Character Analysis of Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in the Sun by Hansberry

The utmost dynamic character in the play, Walter Lee completely changes his attitude regarding his own race, from the beginning to the end. Originally, Walter focused on money, and material items in order to fulfill his dream about opening a liquor store, he believed that “money is life” (74). He didn’t care about his family’s dreams, and willing to sacrifice Beneatha plans of being a doctor. However, his intentions for using the money were acceptable, as he wanted “pearls round [his] wife’s neck” and he couldn’t stand that his son “sleeps in the living room"(143). Walter wants the best for his family, and as a result, is upset for the reason that he can’t provide it with merely a job as a chauffeur. His frustration causes him to believe the

Walter Younger is the protagonist in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. He plays an important role by often advancing the plot and creating new twists. He is an immoderately ambitious man whose actions possess great magnitude over his family. Walter has always craved a better life for his family but never got the opportunity to achieve this, until his late-father’s insurance check arrives. He desires to utilize the insurance money to acquire a liquor store with two of his friends, but his family has other ideas. This issue gradually manifests throughout the play and is a major source of internal conflict between the Youngers. Walter gradually realizes his selfishness, becoming a more complete man in the process. The story concludes with Walter wisely declining Mr. Lindner’s offer to buy him out, and using the

As a son brother husband and a father he is struggling to improve the living conditions of his family and prove himself as a man. He works as a chauffeur and he hates his job, he wants to be a business owner and buy a liquor store but mama doesn’t want anything to do with liquor. From most of the first act, he was just nasty to every other character in the play, he fights with his sister Beneatha and he’s rude and mean to his wife Ruth and even his mother Lena. Walter is upset that his mother wants to give his sister college money to become a doctor, he thinks his sister is dreaming and should have more “realistic goals”. He belittles her dream many times in the play, he tells her to think about becoming a nurse but not a doctor. In his head he thinks he’s realistic and his dream will bring happiness and wealth not only to him but also to everyone in the family. Walter doesn’t stop asking for the money he wants to become rich because he never had anything growing up; he wants to provide for his son and wife, he is very stubborn and full of pride but he has different motivations behind his

A Raisin in The Sun, a drama by Lorraine Hansberry was produced on stage in 1959. The drama describes an black family, in the 1950’s on the Southside of Chicago, who have complications with each other, but pull through it successfully. The family consists of, Mama, the grandma, who’s name is Lena, Ruth, the mother, Walter Lee, the father, Beneath, the daughter of Mama, sister of Walter, and aunt of Travis; and Travis, the son of Walter Lee and Ruth Younger. Over the courses of the play, Beneatha and Mama, and Mama and Walter experience conflict, yet by the end of the play the family has been able to cross their differences and are able to support one another in a common cause, which is to pass by racial judgement.

Walter is the protagonist, the main character in the story, and the main conflict and plot of the play revolves around his decisions. Walter’s biggest decision, is of course his decision to buy the liquor store. Mama gives walter 6,000 dollars, and tells him to deposit half of it for his sister, Beneatha. She wants to go to college and become a doctor, which Walter finds very unorthodox and unfitting. Walter takes the full 6,000 for himself, and gives it all to one of his “business

However, that is not to say that there is no considerable insinuations from his failed gamble on his dream—Beneatha's tuition money is also lost, and the entire family will have to work harder to be able to pay off the monthly mortgage payments (Welsch and Adams “A Raisin in the Sun (Theater, 1959”). Also, the lingering strain of a new addition to the family will mean an even tighter financial situation for the Youngers (Domina “An overview of A Raisin in the Sun”). While the family gains personal and familial triumphs in the course of the play, the conclusion is left a bit doubtful. Walter's seeming-selfishness is a representation of the African-American male's then-narrow corridor of socially acceptable doors, each career “inferior in some way” to a different-skinned counterpart's probable salary (Washington “A Raisin in the

“A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry is a book that depicts a few weeks in the life of the Youngers, an African American family living in the South Side of Chicago in the mid 1950s. The Youngers have a

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is set during the aftermath of World War II which involves apparent racial tension between African Americans and Caucasians. This hostility portrays the story of the Youngers, a poor African American family, who feel the confinement of their miniscule apartment and Chicago’s South side society forcing social roles upon them. They discover a chance at a new beginning when the matriarch of the family, Lena Younger, receives a $10,000 life insurance check. However, her children, Walter Lee and Beneatha, each have their own plans for the money. Their differing opinions causes tension among the family members. Throughout the play, not only do they have find a way to work through their personal problems, but it is crucial that they fight against racial discrimination. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry incorporates various symbols such as Mama’s plant, Beneatha’s African connections, and the life insurance check. The use of these symbols helps describe the hopes and dreams of the Younger family trying to break the cycle of poverty and racism.

