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Walter's desire for financial success and his stories of rich white people are a metaphor for the self-respect he lacks in himself. It's easy to say that Walter should pay more attention to what is really important in life: family, respect, love, etc., but what Hansberry is illustrating is that when one lives in a society that looks down upon a group of people, those people have a much more difficult time seeing themselves in a positive light. This makes it difficult for Walter to develop as a character.
Walter struggles to get ahead in any way he can. He comes up with the idea of getting the insurance money from his father's death so that he can start a business -- even though the money should go to Walter's mother who is desperately in need of retirement. She loves her...
The changes in Walter once he gets the money are huge. He is almost euphoric at the idea of all this money. This proves that Walter only thinks of himself as worthy if he has something of worth in his hands. When Walter loses the money to a untrustworthy friend, Walter has to make a decision about what kind of person he wants to be and Walter does decide that it is his family and their respect for him that makes him a worthy person. This is when true change comes for Walter. The difference in him from the beginning of the play to the end is huge.
When Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun, many critics believed that she had wrote a collective -- and universal -- story about the American dream. Hansberry's goal was to find a more constructive way of viewing what many perceived as a threat - i.e. different races, cultures, etc. Yet, both the narrator and Walter share the same fate. In this sense, there is more work to be done. The path of this mission has been well paved by Hansberry, but there is still more work to do.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage. November 29, 2004.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Vintage. November 29, 2004.
Raisin in the Sun Beneatha is ahead of her time in a Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha is the daughter of Lena Younger and younger sister of Walter Lee who is married to Ruth. Walter Lee and Ruth have a ten-year-old son Travis, who gets his way often being the only grandson. Beneatha is a college student who desires to attend
She misrepresents the proposal of marriage of Asagai and is unable to provide the man who loves her so much and who understand her well. The complex character of Beneatha demonstrates another hidden quality towards the end of the play. The confrontation of Walter with Mr. Lindner reveals the arrogant statement of Mr. Lindner, "I take it then that you have decided to occupy." The easiness of Beneatha's reply
.. Don't understand nothing about building their men up and making 'em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something" (Hansberry, I, i.). It is clear that Walter Lee still believes it is the woman's role to support the man in his endeavors, and not to make decisions or act on them. In her responses to him, Ruth displays her growing frustration with and rejection of this belief, which
As to Walter's decision to use the money as he saw fit, we find a man who's suffering and discontent had blinded him to the real sustenance and value in his family. Truly, for the unhappiness which he had bore, and for the racial abuse shown to the family through such archetypal figures as Mr. Lindner, Walter might have seen himself as fortunate for the presence of all the family
Although treated unjustly by her older sibling, Beneatha has begun to question her desire to become a doctor, and is considering trying to get more in touch with her African roots instead. She wants to fix things in a more meaningful fashion than merely physically. The end of the play is bittersweet, because it is uncertain if the family will be happy in the all-white suburb, or safe, and because
It is the last thing Mama carries out of the apartment when the family moves, symbolizing the family's failure to thrive in their neighborhood. Both the plant and the Younger family are expected to blossom in their new surroundings. Walter Jr. wants to use the money to buy a liquor store with his friends. He believes that owning a business will give the family the financial freedom that will make