Lives In The Apartment example essay topic

A Raisin in the Sun - Essay question 2 Throughout history, America has showed its will and strength to overcome obstacles and to reach its goals. Every new decade demonstrated something knew and different that America had to pull through. This country has overcome many important feats, which shape our history and the way we live today. Back in the 1950's, America was starting something new.

We have just come out of vigorous wars and just wanted to relax. During this period, segregation of the country was not under way, but many African-Americans wanted it. They wanted to live a normal life and wanted to live like the white families did. In this book, it shows a poor black family living in a small apartment. This play shows you what it was like to live in their family, by putting the audience into the characters lives. It showed you how they lived and what troubles were brought to them.

But there is one character in this play that sticks out in my mind and that is Walter. Living in this small apartment is the Younger family. This family consists of a couple, Walter and Ruth, with their son Travis. Also, Walters's sister, Beneatha and their mother, referred to as "Mama", also lives in the apartment. They are a happy family but just had to get over the tragic death of Mamas' husband. From his death though, they received a check for $10,000.

Instinctively, Mama, but half of it in the bank account, but unfortunately gave the other half to Walter. She told him to put half of the money into an account for Beneatha's college, and for him to keep the other half. Since Walter first got married, he was a chauffeur for a white man, and he always hated it. But he had the opportunity to open up a store with his two buddies; however, Ruth told him that she did not want him to do that and managed to change his mind. Also, another problem why he couldn't go in on the store was because he did not have the money, but now that his mama gave him the money, he had an idea. He decided to invest in the store and gave his friend all of the money.

He would soon learn a lesson that would haunt him forever. His so called friend, took the money and escaped somewhere with it, leaving Walter with nothing except the wraith and guilt of his family. Through his life he did many stupid things, and he knew it, but there was one thing he knew was not stupid and that was having his son grow up to be like him. As mamas only son, Ruth's disobedient husband, Travis's caring father, and Beneatha's aggressive brother, Walter provides the audience with the perspective of how the twentieth- century African- American male lived. He is the typical man of the family who struggles to support it and who tries to discover new, and better ideas maintain the on-going life of this family.

The many things that try to stop Walter from providing what he feels is the best alternative for his family, frustrate him. He believes that money will solve all of their problems, but he is rarely successful with money. Walter often fights and argues with Ruth, Mama, and Beneatha. Far from being a good listener, he does not seem to understand that he must pay attention to his family members' concerns in order to help them. Eventually, he realizes that he cannot raise the family up from poverty.