While the family does move anyway, they are changed. Walter learns that he cannot trust everyone and every fly-by-night idea is probably just a fraud. Curing the sick was the most important thing to Beneatha before Walter lost the money. After the incident, she does not seem to care as much and she tells him, curing the sick is "not close enough to what ails mankind" (Hansberry 2254). Losing the money opened her eyes to how cruel people can be and forces her to rethink her priorities. Walter has matured because of his mistake and has not allowed it to ruin the rest of his life. His deal with Willy opens his eyes to the fact that while people are dreaming, there are "takers out there operating, just taking and taking" (2258). He realizes that he must not only work to achieve his dream, he must also work not to "get taken." While he seems embittered about his bad deal with Willy, he comes through for the family at the end of the play. So much so that Beneatha tells Lindner, "That's what the man said" (2261) at the end of the play.
Walter and Willy share the characteristic of following silly dreams. Walter fails to see the benefit of working hard for a living and while Willy works hard, he is not working smart. Walter wants to believe in the liquor store idea because it means quick money to him. Willy shares this tendency. He has the idea of starting a "Loman Line" (Miller 1064) of athletic gear. He brags to Happy about a "million dollar idea" (1065). They both fail to see the difficulties involved with some dreams. Most people achieve their dreams through hard work. They are blind in this way. Walter is selfish because he wants the money...
He tells her, "So that's the peace and comfort you went out and bought for us" (2237). He cannot understand and accuses her o killing his dreams. Willy's blindness keeps him from seeing the hopelessness of the path his life has taken. After years of not excelling at his work, he still believes he will become a great success.
Both plays represent aspects of represent a slice of American life. They are realistic in their approaches to humankind and how they choose to deal with dreams. When we see the people in these plays, especially Walter and Willy, we can probably point to people in our own lives with similar characteristics. Walter is a young man that simply refuses to listen to his mother's wisdom. He thinks he knows more than she does and places his trust in a total stranger. He must learn a painful lesson the difficult way but he does learn and he emerges a better man at the end of the play. Willy, on the other hand, symbolizes what can happen when we refuse to look at the truth and live a lie. Willy was too old and stubborn to learn from his mistakes and he simply allows this to catch up to him to such a point that he feels he cannot escape it or overcome it. A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman represent different facets of the American Dream and the difficulties associated with it.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Vol. II. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company. pp. 2202-63.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. An Introduction to Literature. Sylvan Barnet, ed.…
