Character Analysis A Raisin In The Sun

She is the daughter of Lena (mama), and the sister of Walter. She is a determined woman that wants to peruse a career as a doctor which makes her a smart woman. In A Raisin in the Sun Beneatha is struggling to find out in who she truly is, this is a reason in why she has many experimentations with forms of art. She relied on the insurance money from her father’s death and investments that made by her brother to realize her dream of becoming a doctor this very much influenced her, this gives her a new perspective of her dreams and new ways of fulfillment. Even though she and Walter didn’t have a fantastic relationship because of investments and Walters manhood, it brings Beneatha closer to him and sees his true potential of strength, which indicates

Walter Lee is stubborn, very ambitious, and filled with pride at the beginning of the story. He strives for success with the money “Mama,” also known as Lena got from the life insurance from her husband who recently passed away. Walter was so selfish all he wanted was to provide a better life for he and his family because he was not satisfied with their current standards of living. He wants more and wishes to become rich because he believes he never had enough growing up, but at the same time he wants to provide money and societal respect for his family. He put his trust with the money into a person who betrayed him and he ended up losing it all including his sisters schooling money. After this scene in the play Walter was at his lowest point,

In Igbo culture, twins are an abomination and must be left to die in the evil forest after birth (Achebe 65). Although Okonkwo, the main character of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, does not have a twin, he and Walter Lee, from A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, are similar characters who have similar experiences. Both Okonkwo and Walter feel pressure from society to be someone, but on their journey of becoming the ideal person, both lose something important like reputation or morality and eventually fall apart.

Ruth stresses the importance of maintaining a good image of her family. When George arrives to take Beneatha out, Walter and Beneatha are not being well mannered, so Ruth takes control and tries to make-up for their behavior. “Beneatha, you got company-what’s the matter with you? Walter Lee Younger, get down off that table and stop acting like a fool…(80)” Ruth is also independent and kind.

       Ruth, Walter's wife, was pregnant when her husband was in a great despair. Although Walter lost the money and also her dream, Ruth forgave him and encouraged him to start everything over. Ruth, whose dream was to be wealthy and to have a fine family, calmly accepted the fact that her dream was only a dream. To her, it was a consolation that her husband had come back to reality after his unsuccessful dream.

“ A Raisin in the Sun” is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry about the life of an African American family during the era of segregation. The play starts off with the Younger family receiving a 10,000 dollar check from Mr. Younger’s insurance policy. The family argues over what they are going to do with it. Mama wants to buy a house with it, Walter wants to invest in a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to use the money to go to medical school. The contrast of the characters’ personalities fuels the conflict and drives the story forward. Beneatha is a young college student and the sister of Walter. She has a dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha is a dynamic character who is easily influenced by her family and the people

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)

There are many events in the play that show how family will be there for you through thick and thin. One of these events is when Walter just argued with Ruth, and Mama stayed to continue to talk to Walter to confirm that he is O.K. This happens on page 72, "Mama: (Quietly) Walter, what's the matter with you?" that statement shows that Mama wanted to check up on Walter to ensure that he is O.K. Towards the end of their talk, Mama breaks it to him that Ruth is pregnant, and she is planning to get rid of the baby. Walter's and Mama's talk show that even when everyone else gave up on Walter; Mama doesn't give up on him. Another event is when Walter lost all of the money Mama gave him, and he didn't put any of it into the bank for Beneatha. Mama still stuck by his side when everyone else didn't trust him

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.

