Greed In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

When Walter loses the money, his views change. He convinces himself that a man doesn’t need morals, and that the only thing that matters is how

“A Raisin In The Sun” is a play in which Lorraine Hansberry, the author, shows on how money can have a major effect on many people’s lives. Walter, the main character, experiences on how the theme Money and Mortality has affected his own life. In the play “A Raisin In The Sun” Lorraine Hansberry uses certain characters to show the theme Money and Mortality, such as Walter, Beneatha and Mama.

Suddenly, things changed, and Walter and his family came into quite a bit of money. Walter’s mama got a check for ten thousand dollars from her husbands life insurance after he passed away, which was a lot of money in that period of time. A nice house or a liquor store could easily be bought with half of the money from the check. Since the check was actually written out to mama, the money was all technically hers, so all that she wanted to do with it was buy her new house for her family, but stubborn Walter, he wanted his liquor store, and would stop at nothing to get it. When he finally realized that his mama was never going to give him the money to get the liquor store, he took it upon himself to get it himself. He eventually stole a portion of his mama’s money to get the store, but he was taken for a fool when the other person that he was making a deal with, stole all of his money. Now he had nothing, and mama had only some of her money.

You see, this little liquor store we got in mind costs $75,000 and we figured the initial investment on the place be ‘bout $30,000, see. That be $10,000 each. Course, there’s a couple of hundred you got to pay so’s you don’t spend your life just waiting for them clowns to get your license approved.,” (1.1, 1133). Walter believes that investing in the liquor store, will earn his family a fortune. However, the reader is likely to feel that he is being inconsiderate by failing to acknowledge that the money does not belong to him, it belongs to Mama and should be up to her how to spend it. Furthermore, Walter acts selfishly and is inconsiderate of what his mother wants. An example of Walter acting selfishly is located towards the end of Act I, scene II. It is Saturday, and Walter has just returned home from work. He is only concerned of the checks arrival; he fails to greet his family. He tries showing Mama the paperwork that his friend Willy put together for the liquor store, and becomes upset that Mama wanted nothing to do with his plans and had refused to even look at the papers he showed her. Sarcastically he tells Mama, “Oh-so you don’t aim to have to speak on that again? So you have decided . . Well you tell that to my boy tonight when you put him to sleep on the living room couch . . . Yeah-and tell it to my wife, Mama, tomorrow when she has to go out of here and look after somebody else’s kids. And tell it to me, Mama, every time we

Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin in the Sun, relates the story of a working-class African-American family with dreams. They are willing to rebel against the position that society has forced on them because of their race and class in order to fulfill their dreams. Walter Younger is a chauffeur who "can find no peace with that part of society which seems to permit him and no entry into that which has willfully excluded him" (Willie Loman 23). He wants to rise into wealth and live as his employer, Mr. Arnold, does. Walter feels as if he is going crazy at times. He tells Mama, "sometimes it's like I can see the future stretched out in front of me-just plain as day.... Hanging over there at the edge of my days. Just waiting for me- a

The contrast between Mama and Walter is outstanding. Mama seems to have very strictly selfless and family oriented goals. She does not put her wants on display so the rest of the family can focus on themselves. For example when she is giving the remainder of the money to Walter she says “There ain’t nothing as precious to me… There ain’t nothing worth holding on to, money, dreams, nothing else- if is means it’s going to destroy my boy.”(106). This line shows deep into Mama’s character; it shows how she is so loving towards her family that she would go against her morals to let Walter invest in the liquor store. Walter, however, is very selfish when it comes to his actions. He seemingly disregards Mama’s wishes, even though she was very kind to give him any money at all with only few requests. He “never… went to the bank at all…”(129). Walter shows his true colors by being so focused on his goal and it working out that he forgets about Mama’s wishes and Beneatha's right to some of the money as

All in all Mama and Walters dreams both involve money. Mama shows us her longing for the acceptance of society when she immediately buys a house in a white neighborhood, to provide for her family. Walter shows us his desperation to be a valuable human being when he steals money in hopes of starting his liquor business. Walter wants to be respected and live a happy lifestyle for this family. He longs to be the head of the household. Walter see’s himself with a liquor store as having power. It isn’t till the end until he rethinks the values of himself and his family’s future about how there is more to living than just having material riches. Mama only yearns for her family to be respected and live up to what society perceives.

For Walter, though, success means wealth and the respect that wealth commands. He wants to succeed on his terms and command the respect of others. The argument between Mama and Walter over money illustrates their profound differences over what is important in life:

A man waiting for his dream to come true even when no one supports him not even his own family. The only support he has is his wife, but she still does not want to support him through his decisions he plans on making. In A Raisin in the Sun play, Lorraine Hansberry proves to us that not only were women suffering in the 1950’s men were having a hard time too. Walter Lee Younger, a thickheaded, immature, husband, father, and brother, willing to go great links to own a liquor store and provide a better life for his family. He finds a way to make his dream come true by making his family happy. In the end, Walter learns a valuable lesson of how family is more important than money.

Halfway through the play, Walter tries to explain that he wants more out of his life, and Lena says that he has all he needs- a wife, a family, and a job. Walter then gets even angrier and says “Mama, a job? I open and close doors all day long. I drive a man around in his limousine and I say ‘Yes sir’; ‘No sir”; ‘Very good sir’; ‘Shall I take the drive sir?’ Mama that aint no kind of job” (Miller, pg 107). Walter’s dream to be rich drives him to the brink of insanity. Finally, Lena decides that she will give him the money to invest in a liquor store. She keeps part of the money to invest in a house, and gives him the rest of it. She tells him to put three thousand dollars in an account for Bonita’s tuition, and the rest is his to invest in the liquor store. Instead of putting any money in an account for Beneatha, Walter gives it all to one of his partners to invest in the store. He is told he will get enough of it back in a few days, so he can put the money in the account. As it turns out, his partner ends up leaving town with the money, and never coming back. Walter lost the bulk of the check. His dream to have money, to be somebody, to be rich; leads to his downfall. Instead, he ends up losing the money that could have helped the family as a whole. Not only did he set himself back, but he also set Beneatha back. Not only did he ruin his dream, but he also ruined his

Mama also said “That leaves sixty-five hundred dollars. Monday morning I want you to take this money and take three thousand dollars and put it in a savings account for Beneatha’s medical schooling. The rest you put in a checking account – with your name on it. And from now on any penny that come out of it or that go in it is for you to look after. For you to decide”-(Hansberry 89).Mama decides to trust the money with walter, hoping that trusting him will make him feel confident in himself.

Walter also believes money would solve all his families problems, but is not successful in achieving any of it. When his mother invests in the house he gets upset and goes to drink. He never takes into consideration that his son would have his own room and his wife can have the

Mama implies that the money was more than just currency, but what is left of her husband’s dream to bring success to his family. She is terribly disappointed with Walter for losing all of the money so easily, and not putting it toward to what he promised. Because of this great loss, Walter is still left with no money. His dream to become wealthy is now at the bottom of the gutter, all over again, and he has to work even harder as well as gain his confidence back in order to fish it out.

In the book, “a raisin in the sun”, by Lorraine Hansberry, one main theme is that Money is both good and bad.

     Walter’s dream is actually the great American dream to have your own house in a good neighborhood, a job you love, a wife, and children. But sadly he’s far from his dream. He is a chauffeur for a rich white man, and must drive him around in an expensive car that he could never afford. Walter’s dream is also deferred when he is told that good old Willy Harris absconded with the money for his and his family’s dreams. Hearing this Walter says “Willy!...Man, I put my life in your hands...Man...THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY FATHER’S FLESH.” (2.3.128). Walter is very angry after when he finally realizes that they received the money because his father died. Then becomes violent at the fact that a man he trusted with his life ran away with the money that symbolized his dead father. So all the pent up anger he had been holding in finally comes out and he explodes.