Lena’s Battle
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry depicts the story of a low income family living in Chicago’s Southside, where racism, money, and the loss of hope contribute to the theme of the drama. In the Younger family, Lena faces trials that are always putting her faith to the test and also it challenges how far she is willing to go to help her family flourish in times of hardship. Walter being the only man in the household is always trying to win admiration from Mama to become the head of the family, but he soon sees that fortune is not with him.
Hope is what every member in the household is looking for but not something that everyone can see and just like the plant that Lena so dearly cares for, for she wants to watch it grow; in the same manner she is trying to let everyone know that no matter the circumstances she will do her best to get her family out of that hole and watch them bloom, as she said” …Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, "Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams – but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worthwhile." (1.1.206). When she gets the money that her husband left them, she sees it as the seed of hope that they need and decides to make a down payment on a new house in a white neighborhood for a fresh start. This not only serves as a symbol of hope to carry on but also provides a symbol of security in
Ruth is willing to work day and night to move into the new house, Lena I’ll work twenty hours a day…” says Ruth. The Younger family was stuck in a tight situation when Walter lost all the money for the house including Beneatha's tuition. Ruth feels depressed when Lena makes a decision to not to move into the house, she tries to convince Lena to move in but ends up being unsuccessful. Ruth is amenable to work all to make her family move into the house with her pregnancy. Ruth talks to Lena about the liquor store even though she does not wants to, “Aint nobody a businessman till they go into business” says Ruth. Walter wants his dad's insurance money so that he can invest it in the liquor store. He convinces Ruth to talk to Lena about it as he knows that Lena would not listen to him. Ruth talks to Lena about it but Lenas answer remains the same. This shows that Ruth does not think of her self-respect but of Walter’s unreal
In A Raisin In the Sun Lorraine Hansberry uses everyday objects-a plant, money, and a home to symbolize a family's struggle to deal with racism and oppression in their everyday lives, as well as to exemplify their dreams. She begins with a vivid description of the family's weary, small, and dark apartment in Chicago's ghetto Southside during the 1950s. The Youngers are an indigent African-American family who has few choices in their white society. Each individual of the Younger family has a separate dream-Beneatha wants to become a doctor, Walter wants to open a liquor store, and Ruth and Mama want a new and better home. The Youngers struggle to accomplish these dreams throughout the play, and a major aspect of their happiness and
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
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
Lena Younger doesn’t have materialistic things and good wealth but, she walks high, displays pride, and carries herself. Her children’s are her pride and joy and would do anything for her children’s. With no important dreams of her own, for even her dream of having a house is interested only by her aspiration to make living conditions better for her family. She says, upon receiving the $10,000 insurance check from her husband death. I think her American Dream is to have a house so, her family can live in a better environment. Lena is belittling by some of her family member because they want to use the money for something else. “Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, "Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worthwhile." He stating that he makes sacrifices for his family even though he has dreams for himself.
“A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry is a Drama about a generous insurance check that could mean either a profit-making gain for the younger family or destroy the already suffering family. “The Younger family comprises of Mama, Beneatha, her son Walter and his significant other Ruth, and her grandson Travis.” (Synopsis) “The family has lived in the same cramped Chicago dump for quite a long time”.(Synopsis)Walter is a taxi driver and Ruth fills in as low maintenance house keeper. Mother has recently resigned as she is expecting a $10,000 check from her croaked fathers allotment. There are many themes of this play, but the one that stood out most to me is the theme hopes, plans and Dreams.The Younger family is given a chance to realize
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.
A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, tries to give readers an overall look of what it feels like to be given a chance to make a difference. The play includes Mama, the stronghold of the family, her son, Walter Lee, a dreamer, Beneatha, Walter’s sister, who wants to be a doctor, his wife, Ruth, a realist, and their son, Travis. The play setting is like that of The Glass Menagerie, and is set in post WWII and tells how Mama wants to make a difference for her family. A Raisin in the Sun, unlike The Glass Menagerie, tells how Mama wants something for her entire family to enjoy, unlike Amanda, who wants her family to provide for her own enjoyment. In A Raisin in the Sun, Mama inherits ten-thousand dollars, due to her husband death, and buys a nice house in a white neighborhood. She entrusts Walter Lee, with sixty-five hundred dollars of the ten-thousand dollars, to put into the bank. Mama tells Walter Lee to divide it between him and Beneatha. Instead of putting the money where Mama told him, Walter decides to invest it with friends, in which, he ends up getting scammed. In turn, this made it difficult for the family to decide whether to move into the house or not. Mama lets Walter Lee make the decision to move into the house or to give up. He realizes at the end of the play that this was for his family more
While Watchman and Raisin come from different backgrounds they are similar because they take place during the same time period that deals with gender roles and family. During this time in the 1950’s it was not usual for the women to stay home and the men be the head of the house. Although when times were rough family is always there for support.
Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a play about segregation, triumph, and coping with personal tragedy. Set in Southside Chicago, A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the individual dreams of the Younger family and their personal achievement. The Younger's are an African American family besieged by poverty, personal desires, and the ultimate struggle against the hateful ugliness of racism. Lena Younger, Mama, is the protagonist of the story and the eldest Younger. She dreams of many freedoms, freedom to garden, freedom to raise a societal-viewed equal family, and freedom to live liberated of segregation. Next in succession is Beneatha Younger, Mama's daughter, assimilationist, and one who dreams of aiding people by breaking down
In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” written by Lorraine Hansberry, she is able to take us to place to see what it was like for an African American family to survive in the mid-twentieth century. The play details how the main characters are going through an evolving social and economic position, as well as the evolving gender roles. Hansberry uses the characterization of Beneatha, Ruth, and Walter in order to show the expectations and assigned gender roles for the characters in the story. In short, Beneatha is depicted as a woman who is challenging gender norms and expectations upheld by her family, whereas Ruth is seen as an example of a submissive housewife fulfilling her expected duties. Using “A Raisin in the Sun,” as well as “Marxists
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.
A Raisin in the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry and is a play about an African American family who are struggling in the 1950’s to keep the family together. Although the play is portrayed in the 50’s many issues like the economy, racism, and family dynamics the characters had to face; these issues are still issues in the 21st century.
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.