Preview

A Raisin In The Sun Analytical Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1390 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Raisin In The Sun Analytical Essay
The play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry depicts an African American family with many struggles, and by analyzing their struggles, certain lessons and the theme of this drama can be identified. While the family does seem to hold together, there are many problems that arise, such as having family issues, trying to fit into a community of a different race, struggling financially, etc. By the end of the play it seems as if the family has been able to figure things out a little more, but the root cause of most of their problems seemed to have come from money. Hansberry uses this play as a chance to show just how important and influential money is, and shows aspects that make the reader question the ethnically correct way to make and …show more content…
The young boy, Travis, has to sleep in the living room, many of the other family members share rooms, and the entire family shares the place with other families. It is even mentioned that they have to share the bathroom, which also happens to be outside of the apartment, with some neighbors (LTHE 725). Overall the reader can tell that the Youngers do not have a very rich lifestyle, and living in such tight quarters with so many people is sure to get irritating. To make living conditions even tighter, the audience later finds out that Ruth is pregnant. The audience gets a glimpse into how worrisome it is for the family that there will be someone else packed into the small home, and to have another person that also needs a lot of monetary care. Beneatha, Walter’s sister who is also living with them, even made a comment about where the baby was going to sleep, and sarcastically said the roof (LTHE 743). That made Ruth feel even worse, and the audience finds out that she already put down a down payment to get an abortion (LTHE 752). The lack of money has even lead the family to consider abortion, which is something that, by many people, is considered to be ethnically

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Beneatha Act 2

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Travis is very ecstatic but is told to go to the bedroom for going out without asking. When Travis leaves, Ruth becomes very excited about the news of leaving that apartment to live in a home, but the mood changes when Mama tells her that the house is in Clybourne Park. This is a problem because it’s all white families that live there, but after Mama explains that the house she got was the best one for their budget Ruth jumps for joy and can’t wait to get out of the apartment. Everyone is happy except Walter who feels Mama crushed his dreams and didn’t take his opinion into…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Junior family is burdened with a glass ceiling that is not just restraining the female gender, but the African American Race as well. Throughout the book, a laboring family is not earning what they deserve, their dreams a reality. They struggle through living in a run down and cramped house, they way are fated to live by their race. The only income they receive comes from Walters pay check and as compensation for Walter Sr.’s death. Walter works as a driver and despises his job. He makes minimal pay and is treated like a slave. The white men are businessmen, and although Walter does not think he lacks the skill to become one, can’t because he is African American. He wishes to own a liquor store which will support his family. When he finally receives the money, he is tricked into giving it away to a man who steals it and runs away. If he were white, it would not be such a struggle to make the money…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “You remember how we used to talk when Travis was born … about the way we were going to live … the kind of house … (She is stroking his head) Well, it’s all starting to slip away from us” In this scene, as usual, Ruth and Walter Lee are bickering but I now see where the root of the problem lies. It is like they have become accustomed to the life they live but do not want to accept; Ruth and Walter placed blame where they saw fit. They fault one another for letting the other down; all their aspirations in life were nothing but pipe dreams now.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Relevance: Is the evidence relevant to the argument and the relevance explained? Does it validate the thrust of the argument?…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Success. Webster’s dictionary defines it as “The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted; the gaining of fame or prosperity.”Although to truly understand the meaning of success, one needs to understand the relationship between success and goals. Success can simply be accomplishing your goals, but can also have a deeper meaning, such as personal growth. In the book A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger’s, Walter and Lena especially, are portrayed as a typical African American family in the 1950’s, trying to fight the prejudices that haunt every aspect of their lives. Lorraine Hansberry takes us through the journey of the Younger’s as they attempt to accomplish their dreams and achieve success. Overall, despite the obstacles they face such as racism, sexism, and dishonesty, Walter Lee and Lena “Mamma” Younger achieve success to certain extents; Walter achieves complete personal success and Mamma is completely successful in her goal to buy a house for her children and Travis.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1920’s, many African-American families had left the southern states and migrated north to Chicago’s South Side in search of the “American Dream”, dreaming of freedom, equality, and the opportunity that was supposed to be available to every American. This “American Dream” was sought by many African Americans in the U.S. Written by Lorraine Hansberry and produced in 1959, The play: A Raisin in the Sun, gave readers a strong meaning about the values of dreams and the struggles in fulfilling them. Unlike other plays that contain one main character, A Raisin in the Sun consisted of having two main characters: Walter and Mama. The audience may find that one of the main characters from the play, Walter, showed a hard time in understanding the values of dreams. The audience may also find Walter’s character to be portrayed as both: a sympathetic and an unsympathetic representation of African-American men in Chicago’s Southside during the 1950-1960’s.…

