Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Walter struggles in understanding who he needs to be for his family. He wants to take his place as the patriarch of the family, but he feels incapable of providing them with the lifestyle they deserve. This concern is always at the forefront of his mind, and it affects his attitude and outlook. The anxiety that Walter is dealing with creates confrontation with his sister. He fears that her dream will interfere with his own agenda of making a better life for his family. The severity of the tension becomes more and more apparent with Walter’s unwise investment. Walter is dealing with the burden that he has let his family down, while Beneatha is flabbergasted by the reality that her future has been snatched away from her, and she had no control over it. While reflecting on the situation, Beneatha remarks, “ I sound like a human who just had her future taken right out of my hands! While I was sleeping….things were happening in this world that directly concerned me and nobody consulted me—they just went out and did things—and changed my life” (Hansberry 3.15). Walter and Beneatha’s individual issues with the outcome of the situation cause them to find fault with one another during a time when their family needs to pull together to get through such a financial hardship. Walter is in an emotional pit; his turning to alcohol and music instead of his family for support expands the

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.

Because of this new depression, Walter starts to get himself wasted every day. He hasn’t been showing up to work, and faces the prospect of losing his job. Mama, realizing the potentially catastrophic effect this can have on her family, must intervene. She gives her son the one thing he has always wanted, power. She gives him the remaining $6,500 to use as he wishes (except for the $3,000 to Beneatha’s continued

Many people go through different moralities in there life some that they believe can change their life for the better but don’t know the consequences. This ties in with issues involving money. Many people believe that money is the way to happiness and do what they can to get money even if it means to hurt your loved ones. In the play “Raisin in the Sun” Walter Lee Younger is man that lives in South Side Chicago and at point in life that he’s in, he wants to do something in his life and make a difference for colored people. The way he believes he can accomplish that is by opening a bar to make money for his family while believing money is the only source of happiness. Walters ideal morality was to make sure he got his hands on the insurance money so he could open up the bar even if it meant his family would suffer when things went wrong.

Parents and children often disagree on ways to spend money. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, Lena Younger, mother of Walter Lee Younger, debates with her son about the importance of money. Walter Lee Younger believes that money is everything, but Mama believes that it is anything but everything. This conflict between Walter and Mama is the outcome of their different ways they grew. Overall, it reveals the theme of betrayal in the play.

     As Walter's dreams become bigger and bigger, he seems to neglect the 'smaller' things such as his family. "Here I am a giant surrounded by ants! Ants who can't even understand what the giant is talking about,? (Hansberry 85). Walter has big ideals, but his methods of achieving his goals and ideals are somewhat irrational. Walter can be regarded as more concerned with becoming self-employed without really thinking about the consequences, which may be imposed on his family. Later in play, Walter learns that he needs to set his dreams aside for the sake of the

He wants to do what he thinks is right and what will be best for his family. Walter’s dream is to start a business – his own liquor store. Walter wants to succeed and wants a different job other than being a chauffeur. Walter argues, “I want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy … Mama – look at me” (Hansberry 522). Walter wants more than a minimum salary and a crammed apartment. Walter is frustrated about how he is providing for his family. He wants more for himself and for his family. According to Walter, a successful business would result in more money and better housing for the Youngers.

Walter struggles in this play with not being able to make a good living to support his family. He feels as if the job he has now is lowly and only to serve another man. His pride in himself makes him want something more. “I open and close doors all day long. I drive a man around and I say, ‘Yes, sir; no, sir; very good, sir; shall I take the Drive, sir?’ Mama, that ain’t no kind of job… that ain’t nothing at all,” Walter tells mama this to explain how he feels about his job (Hansberry 73). In Act I Scene Two he tells Mama, “I want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy… Mama--look at me,” (Hansberry 73). He then goes on to explain how he can see a future for himself and his family, but right now it is a distant dream that he feels unable to accomplish unless he can start a business like the liquor store he has in mind. His hope in opening this store is to be able to get on his feet and make enough money to where his family isn’t struggling.

Walter just cared about money he didn’t care about nothing he was only interested in money because he wanted to open a liquor store so he was only interested in mama’s money,mama didn’t want to give him the money for something like that. Walter didn’t care about his wife being pregnant because he was mad at mama for buying a house so walter didn't care about anythng.Walter didn’t believe in his sister beneatha wanting to be a doctor he told her to just be a nurse. Walter was just waiting for the money to come because he was thinking mama would give him that money. Mama didnt give the money to walter so he got mad and run away from home and did not show up for two days.WALTER…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….Whatever you want to be – Yessir! (He holds his arms open for TRAVIS) You just name it, son…(TRAVIS leaps into them) and I hand you the world! (lorraine Hansberry,pg.2.2.131)

By doing this Walter puts himself in the pothole and loses his wife’s and sister’s trust. Secondly, Walter’s dream is obstructed by the shamelessness that exists in his body. If Walter is not able to get what he wants, he will stop caring about life, and anything else. Generally speaking, he will be shameless. After Mama bought the house, Walter felt depressed and spent three days in leisure.

Walter makes some bad decisions in the play such as taking Beneatha's college money, giving Bobo the liquor store money, and calling Mr. Linder for him to buy the house. But at the end of the play we slowly start to see Walter transcend into a man by taking by taking pride in his family and their wishes. To start, Mama gave Walter $6,500 to deposit $3,000 for Beneatha's education and keep $3,500 for himself. When Mama told Walter this, Walter was filled with excitement and called up his friends to get a start on their liquor company. Walter was being selfish and ignorant at the time by not setting aside money for Beneatha's education.

Walter's frustration festers and his anger turns inward towards his family who, in Walters eyes, do not understand him. Walter's family members do understand him and they also want to amass material dreams, but Walter's family members know that it is going to take work to get there.

She had put a down payment on a house in Clybourne Park. This made Walter especially angry because because Clybourne Park was a highly white neighborhood. Walter felt betrayed and in more ways than one. Walter being the oldest male in the house, considered himself the head of the house. Mama going off and fulfilling her dream instead of his made him irate. He called Mama out; “You run out lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it, so what you need was for me to say it was alright for? … So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talkin’ ‘bout your children’s dreams” (95). Walter wanted nothing to do with Mama. He felt cheated out of what was most likely the only opportunity he would ever have to achieve his dream. At this point, Walter was absolutely uncontrollable. He started deliberately acting out as if he was a teenage boy. It did not stay that way long though. Eventually, Walter went back to normal, but only after Mama did something that may have not been the best idea. Mama ended up giving Walter the last sixty-two hundred dollars that had not been spent. Walter instantly changed. He

Showing his frustration to his mother, Walter does not feel like he will ever acquire his dream because he feels like he never got the chance or opportunity to. The inability of not able to provide a better life for his household is causing him to stress, act out of character and clouding his decision making. With nowhere else to turn he thought he could use his father’s life insurance money to invest into a liquor store which turned into a scam. Walter feeling trapped from making advancements in life, he makes a huge mistake and learns from this error. In the play Walter is talking to mother describing his anger,

Walter is upset about what Mama has done. She chose to fulfill her dream of a owning a home over anyone else’s dream.