Preview

A Raisin in the Sun Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
693 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Raisin in the Sun Essay
Raisin in the Sun Essay

In life, people feel they are not important and valued without money. Walter Younger is no exception, he thinks that if he has money he has everything. Walter wanted to be a provider for the family and planned on doing so by investing in a liquor store with the insurance check from his dad's death. However, he can't because the money did not belong to him but it belongs to Mama. Later on his mother decides to give him the remaining insurance money and Walter entrusts it to Bobo and Willy to acquire a license for his liquor store. Unfortunately Willy took all of the money and ran away, making Walter feel devastated and hopeless. In the end Walter realizes that some things in life cannot be bought with money such as love and happiness. The play Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry reviews that the most dynamic character is Walter Younger. In the beginning Walter is a very rude person who values money highly but eventually he changed into a guy that loves his family showing that money cannot buy happiness. Walter grew up in a poor family, and he believes that money is the answer to everything. His value of money is represented accurately when he states "Baby, don't nothing happen for you in this world less you pay somebody off." Because of his low status and esteem, Walter immediately goes to money for a possible solution. To him the future looks grim and hopeless, all Walter sees is that the future is "just waiting for me a big, looming blank space-full of nothing." Walter confesses that he is afraid of a life of nothingness. Even though he lacks money he still wants his family to be comfortable, and in order to do so Walter sets his mind on a plan to get rich. Walter intends to invest his money on the liquor store. The 75,000 required for the liquor store is out of Walter's reach. But he figures that "the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see. That be ten thousand each." He has done his research and knows

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Walter Lee is the head of the family and in the beginning of the play he seems to be extremely bitter. He works for a rich white man as a chauffeur. This easily makes him bitter on the inside because he sees everyday what it is like to be rich. You can tell this because he tells Mama that he sees the rich white boys sitting down to eat every day and he knows they are talking about business or something about closing a million dollar deal. Walter Lee has had many business ideas in the past but they all seem to flop to the ground in a hurry like humpty dumpty. When he comes up with the idea of going into partnership with some men to open a liquor store his Mama is upset with him. He eventually convinces her into giving him a cut of the money from the insurance company after she buys a house for them to move in to. When he gives the money to his partner for the business, his partner runs with the money and is not seen again. This makes Walter very upset and he goes off the deep end for a short amount of time. The need of money may be important but it is definitely not worth losing your family over. After the money is lost, Walter invites the white man back to the apartment to discuss his offer and plans to accept the bribe to his family for them not to move. When the man gets to the apartment, Walter changes his mind and tells the…

    • 519 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the story Walter was trying to pressure his mother into giving him all the money she received from his father’s life insurance policy. “Do you know what this money can do for us Mama -Mama I want so many…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first, all Walter seems to care about is owning a liquor store with his two friends, Willy and Bobo. For example, one way he is trying to attempt his goal is by using Big Walter’s insurance money. He thinks that this is a good idea because it is an opportunity for him to make contributions for his family. In addition, Mama helps him out when she gives him $3500 to invest in a liquor store even…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Walker sat at his bedside feeling rather melancholy for he had not much to do but be chided at by his notorious witch of a wife. They both lived in their humble abode of an apartment in the middle of a city but they had a sublime view that overlooked the scenery of the domicile's dumpsters. They lived poorly, just barely getting by to afford a couple gallons of gas. Tom grew a hatred for almost everyone around and had only a handful of “friends”, he believed that money was the most valuable and important thing in his life.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Walter Younger’s desires are complex and it gets to a point where his desires become a threat to him. “I want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy…” (Hansberry 73). Walter apprises Mama this after he feels ignored when he attempts to explain the plan he has to open a liquor store with his friends, Willy and Bobo. Walter is beginning to understand how his dream deferred is affecting him. Walter not being able to achieve this goal not only affects him but it affects the ones around him as he changes the mood of the family when he has his temper tantrums when he doesn’t get it his…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He is also passionate, ambitious, and bursting with the energy of his dream. As he saw everything all starting to slip away, he exploded at mama for taking away his chance at a future filled with possibility and money. Now that Walter friend took his money and ran off with it, Walter is desperate. He sinks to a new low and calls Mr.Lindner.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Albert Einstein once said “Try not to become a man of success rather try to become a man of value.” A Raisin In the Sun was written by Lorraine Hansberry in nineteen fifty nine.The play explores the struggles of an African American family to achieve their dreams. In the play Walter Lee Younger Jr. the son of Mama(Lena) evolves throughout the trials and tribulations the family faces in the play.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Living in the Southside of Chicago, the play follows the Younger family’s daily struggles. The main struggle they go through is the passing of Mama’s husband Walter Senior. Due to his death, they get a $10,000 insurance check, and they decide to buy a house and start Beneatha's dream of becoming a doctor. While also helping out Walter’s dream of owning a successful liquor store. The purpose of the character Walter, is to prove that no matter how old you are, people always struggle with becoming an adult and you are never really fully an adult.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Beneatha Analysis

