A Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis

Mama grew up in generation where grandparents had most likely been slaves. Her life was hard but unlike those of her parents or grandparents, she was given the privilege to work. She was finally given a way to sustain herself and her family, keep them afloat, all while in their modest cozy home. Taking from the fact that she most likely grew up with nothing it makes sense when you see how complainant she is. She’s simply thankful that her family can eat, for her that is enough. MAMA

This character is a static and a round character. She is the mother of Walter and Beneatha. All she’s ever wanted was a new home to pass down to Travis one day and a garden. Mama has the most responsibility, she struggles to do the right thing for each of the five members of the family. With this much pressure she wants to support the idea that Walter Lee has of investing in a liquor store, but it’s a selfish act because it wouldn’t be for the family and also considering the fact that they aren’t business people. Throughout this play Mama stays strong and that’s what makes her a static character. What makes her a round character was the moment she told Ruth that her children frighten her, this is contradicting because she dedicates her life to her children and she also struggles to instill her values to them.

The fight for justice is not always unequivocal or favorable, sometimes justice is given by means that do not seem fair at all. William Styron says in a novel that life “is a search for justice.” It is blatant that throughout Khaled Hosseini's novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, female characters are continuously battered with injustices. Hosseini hones into the oppression of women and the fight for women empowerment through the life of one of his main characters, Mariam. Her journey is shown throughout the novel where she struggles to search for and understand justice.

The Raisin in the Sun is about an African American family who live in Southside Chicago in the 1950’s. In that time period, African American families typically didn’t have nice houses, good jobs, or a lot of money. The family of five in the book live in a two-bedroom apartment with a bathroom that’s down the hallway that they have to share with other families in the building. This causes a lot of tension and issues since they can never really get away from one another. These issues help develop some of the plot in The Raisin in the Sun and develops some of the character’s personalities and how significant they are in the play. Most of the characters in A Raisin in the Sun By Lorriane Hansberry that make influence in the story. The two

In Lorraine's Hansberry A Raisin In The Sun. Walter wants to make money to support his family. He wants money because he thinks it makes him a “man”. How ever when his money is stolen, Walter’s perceptions of manhood shifts from valuing wealth and power to valuing family and pride.

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)

Mama attempts to reference back to Big Walter in certain situations to use him as an example to show her family the true meanings of sacrifice and unification within a family. The Raisin in the Sun refers back to Big Walter and how he labored so hard for his family all the time. He put his dreams aside, which ended up drying up like “A Raisin in the Sun” (M’baye 171). Mama says, “Yes, [he was] a fine man- just couldn’t never catch up with his dreams that’s all” (Hansberry 30). Mama refers back to Big Walter as an example for her family to see because Big Walter worked his but off for the important things in life like family. He had dreams like everybody does, but he did not ever get so caught up that he lost track of his priorities. He labored day and night for his family to have everything they needed. That is the example Mama tries to use to talk to her children about family. Big Walter did whatever he had to do to supply for his family whether that meant working a few extra hours or even a few extra days. Every once and a while he may have worked an extra job just to provide the

In the play A Raisin in the Sun Mama has the role of being a mother figure for all of the characters. She is a very outgoing women who loves her family. Overall, Mama wants her family to succeed in life. In addition, when it comes to momentous family decisions she does what she believes is best for everyone. However, other members of family sometimes have contradicting beliefs, which makes them feel like their house is matriarchal. I believe that their house is Matriarchal, but Mama’s decisiveness is for the best of everyone. In conclusion, Mama is not a tyrant because she makes decisions for the best of her family, the money belongs to her, and she wants to see her dream come true.

Secondly, during the play Ruth is shown as a housewife who takes care of their son Travis, and is always cooking and cleaning for Walter. A prime example of Ruth is just being a lady who serves her man is when Walter is having George over and he tells her “ Why don’t you offer this man some refreshment. They don’t know how to entertain people in this house, man” (Hansberry 1488). Since Walter works all day driving around, he feels empowered to belittle his wife, and view her as a servant. Thus setting the expectation that women are just supporting roles to their husbands, and are meant to cater to the needs of the husband. Moreover, Ruth is relied on to get Walter and Travis ready for work and school. “Will someone listen to me today!” (Hansberry 1481). Ruth is therefore the caregiver for the family; she is heavily depended on to support her family, while her husband complains about getting the money to open up a liquor store with his friends or about driving his “white” boss around everywhere and being jealous because he isn't successful.

In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter Younger wants to be a “real man”. His dream is to become successful in business and make his family rich. However, when all his money is stolen, he becomes very pessimistic, abandoning the ideas of morality and dignity. At the end of the play, his son Travis inspires him to value his family’s pride over materialism. Over the course of the play, Walter’s view of manhood changes from someone wealthy and successful to a person who has pride and believes in human dignity.

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.

A showy and occasionally inappropriate woman, Big Mama is just like Maggie in that both are married to men who cannot stand them. Big Mama is openly devoted to her husband, and throughout their whole marriage, she has stood by him. Despite Big Daddy’s frequent insults, Big Mama refuses to become offended and does not allow the marriage to fall apart. The difference between Maggie and Big Mama is that although Big Mama has a very hard marriage, she has had children and served her husband well. A “good” wife’s role was to serve her husband’s comfort and know her place. The man was the master of the house, and therefore it was inappropriate for the woman to complain to her husband and talk about her problems. Listening to the man was important because his conversation topics were the most important. A problem Maggie has is that although she wants to be an ideal wife and mother, she does not carry out all parts of the expectation. She is stubborn and against to taking into account what Brick wants, and she continuously complains and fights with him. Big Mama on the other hand is a piteous character in that she is so desperate to stay away from problems and argument that she embarrasses herself in order to avoid them. This is why, although Maggie and Big Mama share

     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 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.