The Youngers are a poor, African American family who reside in deplorable conditions in a racially segregated complex on the South Side of Chicago. Their living arrangements are meager at best as three generations are cramped in a two-bedroom apartment, the only bathroom being a hallway facility which they share with another family. The Youngers have always lived in extreme poverty and the impending arrival of life insurance proceeds, the result of the death of Mr. Younger, creates life changing possibilities. In her critically acclaimed play, A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry offers a glimpse into the racially charged climate of the mid-twentieth century while exploring the impact that this oppressive culture imposes on the dreams …show more content…
From the moment Walter is introduced to the audience, the overwhelming pain and despair created by a life of poverty are quickly evident in his mournful lament, “This morning, I was lookin’ in the mirror and thinking about it . . . I’m thirty-five years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room” (34). Walter is adamant that the answer to all of his problems is in the acquisition of money “because it is life” (74). Walter is consumed with rage that the three adults in his family receive a mere pittance from their wealthy, white employers. Agonizing about his social rank, Walter begs, “Somebody tell me—tell me, who decides which women is suppose to wear pearls in this world” (143). He is overwhelmed with excitement when Mama offers him a portion of the money to invest in his dream of owning a liquor store. When his partner disappears with his money, it initially appears that Walter will never recover; however, it is actually the catalyst which sparks his transformation. When Mr. Lindner, the Chairman of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, offers the Younger family a significant amount of money to relinquish ownership of the house, Walter finally realizes that no amount of money can purchase the respect and integrity that he has always …show more content…
Her participation in a multitude of expensive hobbies demonstrate her youthful selfishness although she justifies the cost as an opportunity to “experiment with different forms of expression” (48). Beneatha’s exposure to higher education is rare for an African American woman of that era and it occasionally compels her to offer surprising opinions which antagonize her mother like, “It’s all a matter of ideas, and God is just one idea I don’t accept” (51). This revelation immediately evokes a slap across her face from Mama, and while Bennie begrudgingly mumbles, “In my mother’s house there is still God,” it is clear that she does not support that philosophy (51). Bennie frequently bickers with Walter who is resentful of the sacrifices his family has made on her behalf, although she repeatedly reminds him that her medical education will positively impact the world. She rebukes Walter for his liquor store dream and correlates his initiative to ”all those prophets who would lead us out of the wilderness—into the swamps!” (38). Beneatha is an educated woman, but throughout the play, she develops worldly wisdom primarily the result of her relationship with Joseph Asagai who facilitates her desire to learn more about her African heritage. When the money earmarked for her education is stolen,