    • 1948 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When feeling hopeless, one may lose sight of their traditional values and chase flawed or unrealistic dreams. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, author Lorraine Hansberry, uses character Walter Lee Younger to demonstrate a misguided, materialistic alteration of the traditional American Dream. Walter Lee, in a misguided vision of money as the answer to all of life’s tests, forgets traditional family values and instead chases only materialistic aspirations. This harms and ultimately separates his family. His materialistic pursuit stems from the guilt he feels in his inability to support his family, his awareness of and yearning for American opportunity and his misconceived notion of what it means to be a man.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ruth wanting to get an abortion shows that money has a big influence the character’s actions in the story. She is a woman of about thirty who has given up on life, but she is a kind woman who cares a lot about her family. She is described as “a pretty girl, but now it is apparent that life ahs been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face (Raisin in the Sun, p. 610).” Ruth knows that the family does not have enough money , and that they are cramped into a little house. When she learns that she is pregnant, she decides she is going to have an abortion because she feels they just don’t have any money to support another child. Her husband, Walter, does not believe she actually thinks of doing this, and tells his mother that Ruth would never do that. Ruth then comes into the room and tells him he is wrong and that she has already put down a down payment on the abortion (p.639).…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lorraine Hansberry portrays the revolution of black’s consciousness through the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by introducing the Younger family to readers. This play takes place in a poor black neighborhood in Chicago’s Southside in the 1950s where the Younger family struggles with racial discrimination and finding their true dreams and goals. Like most literature, this play has a clear protagonist, but Hansberry also uses an anti-hero, a flawed character who lacks heroic qualities, but with whom the reader still sympathizes and who eventually redeems himself through a heroic act or decision. With the weight of his deferred dreams upon his shoulders, Walter Lee Younger digs himself into a massive pit of troubles but slowly redeems himself by realizing the wrongs of his actions, making him the anti-hero of this play.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1. Walter said, "Damn my eggs . . . damn all the eggs that ever was!" Why?…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Raisin in the Sun Essay

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun,” Walter Younger is an idealist who failed to see reality and how things actually work out. Walter is in his 30s yet he still lives with his mother, who holds the family together. He isn’t capable of caring for a family and making the right decisions. He has a dream of owning a liquor store that his family opposes to yet he still tried to obtain it. Walter is a man of flaws because of his bitterness towards others, such as George Murchison, and in a way because of his racism toward white people. He is also sexist to women and is jealous of the success of others. Walter’s family plays a role in changing his views as well. They all shaped him and taught him the values and virtues of not backing down and giving into racism against black people. Throughout the play, Walter matures and begins to see reality and that his decisions have consequences and impacts on others.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Race might be the most divisive thing, mankind experiences during their lifetime. Race being divisive is not all bad, because without race the world would be a very dull place indeed. However, some people think that because they are part of one race, they are better than another race. Racism stems from the fact that one believes that their race is superior to other races. Every person will have to deal with the effects of racial differences during their life. For example, the narrator in The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and Walter in A Raisin in the Sun will have to face the effects of their race. Some people are proud of their race and some are ashamed of their race and want to be a part of the other race. The narrator is of a mixed background and can pass for a black or white person, ultimately he will have to decide which race to be a part of.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Raisin in the Sun Essay

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Young men who have a family to uphold would jump at any chance to provide for their family. Walter wishes to make an investment that can provide for the whole family in the the long run. He is a younger man with a wife and kid who works as a chauffeur for a rich white men. Walter feels trapped and that he can provide so…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 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
  • Good Essays

    chapter 5, It is explaining Walter’s summer of 1947. Walter’s Uncle Lee came back into Walter’s life, when Uncle Lee came he talked out the side of his mouth because he had been in jail so long. Walter and a couple of his friends knew a kid named Richard Aisles who hurt his eyes over that summer so then they decided to try to hang Richard. Then when they was about to hang Richard Reverend Abbott walked in the basement of the church and he was shocked because what he saw . Mrs. Conway called Walter a very bad boy, so on in class Walter liked to read his comic books during class. After Mrs. Conaway ripped up Walter’s comic book, she gave him a collection of Norwegian fairy tales. At first he dint think he would like it but b because of this book, Walter realized he loved books and to read. So then he liked to read and he was happy that she took away his books now He also decided that he liked Mrs. Conway.…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays