Walter And Beneatha example essay topic

"What happens to a dream deferred?" Langston Hughes asks in his 1959 poem "Dream Deferred". He suggests that it might "dry up like a raisin in the sun" or "stink like a rotten meat" however at the end of the poem, Hughes offers another alternative by asking", or does it explode?" this is the view Lorraine Hansberry supports in her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. The drama opens with Walter reading, "Set off another bomb yesterday" from the front page of the morning newspaper; however he is unaware that bombs will soon explode inside his own house. These bombs are explosions of emotion caused by frustration among members of Walter's family who are unable to realize their dreams. Although they all have a common dream of having a better life, they must compete with each other for the insurance money from the death of Walter's father. Walter wants to get rich quickly by investing the money in a liquor store, but his sister, Beneatha, would rather use it to finish medical school.

Mama wants to leave their worn house in the ghetto for a nicer one where Walter's son Travis, can have his own bedroom and a yard in which to play. The dreams of these characters, however are deferred for so long that frustration grows inside them and eventually bursts out. Each day Walter has to continue working as a servant, his internal frustration and anger build, and eventually releases his anger against Beneatha, Ruth, and Mama. When Walter explains why he dislikes being a chauffeur, he tells his mother, "I open and close car doors all day long.

I drive a man around in his limousine and I say, Yes, sir; no, sir; very good, sir; shall I take the drive; sir? He tells Mama that ain't no kind of job. Once the check arrives, Walter can think only of investing the money, which to him "is life" consequently, he does not give Ruth a chance to tell him she is pregnant, and has decided to have an abortion. Mama encourages Walter to listen to his wife. Throughout the play, Walter provides any everyman perspective of the mid-twentieth-century African-American male. He is the typical man of the family who struggles to support it and who tries to discover new, better schemes to secure its economic prosperity.

Difficulties and barriers that obstruct his and his family's progress to attain that prosperity constantly frustrate Walter. 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 alone, and he seeks strength in uniting with his family. Once he begins to listen to Mama and Ruth express their dreams of owning a house, he realizes that buying the house is more important for the family's welfare than getting rich quickly.

Walter finally becomes a man when he stands up to Mr. Linder and refuses the money that Mr. Linder offers the family not to move in to its dream house in a white neighborhood. Mama is Walter and Beneatha's sensitive mother and the head of the Younger household. She demands that members of her family respect themselves and take pride in their dreams. Mama has hoped for a new house with "a little garden in the back" ever since her husband was alive, and she is happy when she can finally buy one. Mama punishes Walter and Beneatha both verbally and physically when they threaten her fundamental pillars of hope, faith in God and the memories of her husband. To give Walter more responsibility and encourage him to gain more self-respect, Mama makes him the head of the household and entrusts him with the money remaining after the down payment on the house, but instead of setting aside a portion for Beneatha's education, Walter gives it all to his investment partner, Willy Harris.

Willy betrays Walter's trust by running away with the money and when Mama learns of Walter's irresponsibility, she beats him "senselessly in the face" and reminds Walter of his father's suffering. Walter is not the only one who is slapped by Mama. When Beneatha is angry with her mother for treating her like a child, she talks about "there is no God". This causes Mama to slap Beneatha and make her repeat "In my mother's house there is still God" Beneatha does not want to rely on God for fulfillment of her dreams.

She wants to create her own future by becoming a doctor. Beneatha is the daughter in college, who keeps changing her mind about what she likes and what she wants to do with her life. Beneatha is an attractive student who provides a young independent, feminist perspective, and her desire to become a doctor demonstrates her great ambition. To become a doctor, Beneatha must have money for college from Mama's check, but she does not share her mother's moral standards. Beneatha thinks the rich George Murchison is "shallow". She would rather have the African Joseph As agi as her boyfriend.

Beneatha loses all faith in her brother. She dreams of being a doctor and struggles to determine her identity as a well-educated black woman.