Walter's brave decision to move regardless of the racial and financial problems that they will face exhibits his strong core reliance and attachment to his family. Ultimately, social and political groups show that despite surface level tension between the Younger families, these individuals are dedicated to the family unit at their core levels, especially when confronted by outsiders challenging the strength of their family. The final aspect we need to examine the impact of gender roles within the Younger family. Gender roles are a fundamental point of tension and conflict within the play. This is because this family nucleus is dominated primarily by the women rather than men. There are always subtle underlying gender tensions being played throughout the plot development. Lena's control of the insurance money from the outset and her denial of Walter clearly show that this family runs along matriarchal lines. Both Lena, Ruth and to some degree Beneatha all look down upon Walter. In this way, Walter appears emasculated through the novel, and this causes him to attempt to prove himself as an independently successful individual. Walter finds himself in a very confusing situation, because even though is the breadwinner of his family, he perceives himself to have very little power within the family unit (Maxnotes, 11). His mother and his wife, rather than he appears to make the decisions concerning the group's destiny. It is this bitterness towards being consistently emasculated that causes Walter to want to lash out and make "fast money" (Noelle, npg). Beneath also creates the evidence of a non-traditional gender hierarchy within the family. Instead of Walter being the "hope and pride" of the Younger family, this falls upon Beneatha's shoulders as the only individual who has a college education and pursuit of higher aspirations. This is very different from the traditional family model, where the male retains both the position of power and respect within the family. This tension is externally identified several times through the book. First, through the actions of Lena, who tries to appease Walter's masculine ego by giving him the extra insurance money for safe keeping. Another instance of Walter's emasculation is when George, Beneatha's date casually dismisses his dreams of starting his own business, showing him disrespect...
In effect, the dominance of the women within the Younger family, strips Walter of his masculinity, he feels that he has little control over his own life, and that he is helpless to even decide the fate of his family. This constant struggle is an underlying issue that strongly motivates him to secretly invest in his liquor enterprise. The sum effect is that the traditional gender roles are not observed in the Younger family, and as a result, Walter feels extremely subsumed and disrespected. The combination of these two factors causes the conflict within the play.
The end of the play is not entirely happy. Beneatha cannot going to go to medical school because of her brother's mistakes. The Youngers will likely face racist in their new neighborhood. They will have to struggle to meet their mortgage payments. (Corley, 1998) Yet Walter has become a man, Travis, the new plant under Mama's care will have a better home than his older brother or sister, and even
This is similar to the specifics of the legal case that Hansberry's father became engaged in over their house in an all white neighborhood. In the real-life version of events, however, things were far less polite. Hansberry's father was actually breaking a legal covenant between property owners of the area that they would not sell to African-Americans, and Carl Hansberry was actually sued for $100,000 -- a huge sum
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
Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry [...] elements of drama and literary qualities of the play. This play was anything but conventional when it debuted on Broadway in 1959. It explored issues of racism, prejudice, and the dreams of others that made playgoers stop and think about what they were seeing acted out on stage, including themes Broadway theatergoers did not expect and it made many firsts on
Arthur Miller / Lorraine Hansberry The idea of the "American Dream," of achieving material success through one's own efforts, is not merely a constant topic in American literature, it seems to be a fundamental archetype of American national mythology. The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the popular stories of Horatio Alger in the 19th century established this motif as central to the American concept of manhood: we can see the precise
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
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