Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Walter has changed his whole family. He has started so much conflict with all his family. His family at this rate will be better off without him. “You ain’t looked at it yet and you don’t aim to speak on that again? You ain’t looked at it and you have decided-well, you tell that to my boy tonight when you put him to sleep on the living room couch.” This just shows how much he wants to have HER money for himself because he is selfish and a shallow person. He is the reason why the family is tearing apart. Also, Walters actions show how edgy and inpatient he is. (Violently flinging the coat after her) He starts to get very violent, he flings things, slams doors, yells at mama, and starts to get verbally abusive towards her. He doesn’t know how to let things go and how to think in another person’s perspective. He only wants to do what he wants, he doesn’t care what the other family members want he just knows what he wants to get and forces the decision upon them all.

Inspired by Langston Hughes poem the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on Broadway in 1959. The play tells a tale of an impoverished black family living in Chicago’s Southside who is about to receive a hefty life insurance check. Although the plays setting is likely the 1940’s, A Raisin in the Sun can be best understood when viewed in the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s in America because of its theme of dreams and its systematic racism and segregation. The systematic racism and segregation present thought out the play can be best understood if put in the context of the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Out of all the characters in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, there are two main ones that influence the plot. Mama and Walter impact the plot the most because both characters have different perspectives and their actions significantly shape the plot.

The play “ A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry shows three generation of women under the same roof and the struggle each women face, the dreams that they had and how they overcome the obstacle in their life to move on to something better. The women in the family has had to sacrifice a lot to make the family either happy or progress further in life.

His search for wealth not only affects himself but also his family. Not only does Walter ask Mama for his father’s life insurance money, he also refuses to act responsibly with his wealth “In fact, here’s another fifty cents…Buy yourself some fruit today—or take a taxicab to school or something” (31)! In this quote, Walter gives money to Travis against Ruth’s wishes. The passage exemplifies Walter’s desires to have power and wealth. He takes power from Ruth by going against what she has already told Travis. Walter uses money as a way to exercise this power, even if it may not be pragmatic for the family. From his perspective, he has the right to exercise his authority, because he is the man of the house. Walter thinks he has to exert this power due to his feelings of insecurity. He feels left out of prosperity and notices many instances of wealth in the outside

There is no doubt that Lorraine Hansberry uses her play, A Raisin in the Sun, as a platform to give her opinions and observations on the black community and of the racism they faced in the mid-1900s. Her play is filled with commentary

The play of "A Raisin in the Sun" displays the optimistic dreams that African Americans carry with them when they come up north. This play follows the Youngers in their journey to accomplish some of those goals they hold. This paper will go through the dreams of the family and whether or not they are accomplished or fall just short in the end. The Youngers family is a moderately sized family. The main characters who have aspirations being Walter Lee, Beneatha, Ruth and Mama.

The lines delivered by Walter clearly demonstrate one thing, he is lost in the world. He does not have anything to hold onto to center himself in the world and as written by Hansberry, he spends what little money he makes going out to the bars and partaking in highly risky business ventures. However, a little later in the play, their lives are looking up, because since the death of Walter’s father, the insurance company is sending them a $10,000 dollar check. Now, that kind of money can completely change their lives, in fact, Mama, Walter’s mother, uses a portion of the money to go out and buy a house, in a white neighborhood. When Mama has made this known to the family, they are all over joyed, and she decides, after proving himself otherwise untrustworthy, to handle the rest of the money, including money for Beneatha, Walter’s sister, and her schooling.

Discrimination is seen constantly throughout the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Mrs. Hansberry has shown us that the 1950’s was a time of racism and she depicts it through her book and with her characters. Walter for example can’t even talk to Bobo on the street without a cop telling them something. She clearly demonstrates this through her book on how the 1950’s was like with racism, segregation, and gender inequality. In fact racism was a major part in her play and in the 1950’s.

This is shown in a conversation between Walter and mama when he says, “Mama. I never.went to the bank at all”, while mama replies with, “You mean.your sister's school money.you used all of that too. Walter?” (102). This quote proves that Walters ambitious attitude has only reflected his selfishness, because of only using the money for himself and ultimately, letting his family down.

Walter Lee Younger is a man who does not comply with his promises to his family; additionally, he lets his desire to take precedent before everything and everyone in his life. This takes place in Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin In The Sun. Although some people have sympathy for him believing that he took decisions while being under pressure, Walter Lee Younger´s words, actions, and business venture make him selfish. Some people assume that due to segregation back in the late 1850´s, is to be blamed for Walter´s warped way of thinking.

The pursuit of happiness has been a driving force behind mankind’s decisions throughout the course of human history. Everyone has their interpretations of happiness, and how to achieve it, the Youngers all have their individual dreams, but in the end, they choose to invest in a house to take a step towards the betterment of the family. In the beginning of the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family received a check of $10,000 for the death insurance of Walter Younger, also known as Big Walter. Everyone has their idea on how to expend the money to assist them in their pursuit of happiness.

In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry all the characters have big dreams, especially Mama. Mama’s dream and personality affects the dream’s of everyone around her in either a positive or negative way. Her caring, honest, and grateful characteristics help her develop the theme of dreams.

After World War II, African Americans had unequal opportunities in many aspects of their lives. A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, mirrors the conflicts endured by African-Americans after World War II who were hoping to better their lives, but still held back by the racism and bigotry of earlier eras. Despite the legal barriers of segregation in the 1950s, black families were still being denied access to jobs, higher education, and particularly as it relates to the play, desirable neighborhoods in which to raise their families. At this time, black families like the Youngers, had planned living arrangements from zoning issues. They were blocked from the neighborhoods because of covenants and racial steering matters. The

Social or political issues of the time period can be portrayed in books or plays written during that time. One example is A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. This play portrays many social issues, for example the achievement of the American Dream and racial tension and discrimination. Sexism is another social issue that is prominent in A Raisin in the Sun. There are the gender stereotypes for both male and female.