At the beginning of A Raisin in the Sun, Walter believes that a “real man” is in control of his life and is able to provide for his family, and furthermore is able to create real world change. When George Murchison comes to the Youngers’ house to pick up Beneatha, Walter, who is clearly drunk, begins criticizing and making fun of George because he is a college student. As part of a longer rant, Walter says that universities are, “Filling up your heads with the sociology and the psychology - but they teaching you how to be a man? How to take over and run the world?” (84-85). Walter thinks being a man is being able to “run the world,” which means both to control one’s destiny and to create real change in society. Being in control allows people to be able to help their family. When Walter asks his son Travis what he wants to be when he is older, Travis responds that he wants to be a bus driver. Walter is amazed and tells his son that he should dream bigger. Walter declares, “Just tell me where you want to go to school and you’ll go. Just tell me, what it is you want to be - and you’ll be it” (109). Walter thinks being a man is more than just tending to your own wants and needs. A man is in control of his life and his family’s success. When Walter says Travis can be whatever he wants, he is showing that “real men” are in control of their family’s destiny, as well as their own. Walter believes that a “real man” takes control of his future, creates opportunities for his posterity, and is able to make his mark on human society.

In Beneatha’s situation, she has the freedom to choose her husband, and make the decision that best fits her. She can decide between George, who can provide for her all of the material objects that she could want, and Joseph, who treats her as an equal to him and cares for her very much. In Walter’s case, he is stuck in an imperfect relationship with his wife Ruth, and he cannot divorce her because they have a twelve-year-old son to care for and a baby on the way. This faulty relationship is best shown in the first scene when Walter casually says to his wife, “But you wouldn’t do nothing to help, would you? You couldn’t be on my side that long for nothing, could you?” (Hansberry 32) This morning conversation between the two is an average, typical talk, which shows that the relationship is certainly in decline. Even during the middle of the play, when they go to the movies and hold hands, this love does not even last until the end of the play. Walter’s relationship with his wife brings a feeling of sympathy upon him because he cannot avoid it and that he is past the ideal age for finding a partner. Beneatha, on the other hand, brings no pity because she can decide for herself who she wants her husband to be, and she is young and has time if she is not ready to get married

In the beginning of the play, Walter is portrayed as a very selfish and inconsiderate individual, as stated previously. The main reason behind this is because of the money that Mama was receiving from her husband’s death. Walter has always had the dream of being a businessman by owning his very own liquor store and because of that, it allowed his actions to get the best of him. Walter became very obsessed with the money rather than prioritizing his own family and their emotions/needs. As the play progresses, Walter continues to make unethical decisions that end up tearing his family apart as well as making his current situation worse than it already is.

During rough times, Walter tended to lash out on his family more often,”You tired, ain’t you? Tired of everything. Me, the boy, the way we live - this beat-up hole - everything”(). Walter tries so hard to provide for his family, becoming cynical in the process. Walter frequently lashed out on Ruth, treating her like a punching bag,“Just for a second – stirring them eggs. Just for a second it was – you looked real young again...It’s gone now – you look like yourself again!”(). In another eruption, Walter once again, ridicules Ruth by stating,”That’s it. There you are. Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs.Man say: I got to take hold of this here world, baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work. Man say: I got to change my life, I’m choking to death, baby! And his woman say – Your eggs is getting cold!”(). The frequency in which he ridicules his family is an indication of his perception of them and also signifies his aforementioned self-esteem

The story “A Raisin In The Sun” is based off a fight for equality in the Southside of Chicago by the Younger family struggling to fulfil their dreams. Taking place in the aftermaths of WW2, and the present time between the 1940s and 1958, the Youngers experience racial tension just as they thought their lives were getting better. In Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin In The Sun”, Beneatha undergoes a change of heart, revealing her true feelings and perspective of her now, long gone future and ambitions she had dreamt for her whole life.

Have you ever wanted something so desperately that each fragment of your soul longs for the satisfaction of meeting a goal? The obstacles along the way may cause one trouble, but one still strives for that personal satisfaction of knowing something grand was accomplished. A Raisin In The Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, gives off many aspects of the story’s characters wanting the reward of being able to say, “I did it”. Beneatha Younger, a passionate, strong-willed woman will do whatever it takes to pursue her dream of attending medical school. Along the way of wanting this, she grows internally and will overcome racial and gender stereotypes occurring in the 1950s. Beneatha Younger, a fierce, young woman who has a spark in her eye