Unit 2. post 1

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Act one.

"Big Walter used to say, he'd get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, ' Seem like God didn't see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams'' (Hansberry, 46).

Perhaps one of the most outstanding differences between two characters is that between Beneatha and Walter. These two characters could even be called foil characters. This difference is in how each one presents their own ambitions and dreams. Walter seeks to make something of himself through monetary gain. His plan revolves around using the life insurance check to invest in a liquor business which he hopes to profit off of. Beneatha, on the other hand, seeks to make something of herself through title and overcoming limitations created by her ethnicity. Primarily she wants to become a doctor, a title that was seen as incapable for a black person to attain. Mama wants both to succeed but she lacks the means to provide the money for both of them to succeed. Both Beneatha and Walter seek the money from Mama to do what they want to do, without considering what others in the family need or want.

One of the biggest characters was Walter Younger Sr. who is presented as a person who loved his children and worked himself to death for his children to have the chance to make their dreams possible. When Ruth finds that she has been pregnant, it brings Mama hope because Walter Sr.'s love of children had been passed down to Mama. I believe that is the reason for Mama to take her money and buy a house for the family to expand in because the apartment they are in is cramped and not suited to raising another member of the family.