Raisin In The Sun Perseverance

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.

The new house, the money and even Mama’s “raggedy looking” plant are all symbols of the book A Raisin in the Sun which is portrayed to parallel the difficulties presented to minorities in America. A Raisin in the Sun, yet more specifically, captures the concept of the struggles the African Americans endured during the period of the book, late 1940s to 1950. In the book the characters each reflects the stereotype of the typical Afro-American in America trying to make the best out of their opportunities, each symbol in the book represents the ideal situations correlated with it the struggles.

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work” This quote by Colin Powell reminds a person of the Younger family in A Raisin in the Sun written by Larraine Hansberry. It is a drama and is about a black family that lives in southside Chicago in a small apartment. They are waiting on an insurance check for $10,000 due to the father’s passing. Mama put downpayment on a house in this drama/play. There are three main objects of symbolism. They are light, plant and window however the strongest are the light and the plant.

Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun is modeled after Langston Hughes 1959 poem “Dream Deferred.” Hughes asked “What happens to a dream deferred?” (l. 1). And later goes on to saying “dry up like a raisin in the sun” (l. 2-3) and “stink like rotten meat” (l. 6). The Young family all have their personal dreams and are all deferred at some point. Walter wants to achieve riches by investing the money from the insurance check into a liquor store. His sister Beneatha would rather have the insurance money to herself and pay for her medical school. Both Mama and Ruth want to leave the tiny house they are cramped in and move into a nicer home, mainly for Travis. They want Travis to have his own room, not a living room and coach, but an

Mama uses her money to buy a house for her family not just for her dream but to make everyone happy, especially her grandson, Travis. “She went out and bought you a house!” (2.2). Even though Mama does not have faith in Walter’s dreams she still gives him her remaining money to invest. Walter jeopardizes the family by losing all of Mama’s money back-tracking them, leaving no money for Beneatha’s college savings. Soon Walter comes to realize how important this new house is to the family Walter declines the offer to sell the new house. “And we have decided to move into our new house because my father-my father- her earned it for us brick by brick. We don't want no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. and that's all we go to say about that. We don’t want your money.(2.3)” This shows Walter has come to value family as his mother

In A Raisin In the Sun, Mama’s delicate plant exhibits her family’s deferred dreams for a better future, which have struggled to survive under the difficulties of life in Chicago’s South Side. The Youngers is an African-American family, who received a $10,000 life insurance check as a result of the death of Mama Younger’s husband. The play takes place in the 1950’s and during that time there was a lot of discrimination, oppression, and deferred dreams in an all-white society. But, with the life-insurance check, it was a chance for the Younger’s to escape poverty and try to fulfill their dreams.

Walter wants to open a liquor store with his friends and not be a driver for white folks anymore. Walter also wants to be the man in charge, and head of the house hold. One conflict between them is their fathers inherence of life insurance money that “Mama” is getting. They both criticize one another`s dreams and self. Walter by doubting Beneatha telling her to be a nurse or just get married an be a house wife.

A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. The struggles of living in a segregationist, and discriminatory America are brought to the table through the daily struggles of the Younger family, to have a better life. The play is set on the Southside of Chicago sometime between WWII and the 1950’s. The two characters that most influence the plot are Ruth and Mama. They develop the plot because they both must deal with Walter’s unruly behavior.

To begin, in “ A Raisin in the Sun” is about a family’s desire to achieve their individual dreams. The dreams Walter has is to go into business with two of his colleagues. He dreams of making an investment on a liquor store with the insurance money the family is waiting to receive. With the hopes of the success of the business, he plans on giving his wife, son, sister and mother a better life. Thus, giving his family the “ American Dream.”

Walter, finds himself coming to the conclusion that life is much, much more than materialistic pleasures/riches. Mama wants to be perceived the same, as the rest of society, in the means of being

     Walter dreams of owning a liquor store, and he shows this throughout the whole play. Walter feels that “don’t nothing happen for you in this world ‘less you pay somebody off!” Owning a liquor store is Walter’s American dream, as he believes that it will provide him and his family with a greater income so they will not have to live in poverty anymore. However, Hansberry shows through Mama how they have different views of the American dream when she tells Walter that the liquor store would be un-Christian like and that they should spend the money on a new house instead. Hansberry makes Mama more convincing by showing her carrying a Bible as she comes out of her room in the first scene. Mama also is seen asking God for help and talking about God throughout the play. This is shown when Walter admits that the money Mama gave him was gone because his partner took it and Mama says “Oh, God… look down here – and show me the strength.” Mama is very angry that Walter wasted all of Beneatha’s school money, but she doesn’t let her temper get the best of her and instead goes to God for support.

I don’t know what it is – but he needs something – something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena.” (Act 1 Scene 1) Walter is not happy with his life and Ruth knows it, she is asking Mama to give him some of the insurance money to start his business. When Walter is given some of the insurance money he becomes more affectionate with Ruth.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry has many symbols that are very important, but three stand out from the rest. Mama’s plant, Linder, and the money, are three very important symbols. Each symbol represents different things that play a major role in the production. Every person in the play has a dream, but Mama’s is not clearly stated. The plant represents her dream to have a garden.

The idea of family is a central theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry alludes to the Old Testament book of Ruth in her play to magnify “the value of having a home and family”(Ardolino 181). The Younger family faces hardships that in the moment seem to tear them apart from one another, but through everything, they stick together. The importance of family is amplified by the choices of Walter and Beneatha because they appear to initiate fatal cracks in the Younger family’s foundation, but Mama is the cement who encourages her family to pull together as one unit. The hardships of the family help develop a sense of unity for the Younger household.

Today I began reading the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. This play follows the life of a poor African American family, the Youngers, trying to get by on the little money they have. The Younger family of five live in a small apartment in Chicago. The family consists of Walter Younger, Ruth, his wife, Travis, their son, Beneatha, Walter’s sister, and Lena, Walter and Beneatha’s mother. The first person we learn about is Ruth. Ruth is a very independent woman that runs the household. Although Ruth is in her thirties, she is aging due to stress. Walter wants to be very successful and wants to invest into a liquor store. Travis is the young son of Ruth and Walter. Beneatha is very intelligent and attends college in hopes of becoming