Everyone has a different dream. In the Play A raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family all had dreams that evolved as events occurred. The Younger family was a black family that consisted of Mana, her son Walter and his wife Ruth and their son Travis, and Walter’s sister Beneatha. The members of the Younger family all had dreams, specifically Walter and Beneatha, who were drastically different in many ways.
In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry the character Walter Younger had a dream that changed and evolved throughout the play. The play opened with a description of the Younger family living room in their apartment. The room was described as tired and well used (23). Walter Lee Younger was a determined man who
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She had put a down payment on a house in Clybourne Park. This made Walter especially angry because because Clybourne Park was a highly white neighborhood. Walter felt betrayed and in more ways than one. Walter being the oldest male in the house, considered himself the head of the house. Mama going off and fulfilling her dream instead of his made him irate. He called Mama out; “You run out lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it, so what you need was for me to say it was alright for? … So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talkin’ ‘bout your children’s dreams” (95). Walter wanted nothing to do with Mama. He felt cheated out of what was most likely the only opportunity he would ever have to achieve his dream. At this point, Walter was absolutely uncontrollable. He started deliberately acting out as if he was a teenage boy. It did not stay that way long though. Eventually, Walter went back to normal, but only after Mama did something that may have not been the best idea. Mama ended up giving Walter the last sixty-two hundred dollars that had not been spent. Walter instantly changed. He …show more content…
Everyone was continually on edge because of the ten thousand dollars that Mama was receiving. Beneatha Younger was a confident young woman who knew what she wanted to do with her life, but continually tried new things like guitar, and lately, photography. Beneatha and Walter, being siblings, argued frequently and for the last amount of time it had been about the ten thousand dollars. They both want to use the money for personal reasons, not thinking about other money opportunities. Walter snapped at Beneatha “She can always take a few thousand and help you through school too” (37). Walter and Beneatha constantly argued. Beneatha dreamed of becoming a doctor, yet, she still tried out other activities to be sure. Beneatha wanted Mama to give her money to put her through school, but Walter felt it would be better to give him the money instead. Just because Mama had money did not mean that she should give it to her daughter. What if someone else in the Younger family had a dream? Beneatha and Walter had dreams but so did Mama. Mama dreamed of having a house and a yard with a garden in it, but Mama also wished that she could make all of her children's dreams come true. She placed a down payment on a house, put money away for Beneatha's schooling, and then gave the rest of it to Walter. Ruth had a dream of having a happy
Mama instructed Walter to deposit three thousand for Beneatha’s medical schooling and the remaining money for the household. Walter instead made a business transaction that he believed would change his family’s life for the better, only to find out he made a grave error. Willy Harris ran off with all the money! The family is devastated and mama believe they are not able to move and decided to fix up their current home.
Walter focused solely on the money and this caused him to think that all the money is his and he can go and do as he pleases. He was obviously disappointed when Mama did not give him any of the money initially but when she entrusted him with the remaining $6,500 it brought about a sense of pride and responsibility that had long eluded him. It was almost a renewing moment for Walter as his family life changed for the better since he was now acting as the man of the house.
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
After telling the exciting news of the family moving into their own house, Walter was furiated. Mama found Walter half drunk at the bar later that day, from the aggravation and negative energy the family gave off on him earlier that day. Walter and Mama have a conversation at the bar, and Mama is willing to give him 6,500 dollars and she ask him to promise her he will put half away in the bank for Beneatha's education, giving Walter the rest toward his business partnership. At this part of the book Walter saw that Mama had trusted Walter with the money his father had worked so hard for all of his life. He promised Mama that he would not let her down. Knowing Walter being so tempted by his dream of the liquor business, he finally had a decent amount of money to put him and his family into a good position. Walter no thought in the mind, puts the full 6,500 dollars towards the liquor business leaving nothing for Beneatha. Walter being so greedy, thought he knew what was best, and yet he is running into a bigger problem he would had never
“A Raisin in the Sun” is a long play by Lorraine Hansberry. The action of it is set in Chicago, and the time of the play is between World War II and the present. There are approximately eleven mentioned characters; Ruth Younger, Travis Younger, Lena Younger and etc. The hero in “ A Raisin in the Sun” is Walter Lee Younger, who is one of the sons of Lena Younger.
In the book “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry, there were characters whose dreams were stated, some of which were shattered by greed and misfortune and others which would eventually come to be true. The first dream that came about was Walter’s dream of one day owning and maintaining a liquor store. He would do anything to attempt to get his dream to come true, but his mama wanted anything but that to happen. His mama had a dream of her own though, she dreamed of one day owning her own house, where her whole family could stay comfortably. She dreamed this because in the apartment that she resided in was too small, and dumpy, as Ruth called it. Her grandson Travis had to sleep on the couch, and all
In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry you go back in time to when segregation was still aloud. In this play you meet a cast of people with dreams of a better life. The American Dream, to be specific. This dream is portrayed differently for each character, all of which impact the play. Two of these character
Walter begins to drink, stay away from home, and to constantly argue with his wife, Ruth. Walter's life is contrasted by the role of his recently widowed mother, who holds to more traditional values of acceptance of life's lot and of making the best of any situation. Walter Lee's "Mama" holds Walter's father up as an example of a man with pride and a man that, despite racial injustice in a dualistic society, worked hard to provide for his family. This adds to Walter's frustration. Walter now feels incapable and small in his mama's eyes.
Deferred dreams are a significant component of "A Raisin in the Sun"; the word "dream" is used a total of fourteen times throughout the play. Mama,
“Check coming today?” The Life Insurance check that Mama will soon be receiving is the source of all the dreams in the Younger family. A major argument that Lorraine Hansberry makes in her play A Raisin in the Sun is the importance of dreams. Dreams are what each member of the Younger family is driven by. Mama wants to have her own home in a nice part of town; she does not want her children growing up in a place with rats. Walter wants to have a successful business so he can surpass the poverty that has plagued his family. And Beneatha wants to get a good education, become a doctor, and marry a nice man. Dreams are especially important to the Younger family as they come from a poverty laden family and desire to live the “American Dream.”
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.
Walter is upset about what Mama has done. She chose to fulfill her dream of a owning a home over anyone else’s dream.
Walter was upset when he heard his mother had spent the insurance money on the house and thought it wasn't fair that Beneatha got some of it for her medical school while he got nothing for his liquor store business. Lena, who always wanted her son to be happy, trustingly gave the rest of the insurance money to Walter. Holding the money in his hands, Walter thanked his mother and appreciated the trust she had in him. Walter then gave the money to his buddies to help him getting his liquor license without realizing that they betrayed him. As his dream crumbled to pieces, Walter was regret that he didn't listen to his mother, wife and sister.
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
After putting a down payment on the new house, Mama gives the rest of the money to Walter and ultimately gives him the role of the man of the house and to step up to take care of the family. However, Walter goes against Mama and decides to follow through with his dream and invest the money in his potential liquor store business. Although, his plans fall through when Willy, one of the “investors” runs off with the money. Not only Walter, but his whole family lose the chance of a better life and are forced to start back up again. They no longer have the money to put Beneatha through medical school or the money to support themselves. Despite the backfall, the younger family keeps trying. Even though the road ahead may be difficult, the Younger family has each other to support one another and that’s all they need. By picking themselves back up after they have lost everything, it shows that they aren’t ones known to give up at the sight of defeat. They kept trying after they had lost everything because having nothing left to lose means that things can only get better from here on out.