A Raisin In the Sun by Robert Nemiroff portrays a few weeks in the life of the Youngers, a black family’s struggle to buy a house in a white neighborhood in South Side of Chicago. They are about receive an insurance check for ten thousand that comes form the death of Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the family members in this apartment has an idea with spending this money to make the family better. The patriarch of the family, Mrs. Younger, wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she has with her husband. Walter would rather than use the money to invest in a liquor store with his friends. He believes that the investment will solve the family’s financial problems forever. Walter’s wife, Ruth, agree with Mama, however, hopes they …show more content…
She knows that the family, education and society rule are so important. She is not very well educated, but she insists to maintain the personality that people are supposed to be. “Now don’t you start child. It’s to early in the morning to be talking about money. It ain’t Christian.” (41) In the morning, Ruth and Mama has a conversation in kitchen. Ruth tells Mama that Walter wants to use father’s insurance money to invest a liquor company. Mama cannot completely agree with her son. Mama complains that once upon a time freedom used to be life, but now it’s money. On the other hand, she loves her husband because he is worth to be loved. Mama wishes her sun modeled himself after his father. She never felt shame of being laundryman. She is respectably dressed as much as possible. She is a high head when in front of those white people who despise black people. “I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers—but ain’t nobody in my family never ley nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the warth. We ain’t never been that poor. We ain’t never been that—dead inside.” (143) After she buys the house, the white people in community try to ding out the Youngers’ family. They pay more money to ask them move out. As a black woman, Mama is proud of her skin and keeps her unique personality. She refer to live harder, rather than letting people trampling on her with money.
Walter Lee
The drama A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, shows the life of the Youngers, an African-American family living on the Southside of Chicago in the 1950s. In the beginning, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance check for $10,000. This money comes from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. Each of the adult members of the family has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with this money. Mama, wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she shared with her husband. Mama’s son, Walter Lee, would rather use the money to invest in a liquor store with his friends. He believes that the investment will solve the family’s financial problems forever. Beneatha, Walter’s sister and Mama’s daughter, wants to use the money for her medical school tuition. Ruth, Walter’s wife, discovers that she is pregnant, but
After the first argument with Linder, Walter makes him an unofficial deal which leads to Mama and Ruth being disappointed in him, and motivates Walter to contact Linder again, only to hear him say- “Well, I certainly was glad to hear from you people.” Linder refers to the Younger family as “you people”, implying the fact that they are below equal. This shows how segregation really leads to unfairness in more aspects than one, including communication. Linders response sets something off within Mama. Mama is a very proud individual when it comes to her race and culture, so Linder making her family this offer does not interest her at all, in fact, Mama gets very unhappy with Walter because of his unofficial agreement with Linder. She then says to Walter-“Son I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth.” This quote reveals how upset Mama is with the Linder situation and how the way they are treated impacts
(page 45-46)” In the first act alone, the audience is shown the great disparities between the American dream for a white man and the American dream for people of color. However, now with this insurance money from Big Walter’s death, there is a chance of someone their dream, the problem that the Younger’s face is which someone should get to use the money. Beneatha needs it for college to become a doctor, Walter needs it to invest in a liquor store so he can finally “be somebody.” But Mama wants to use that money to buy a house. She wants to leave their current rented apartment and she wants a nice house in the suburbs where she could have a garden and “with a yard where Travis could play in the summer. (page 44)” Mama believes that a change of scenery is what the family needs and that it will bring them back together. These three characters have the most conflicting wants for the
A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, introduces a family struggling to hold themselves together. They live in an apartment with other families and issues that come up include fighting for a bathroom in the morning, lack of space within their apartment, and the lack of money evident by actions of the family members and the furnishings throughout the house. The subject of money is quickly
Not only does the money represent good, but also bad where its fuels more the conflict between the siblings Walter and Beneatha. As one can see, Walter seeks to use the money to invest in a new liquor store with his friends; Beneatha looks to use the money to pay for medical school. The conflict is, the money brings only parallels the thought that money can corrupt an individual and this case it corrupts the family as each of them tries to take the money for their own use. For this reason, Mama is the only individual who uses the money for the whole family purchasing the house in order to move them out of the tight, dark, and bad apartment they were living in. The money drives the family; the one individual who seems mostly mesmerized by money is Walter who portrays the average African American man who with the money symbolizes the common misuse of money especially in a society where African Americans are expected to be poor and uneducated. Mama explains the impact of the money when she said “Oh—so now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really does change . . .”
