

money. Mama, Walter’s mother and the head of the house, is put in the play to display family is greater than money. When the plot takes a direction change and the family receives insurance money from Mama’s dead husband, the attitude in the household shifts. Always being a family oriented woman, Mama, even with ten thousand dollars is still sad that her husband isn’t there to share the great fortune with him. This clearly displays Mama’s core values and why Lorraine Hansberry put her in the play to show these

In the play A Raisin in the Sun, the man in the house; Walter makes a quick decision to give insurance money to the character Willy Harris so he could buy a liquor store. As a result, his decision causes Willy Harris to take the money which causes an apathetic mood in the story and creates a loss of hope in the family. This shows Walter to be spontaneous and quick to trust. Walter has always had dreams of owning a liquor store because he thought he would make profit. He’s very passionate about his fantasy, “...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.”(79) But none of his relatives think it’s a smart idea. Later on, his mother

Poems are tools used to demonstrate dissatisfaction. The play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry leads by foreshadowing its theme of crushed dreams by starting with the poem A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes. The play follows an African-American family in 1950s Chicago, consisting of protagonist Walter Lee Younger, his son Travis, his wife and Travis’ mother Ruth, sister Beneatha, and mother/grandmother Lena, called simply “Mama” in the play. Walter is ambitious and wants to move out of his small and run-down home and find a better job than a chauffeur for the kind of man he wishes he could be. Desperate to fulfill this dream, he takes $6,500 of his mother’s insurance money that she obtains shortly beforehand following the death of Walter Sr. and strikes a deal with two friends of his to purchase a liquor store. This causes him to be scammed by one of them. Langston Hughes’ poem accurately represents the state of the family after Walter’s investment.

Everyone learns lessons in life. These lessons can come from a book, experience and legends. Books have a theme that you can learn from that is what make books important. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry both have the themes of responsibility, family and dream that runs through the main characters Tom Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie and Walter Lee Younger from A Raisin in The Sun.

A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period. The famous play shows the audience the life it was like to live as a black female, and shows the struggles that the Young family faced being the first African American family to move into a white neighborhood. This play is considered a

Money is one of the things in the world that a person can become obsessed with. In the story “A Raisin in the sun” the author Lorraine Hansberry shows how a family is changed by the lust of money. A widow, Lena, her son Walter Younger, his wife Ruth and daughter Beneatha all lived under the same roof. Lena just lost her husband and is receiving a check for his death. With the money, Lena wants to buy a new house for the whole family to live in but everyone else in the family sees a different type of opportunity. 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.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the characters of Mama, Walter ,and Beneatha are faced with hardships associated with their dreams being destroyed by discriminatory housing,racial inequality and lack of support from her family towards her education. In the play all the characters have some kind of dream. Mama wants to get a house for the family, Walter wants to have money to provide for his family and plans to do that with a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to become a doctor. Beneatha is going to school and at the same time she’s trying to discover herself,but her family is not supportive of this. Mama did unfortunately lose her husband, and the family is receiving a life insurance check for $10,000.

Chicago served as a home to numerous walks of life in the 1950’s, and much of the differences in realities were based on differences in race and people’s opinions of segregation. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun is based off of real life experiences, and it authentically tells the story of an african american family that strives for equality and The American Dream. Walter Younger, the father of the family, battles with deferred dreams of his own and for his family. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun and Nina Simone’s song “I Wish I knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” both portray Walter’s emotions throughout his daily struggles with his family as they dealt with segregation and destitution.