A Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis

“A Raisin in the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry, October 1994, 1950s
Ruth Younger: Walter’s wife and Travis’ mother Walter Lee Younger: Dreamer, wants to be rich, and makes plans with friends to become wealthy Lena Younger: Walter and Beneatha’s mother. religious, moral, and maternal Beneatha Younger: Lena’s daughter and Walter’s sister. Attends college and dreams of becoming a doctor Travis Younger: Walter and Ruth’s son Joseph Asagai: From Nigeria, proud of his heritage, and in love with Beneatha
The Apartment: cramped, kitchen the size of a closet, and the living room is used as Travis’ room and dining room. This apartment is too small in general, but with five people living there it is like living in a closet. This proves to be the reason why Walter wants to risk his money for a business. He is motivated on a day to day basis to live a bigger, comfortable life style. Southside Chicago: a neighborhood predominantly for poor African Americans in the 1950s. This may have impacted the family
in terms of them being comfortable in an area they have become accustomed to. However, Walter wanted out of his city, he wanted something better for himself and his family. Clybourne Park Home: A bigger home for the Younger family in a predominately white neighborhood which Lena purchased far away from her old home. This home brought conflict because Walter was not able to buy his liquor store he forever yearned for. However, this new home made the Younger family come together and defend themselves, overall strengthening their relationship.
(1) “This morning I was lookin’ in the mirror and thinking about it: I’m thirty-five years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room- and all I got to give him is stories ‘bout how rich white people live.” pg. 24 (2)“Walter Lee say ain’t nobody business people till they go into business. He says colored people ain’t goin’ to never start getting ahead until they start gamblin’ on some different kinds of things in this life. Investments and things.” pg. 80 (3) “Well, then-how long before this mood of black men everywhere else in the world touches us here? How long! How much has to happen before the black man in the United States is going to understand that God helps those who help themselves?” pg.133 (4) “Walter Lee- I come from five generations of slaves and sharecroppers-and ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that dead inside.” pg. 195
The author wrote the book to explain that everyone has a dream in life, but with a dream comes setbacks and obstacles. However, a person must be hopeful and fight through obstacles. For example, when Walter gave the remainder of the money to someone to put in the bank, and later found out that he had ran off with it. The family had put a down payment on the house, but now had to work to pay off the rest. Beneatha now had to figure out how to pay for school, and Walter had to figure out how to make his dream come true. This book contributes to the American dream of coming from a poor family and one day living a better life.
The novel was composed of scenes and told in the objective point of view. The story was told in a matter a reader is placed in the position of spectators at a movie or play. The author chooses the objective point of view because of the strong characters and message it is trying to get across. The tone is realistic, the whole screenplay can be seen in real life and on occasion happened to some people. The tone changes near the end when they family starts to defend and support one another, instead of bringing each other down. For example, when Walter spoke with Lindner about the offer and how he cannot accept it, Lena noticed he was not taking no for an answer. She than defended her son and demanded Linder to leave the house because the decision had been made.
Critical problems or issues may be: (1) Walter is not happy with his socio economic status (2) Beneatha wants to rise above the stereotypical African-American women (3) Lena does not understand why her children are unhappy (4) Asagai does not understand why African-Americans do not cherish their culture
The novel ends with family uniting and standing up for what they believe in. The novel may have ended in such terms to illustrate families are able to work through hardships and overcome difficulties, by standing united regardless of the battle. Throughout the screenplay, Walter wants a better life and job , while Beneatha wants to prove to everyone she can become a doctor. However, with money going into their heads, Walter made the wrong decision by trusting someone with money. They learned through this experience that they must come together as one to help one another with their dreams.
The importance of family: throughout the screenplay this is emphasized as Lena tries to instill this in her kids minds.
However, they do not listen, but through hardships they learn the hard way to support each other and unite they can make the family’s dream come true. The family home: the apartment is very small and makes the five of them under the roof feel cramped and over whelmed with each other and their problems. Playing a consting reminder that they live in a bad neighborhood with the poor families. However, at the end, Ruth got the home she wanted for her family. Karl Linder: A burden on the Younger family and a reminder to the family that they did not belong there. He racially discriminated them in their own home, and offered them money to leave. The younger family has been through enough and united as one to stop him from harassing them. They did not leave because of him, instead they stayed in Lena’s dream
home.
-The family is waiting for the $10,000.00 check in the mail, but everyone has different intentions with the money -Mama wants to leave the South side and buy a new house -Walter Lee wants to invest the money in a liquor store -Beneatha wished to pay for medical school with the money -Walter begins to bring himself down because of his job -Ruth confessed she is pregnant and put a down payment on an abortion -Lena receives the check and puts a down payment on a house -Lena tells Walter about the house and the pregnancy, but he only seems to care for the money -Lena gives Walter the remainder of the money and tells him to take his part and give Beneatha the rest for medical school -Karla Linder pays a visit to the Younger home and offers them money to leave the neighborhood -Walter soon find out the money has been taken -Walter calls Linder to stop by the house and make a deal -Lena refuses to leave and tells Walter they aren’t moving because of the white folks -Linder has arrived to the Younger home and Walter breaks the news to him -Lena and the family unite and help each other with their dreams