As the events unfold the money is lost, without the money Walter thinks his dreams are gone. Mama on the other hand feels that with the money gone, it will not change things, she thinks they can make due. Throughout, all of this both Mama and Walter seem to have forgotten about Ruth and the baby on the way. The fact appears to be that neither of them have considered what is really necessary for the family to grow and have the environment it needs to be healthy. Once they both are able look at the bigger picture they realize sometimes they have to give up their dreams and things they want for the good and growth of the younger
It was a common fear among the African-Americans. The Younger Family knew that the discrimination would hold them back from their dreams and goals, but because they believe in prosperity and pride, that was the last thing on their mind. The “want” in their spirits, is what sets them at place of tranquility and hope. “In fact, here’s another fifty cents… buy yourself some fruit today - or take a taxicab to school or something! (1.1.1840) Walter is letting his son know that there is no problem when it comes to their economic status. One of the difficulties that the adults faced was their self-righteousness. The discrimination was really enabled when it came to anything in their life. Whether it be buying certain houses, jobs, or even sitting in a restaurant, it was something so common; they learned that it is far more important for their child to know how to live with no fear and worrisome in life. When it came to Walter, he knew that keeping the innocence in Travis’ life was the right thing to do, where for Ruth she was far more upright. The self-doubt they displayed was becoming a burden in their lives, but that transformation and growth is what helped them come to a better understanding of themselves. The Younger Family’s moral development would be their sense of pride, and Mama’s destiny was to continue that pride. Mama’s development within herself had grown to great measures, but when it came to her
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)
Segregation was still much present in the 1960s and America lived separated full of racism and, some of the people in that time value money more than morality as a result they thought that was the only way someone could live happily. Mama faced many adversities throughout the play due to the great sum of money she received and she wanted to use it for something that would help everyone in her family. Mama loves her family and shows she does not care about money and only cares about her family, showing she has moral since she wants to use the money for something that would be useful for her family, like a house, she also uses some of the money to pay for beneatha's med school and for walters liquor store, she wanted to make her children's dreams come true.
Mama is also having to difficulties because of race,she is also struggling because of race . Mama is the mother of Walter and Beneatha, grandma of Travis and mother in law of Ruth. Mama has a plant that represent or symbolizes the younger family and she loves that plant a lot. One quote that shows that she is having trouble because of race, is “ The house they put up for colored in them areas way out all seem to cost twice as much as other houses . I did the best I could ’’ ( Hansberry 93 ). Mama means that in the black neighborhood they would have to pay even more than they payed in the white neighborhood. Also that people don’t want to mix blacks and whites together. Mama didn’t want to waste a lot of money so she bought it where the whites live so the don’t wasted a lot, they expect for dark skin people to pay more than whites should pay. Another quote that I found that relates to race is “ I see ... him … night after night … come in … and look at that rug … and then look at me … the red showing in his eyes … the veins moving in his head … I seen him grow thin and old before he was forty … working and working and working like somebody’s old horse … killing himself … and you you give it all away in one day ”( Hansberry 129 ). Mama is trying to say that in that time there was even less opportunities especially to a dark skin person like big Walter but big Walter did whatever he could to provide for his family even if it takes everything. Also
Mama, however, is strong, spiritual and eager to help her children in any way she can. She values family above and beyond all else, but has the deep insight into the other character's motivations even when she doesn't agree. In the middle of the play (at the fuse for the final conflict), she recognizes that Walter is miserable because no one believes in him and his dreams. She gives him a large chunk of the insurance check to invest in a liquor store even thought she doesn't agree with it. She trusts him with it and, when he loses the money to a "trusted friend," she becomes enraged and begins to physically attack him. However, by the next scene she has forgiven him and tells her daughter that she should do the same; "There is always something to love: when do you think the time is to love somebody the most? It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in hisself 'cause the world done whipped him so!" With those words, Mama seems to symbolize all that is good, solid and peaceful in the world.
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.
In return, Mrs. Young is a wonderful mother; she has suffered and sacrificed for her children. She always explains and lesson to her children instead of making them feel guilty. The Young family starts running into problems when Mrs. Young (Mama) receives about ten thousand dollars from life insurance of her husband. With a poor family likes Young, ten thousand dollars is really a dream, it is a huge amount of money that they could never get for all of their life. The children start fighting over the money; every one has his/her own reason to use that money. Mama must figures out how to keep the family in peace and together. Mama deeply believes in God and lives her life in "cultural and ethnic pride". She usually talks about how her generation has won its freedom and proud to be able no longer be slaves. At the end of the play, even she failed to convince Walter not to put the money in the liquor store but she made her commitment, she has what she has fought for all of her life, her family now all together in love, happiness and forgiveness.
In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is trying to achieve the American Dream, which is “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American”(cite dictionary.com). The Youngers are a black family living in a poor part of Chicago. They inherit ten thousand dollars because Mama’s husband died. Mama is the matriarch of the Younger family. Each family member has their own idea about how to use this money to fulfill their dreams, and the play uses the decisions of the family members and other characters to show the reader that people’s actions are not always motivated by what they appear to be. Mama wants to use the money to buy a house in a white neighborhood, because she thinks it is a better environment for her family than their current living conditions and will benefit her family. Although there are a number of people in A Raisin in the Sun who appear too want to help the Younger family, Mama shows through her decision to buy the house that she is the only person that is looking out for the best interests of her family.
The late 1950s was filled with racial discriminations. There was still sections living as well as public signs of Colored and Whites. Blacks and Whites were not for any change or at least not yet. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Vivian Hansberry, tells a story of a black family that is struggling to gain a middle class acceptance in Chicago. The family of five, one child and four adults live in a tiny apartment that is located in a very poor area. Dreams of owning a business and having money to accomplish goals is two key parts played out throughout the whole play. Walter Younger is determined to have his own business and he will go to ends met to see that dream come true. Financial bridges are crossed and obstacles arise when Walter