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The relationship after the check gets worse; Walter wants the money to invest in a liquor store. At this time, Beneatha is afflicted by the wealth considering that she would like it for her education. She claims her mother can do whatever she wants with the money, as if she has her mom’s best concern at heart. Explaining to Walter, how the money belongs to their mother and she can decide on how it will be used. The family is very dependent on the money, they conjured a plan on how they would spend it, first making a down payment on a house in a primarily white neighborhood, and putting away some money for Beneatha medical school education. With this being said, Walter decides to invest all the money in a liquor store with two gentlemen of uncertain…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Big Walter Masculinity

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When Walter gets his money taken by Willy he feels depressed and upset. Walter realizes his mistake and then his family gets on his back about it. “ .... Working and working and working like somebody’s old horse...killing himself...and you give it all away in a day”…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reality of being unable to achieve his dreams burdens Walter and eventually changes him into a greedy, selfish and cowardly young man who makes poor decisions and hurts those who love him. Walter’s obsession with money has caused his family a lot of trouble, especially when it comes to the discussion of the $10,000 insurance money they receive. He belittles Beneatha’s dreams of becoming a doctor and says, “Ain’t many girls who decide to be a doctor”(36). Walter even claims that spending money on Beneatha’s education is a waste, and that he and Ruth would have been richer and happier if Beneatha dropped school. Not only does he put down Beneatha’s dreams, he also selfishly wants all of the insurance money so that he can open a liquor store to make his own dream of being rich and successful come true. Ruth thought Walter was a dreamer and tells him to “eat your eggs” (34) every time he brings up his dreams. When he realizes that he none of his family supports his desire to opening a liquor store, he becomes a bitter and cowardly man. When Ruth tells him that she is pregnant and considering an abortion, he…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Walter Younger Family

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the play, Walter primarily talked about his dream to his family, but they realized the people he chose to be in business with were bad people. Lena told him many times not to invest money into a liquor store because it was a waste of time and he was working with scammers, but Walter chose to go against everything she says and invests in the store.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Raisin in the Sun Essay

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages

    was once said by Lorraine Hansberry, "There is only one large circle that we march in, around and around, each of us within our own little picture - in front of us - our own little mirage that we think is the future." The quote means that each individual has their perspective on life within the continuous life cycle and each person has their own decisions and prospect to determine their fates. This theme relates to the three generations of women mentioned in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun because the daily dilemmas and altercations in the Younger family may cause Beneatha, Ruth, and Mama to convoy the same fate though they have diverse expectations for the future.…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Raisin In The Sun

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Walter Lee Younger dreamed of being successful and wealthy, and giving his family a better life. Walter explains to his family,…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Walter in “A Raisin in the Sun” has a problem with his family. Since Walter’s family is going through a depression, the reader can expect the Water Lee family is facing internal conflicts. An internal conflict is a problem that deal’s with a person’s emotions. Walter Lee has a major internal conflict with money which leads to other problems with his family.At the beginning of the play Travis who is Walter’s son wanted an amount of money but Ruth kept refusing to give him that amount of money but Walter gave it to him anyway so he doesn’t find out they’re poor. Walter was a limousine driver for a rich person. Also, Walter’s mom has a check of 10,000 dollars. But she doesn’t want to use it for his dreams. immediately after it receives the check…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays