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A Raisin In The Sun And Trifles Analysis

Decent Essays

In recorded history, women have always been valued as inferior to men. This patriarchal concept prevails all the way to modern times, but what facts actually give credence to this concept? In both Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun and Susan Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles, there is a multitude of female roles, all which have a significant importance in the story. Time and time again a subtle irony is played up in these stories that highlight the lack of credit these women receive for their monumental efforts. The Younger family consists of five members, three of which are females in the household. Lena, Ruth, and Beneatha Younger are continually brushed off for being a greater hindrance to the family than they are a help, but the story proves this in an opposite manner. Lena Younger is the matriarch of the low-income family, and she soon expects to receive a 10,000 dollar insurance check after her husband’s passing. Each family member has an idea on how they wish to disperse this money, but ultimately it “ain’t none of [their] money, it’s Mama’s” (Hansberry 8). Nevertheless, Walter Lee -the protagonist and desired head of the family- takes it upon himself to allocate the money to a sound investment for the family’s future. Against his mother’s wishes, Walter shadily enters a business deal with two of his friends to become a part-owner of a liquor store. Mama’s misgivings are verified when the news is delivered that Willy Harris has up and left with the family’s investment in the store; all 10,000 dollars. Lena Younger had made the healthy choice that her family would move into a real house, and Walter put it all at risk for the off chance that he could make it big. Nevertheless, Lorraine Hansberry illustrates that Walter Lee is the head honcho of the family; seemingly ironic when he is the person responsible for making the situation so hard. Yet, lurking in the curtains, there is Mama, who is uncredited in assisting the family through this tortuous path they had to go down.
In the text of A Raisin in the Sun, the value of women is further put into question by the ways in which two men pursue Beneatha. The hopeful-doctor of the family is being courted by two guys who see her in very different

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