In A Raisin in the Sun, the Youngers, an African American family that lives on the Southside of Chicago, are impatiently waiting for a check in the amount of ten thousand dollars to arrive by mail. This check is from Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy and the conflict is that every member of the family has their dreams set on how the money should be spent. Lena “mama”, Mr. Youngers wife and head of the household, wants to fulfill the dream she had with her husband of buying a house with a garden in the backyard. Walter, Lena’s son, wants to invest the money in a liquor store, he believes that it would solve all their financial problems. Ruth, Walter’s wife, also believes the money should be used to buy a house for more space for their family

Ambitious, determined, and open-minded; Walter Lee Younger Jr. will go great lengths to provide for his family with a goal of getting out of poverty and reaching wealth. Racism is a big obstacle that he must face in order to get to his intentions. I believe that Walter is emotionally fit for these obstacles and can overcome many things as a black man in his mid-thirties in the 1950’s. “A Raisin in the Sun” shows the exact risks and attitude changes that Walter goes through so that he can contribute to not only his needs but also his household's needs.

This is clearly showing that not only Walter sees that he needs something, Ruth also sees it. Weather she is just being a supportive wife to Walter, she still sees that he is need of something to remind him that not all dreams do not work out. Adding to that, even though she might disagree with Walter on this she can tell that Walter is going to be broken if he cannot use the money for it. In conclusion, Walter needs this money to remind him that life is not always bad and some dreams do come true.

First and foremost, there is Mr. Walter. He is the man of the family. His dream is to own a liquor store with two other friends. He wants to ask Mama for the money from his father’s insurance check that he is so adamant and keeps asking Mrs. Ruth, his wife, about it. “Check coming today?”(Hansberry 26)

“A Raisin in the Sun” is an autobiographical play written in 1950 by Lorraine Hansberry, an African American writer. The main characters are the Younger family, Mama, his son Walter and her daughter Beneatha. The play dramatizes a conflict between the main characters’ dreams and their actual lives’ struggles in poverty and racism. The main characters’ lives as African-Americans contribute to their feeling of entrapment by poverty and racism. The play predicts the black society struggles in the years to come.

Have you ever wanted to help the people you love to gain a better way of life? Then a dream pops into your head, and you think that’s it. This is how I’ll do it. Well that is the story of Walter Lee. The play, A Raisin in The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry involves a black family who is faced with the challenges of racism, their financial status, and overall a high level of stress due to a recent death of the patriarch, Walters dad. The death of Walter’s dad brings the family deep sorrow but with every cloud there’s a silver lining and in this case it’s the 10,000 dollars of insurance money that will be given to Mama, the mother of Walter and Beneatha. Mama wants to use the money to buy a new house and make things easier for the family. Walter wants to use it to invest in a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to get into medical school. Walters American dream of gaining a more livable for his family is affected by his ambition, impulsiveness, and his drive to do good for his family.

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, set in the aftermath of World War II during the apparent racial tension between African Americans and whites, portrays the story of the Youngers, a poor African American family, who feel the confinement of their miniscule apartment and the social roles forced upon them by society in Chicago’s South side. They discover a chance at a new beginning when the matriarch of the family, Lena Younger, receives a $10,000 life insurance check. However, her children, Walter Lee and Beneatha, each have their own plans for the money which causes tension within the family. Throughout the play, they must find a way to work through their problems and fight against racial discrimination. In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry incorporates various symbols such as Mama’s plant, Beneatha’s African connections, and the life insurance check. The use of these symbols helps describe the hopes and dreams of the Younger family trying to break the cycle of poverty and racism.