Raisin In The Sun

Walter Lee Younger's route, which was filled with riskiness and impulsiveness, exemplified the road taken by blacks who had been oppressed so much that they followed their dreams with blind desperation. Though Walter was the only adult male in his family, he did not assume the role as "man of the house." His mother, Lena was the

Although she is pregnant, it is not even definite that Ruth will be having her baby. She feels this way at first because of the family’s life. Ruth does not want raise another child in the same way of life she is raising Travis, not even able to afford money needed for his schooling. This shows how bad the family's living situation really is because Ruth is a loving mother who dreams of a happy family, living a good life without just barely getting by. She wants to have an abortion because Ruth believes it is worse to bring a child into a household that is reliant on a

* Ruth carried a legal paper that says the date when she arrived in America. She carried it everywhere because she didn’t want to be thrown out if she was questioned.

Walter Lee Younger a 35 year old man, who lives in a house with his Wife Ruth, Son Travis, Sister Beneatha, and Mother Lena. Walter is greedy, ambitious, and shallow. He obviously shows these characteristics during the play by the way he act towards his family and outsiders. For example, since Walter is unsatisfied with his life he takes it out on Ruth when she was simply just telling him to eat his eggs because they're going to get cold, “ 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 to him is stories about how rich white people live.” Walter says selfishly to Ruth after ignoring what is saying. After Walter complains to Ruth about his life she simply says again to him again, “Eat your eggs, Walter.” He became very angry after hearing Ruth repeat this sentence a few times, jumps up, slams on the table and says, “DAMN MY EGGS-- DAMN ALL THE EGGS THAT EVER WAS! This shows that if Walter is not happy then he will make sure that everyone in his family will know. Also, Working for a rich white man as a chauffeur, puts Walter down because he only wishes he could be the person in the back seat. “Honey, you never say nothing new. I listen to you every day, every night, and every morning, and you never say nothing new. So you would rather be Mr. Arnold than be his chauffeur. So-- I would rather be living in Buckingham

Ruth had kids, Kenneth Donald Wakefield, Jr; and Mary Jane Wakefield. Jane would cook with Ruth, while Kenneth would often worked with his father fixing up the hotel. The hotel required fixing up for it frequently had leaked. Though the hotel was damaged, it’s fame was still going strong as ever due to Ruth’s

When Ruth was growing up, she was given twisted views on what family was supposed to be like, but she still stayed loyal to her family. Ruth talks about her high school graduation, “ I told her, “Frances, I’m not sure I can go into that church.” She said, “ I understand, Ruth. I’ll graduate by myself, then, because I don’t want to graduate next to anyone but you.” Well, I felt like I couldn’t let that happen, so I said, “ I can go it, let’s go.” We took a picture in our caps and gowns and got in line, double file, and marched together. The line marched out of Suffolk High’s schoolyard and onto Main Street and

Page 59-This was not the 1st roundup Ruth’s family experienced so they were a little more prepared.

When I first read “A Raisin in the Sun” I thought it to be quite humorous and lighthearted. However after reading it again for a second time I noticed that while it is humorous, it is also set in a time where things were far from lighthearted for African Americans. This particular play was set in the 1950’s which was a very difficult time for the United States in regards to race relations. I thoroughly enjoyed this story not only because of the controversy within the family unit but also because at the end of the play the family made do with what they had and cared for each other regardless of mistakes made along the way. In my opinion the underlying message is that blood is thicker than water, or in this case money.

We had no family life, the store was our life, we worked from morning till night, except for school, and Tateh had us timed for that. He’d be standing in the road outside the store with his hands on his hips at three P.M. sharp looking down the road for me, and Sam, and later Dee-Dee (McBride 41). Life before her family, Ruth was living in not the best of conditions that was available to her. Her childhood was basically all work, after her rabbi father lost his job, and started working in a convenience store. Any free time

Ruth’s family moved a lot because of her father’s job as a traveling rabbi. She says that he was hard a rock and because of this they didn’t stay in one place for very long. Once Jewish congregations figured him out they sent him away. For a Jew in Ruth’s time there were no many jobs available so most of them had to travel and preach. Because of this, Ruth moved around very often when she was young.

After that comment Ruth was furious and heavily

This particular group found themselves left behind in inner-city housing, as middle class African Americans moved further away for the suburbs. For this growing middle class, “physical separation from poor and working-class blacks was an important emblem of class status.” (Wiese 116) This reinforcement of class differences implied which “rights that each group should enjoy.” (Wiese 118) Lorraine Hansberry illustrates these supposed “rights” and class conflicts through the characters of the middle class George Murchison and the working class Mrs. Johnson.

The physical and mental abuse Ruth experiences

Lorraine Hansberry in “A Raisin in the Sun” utilizes Walter Lee Younger to personify one’s desire to lead a life of poise and dignity, through his disapproval of indebted servitude. When Mama attempts to subside Walter’s thoughts of unappreciation, following his expression of frustration, Walter assertively debates, illustrating his yearning for a dignifying lifestyle.

For the Younger family, having a good paying job is a part of their American Dream, but sadly they have a difficult time trying to achieve this aspect of the dream due to their race. Most African Americans during the 1950’s made significantly less money than White Americans. “The average black household income in 1955 ($2,890) was 55 percent of that of white households ($5,228)” (Fuller par. 4). This difference in income was because of the jobs that were open for colored individuals. Like Mama, Ruth and Walter, most Blacks had service jobs that usually served Whites. For instance, Walter is a chauffeur for a white man. This low paying job barely allows him to provide for his family and definitely does not fulfill his American Dream. Walter states “I open and close car doors all day long. I drive a man around in his limousine…. That ain 't no kind of job…. Sometimes it’s like I can see the future stretched out in front of me…, just waiting for me” (Hansberry 477-478). Walter aspires for a better job, which leads him to want to use Mama’s money to invest in a liquor store, but his race keeps him confined to blue-collar jobs. Back