A Raisin In The Sun Analysis

Walter does not feel like he is the man of the house so Mama and Walter sit down and discuss it. She tells him,

Because of this new depression, Walter starts to get himself wasted every day. He hasn’t been showing up to work, and faces the prospect of losing his job. Mama, realizing the potentially catastrophic effect this can have on her family, must intervene. She gives her son the one thing he has always wanted, power. She gives him the remaining $6,500 to use as he wishes (except for the $3,000 to Beneatha’s continued

Although she is happy with mama’s decision to buy a house, Ruth is more concerned with receiving the affection of her husband and keeping him happy than the consequences or the moral implications his decisions will have. Ruth maintains the apartment they live in and most of the time, goes along with whatever Walter says. This is where Ruth and Mama differ; Mama wants Walter to be happy but not at the cost of doing something morally wrong, Ruth will do whatever it takes to make Walter happy. We see this when Ruth is contemplating having an abortion in order not to complicate living arrangements in the apartment and to allow Walter the financial means to pursue his goals. She also intends to keep it from Walter so spare him the burden of having to make a decision like that. When Mama find out about the abortion, she is appalled and says, “…we a people who give children life, not who destroys them.” Mama also succeeds in expressing her rich values and nurturing nature in Act III, Scene Three, when it is discovered that Walter has lost the remainder of the insurance money when his liquor store investment partner disappears with the money. Beneatha goes into a rage and openly expresses her hatred and contempt for her brother, and says, “He’s no brother of mine.”(Hansbury 3.3)

The story of this play is simple and the majority of African-Americans faced such issues in the 1950’s, living on the south side of Chicago, struggles with poverty, dignity and dreams of a better life. Wanting better for your children and trying to fit in, while maintaining family values. A Raisin in the Sun is an excellent example of the relationship between family values and conflict. In this play it portrays: values and purpose of dreams, the need to fight for racial discrimination and the importance of family.

    Lorraine Hansberry faced many obstacles in her life which has made her  write this book A “Raisin in the Sun.” As said in Blooms Literature “She was the youngest of four children whose parents were well-educated, middle-class activists centrally engaged in the fight against racial discrimination. Early figures in the Civil Rights movement.” In the book “A Raisin in the Sun,” the first play written by an African American she made through experiences of  black people who live on Chicago’s South Side, Hansberry used members of her family as inspiration for her characters. Lorraine Hansberry life had comparisons in this book dealing with poverty

Mama says this after Beneatha tells Mama that there is nothing left in her brother, Walter to love. Mama’s dream of a better quality of life is deferred because she has carry the responsibility of tending to a family with so much indifference and of holding together the few pieces of her family left together.

Walter’s masculinity is being questioned in both the play and the movie. It is clear that Mama is the head of the family. Walter cannot provide for his own family and that really gets to him. He has to step up his game and he finally did when he declined Mr. Linder’s proposition.

Even though own personal dreams can not be completed, she lives though her children, assisting them in achieving their own dreams. Despite the generation gap, Mama is a strong influencer and the head of the household, so much so that she is stripping Walter Lee of his manliness by not allowing him to take charge. She as well will not permit Beneatha from speaking unruly about her religion in her own home. After Walter Lee exceeds to Mama that he needs to be a man and become the one who administers the family, Mama steps down from the throne and gives the crown to her son. Mama comes to terms that if Walter Lee does not become the head of the household, the family will no longer be

In the play A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry, a story about an African American family living in Chicago. The book illustrates what the daily problems of an average black family had to deal with while living in America in the 1950s and their struggle of overcoming obstacles to reach their “dream”. Hansberry use this novel to address topics such as racism, racial inequality, and racial discrimination. In 1954, many people during that time supported segregation. People perceived whites and blacks completely different and people wanted them to be separate. Everywhere in the south had “whites only” or “colored”, and many wanted to keep it that way. History will always repeat itself and people are not

Mama implies that the money was more than just currency, but what is left of her husband’s dream to bring success to his family. She is terribly disappointed with Walter for losing all of the money so easily, and not putting it toward to what he promised. Because of this great loss, Walter is still left with no money. His dream to become wealthy is now at the bottom of the gutter, all over again, and he has to work even harder as well as gain his confidence back in order to fish it out.

There is conflict through the remainder of the play between Mama and Walter because he blames her for the loss of his dream. Walter had a dream of investing in a liquor store. He thought it would make him millions of dollars, and allow him to provide for his family. Eventually, she decides to allow Walter to have control of the remainder of the money. She gives specific instructions to set-aside a portion of the remaining money for Beneatha’s education and the rest was for him to decide (107). She does not exert this control over her children for the sake of maintaining power, rather to continue to provide for them. She willingly relinquishes her power as matriarch and tells Walter “to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be” (107). Putting the happiness of her children before her own is what almost any mother would do.

After Mama tells Walter she was out taking care of business Walter replies with ”What kind of business?” This short simple reply from Walter gives the effect that he’s worried about something and wants an answer quick. Walter being in such a state of worrisome shows that he is really worried about the money and if Mama spent it or not. The insurance money was key to Walter’s plans of owning his own liquor store. After Mama isn’t quick to answer Walter’s first few questions he grows even more restless and says, “Where were you, Mama? Mama, you didn’t do something with that insurance money, something crazy?” Finally, Mama answers saying she took care of business Walter gets even more upset because he could tell she used the insurance money and could almost see his dream crumbling before his very own eyes. Lorraine Hansberry asks numerous questions when she writes as Walter in order to create a sense of urgency and worry on the whereabouts of the money. This is an example that supports the theme because Walter dreamt of having his own liquor store while Mama and much of their family dreamt of living in a nicer house, which she decided to

Lorraine Hansberry, the author of the play A Raisin in the Sun, indicates that she had always felt a need to put her life experiences in the black neighborhood in writing. In his book, she depicts in a realistic manner of the African-American life. The play portrays black characters combined with themes and conflicts naturally and realistically. A Raisin in the Sun provided a twist in the American art as it highlighted on key issues which were unfolding in the U.S in the 1950s. Despite the economic boom experienced after World War II, there was growing racial tension and domestic tension.

Mama’s issue seems to be her low-self-esteem. One example of this is when she describes herself of being man-like and large. “I am a large, big.boned woman with rough, man.working hands” (Walker, 5). The way Mama views herself physically affects her internally and the decisions she made in her life regarding both of her daughters lead back to her inner conflict. Mama tries to steer the readers away from herself because she doesn’t consider herself much of anything. However, the way she physically describes herself is not what she hopes to be. For example, in Mama’s dream, she is on a television show with her older daughter Dee and she is a hundred pounds lighter with nicer hair. “… a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake. My hair glistens in the hot bright lights” (Walker 5). This shows the inner struggle Mama faces with the way she views herself. Her insecurity has led her to want to look like other people; she does not particular like the way she looks but must endure it. Mama’s other issue is her lack of worldliness. Mama knows her place and knows not to look directly into someone’s eyes. One example of this is her fear

Life in the 1950’s was racist and hard for black people. Most blacks worked for upper class whites. Their dreams appeared to be out of reach. Although hoping for a better tomorrow, they still dreamed of a perfect day. Because of the hardship black men and women faced; their personalities, dreams and work ethics differed. In the short play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, although there are similarities in their work ethics; the personalities and dreams of the characters are as different as night and day.