Many times in our lives we must remind ourselves that money is not everything. However in the play a raisin in the sun this did not come easy for a character named Walter. When Mr. Lindner appeared to the Younger apartment the first time he offered them money in exchange for not moving to Clybourne Park. His offer was enough to pay for not only the house but also a little more than that.
To an outsiders perspective this offer would not sound bad at all. However the Younger family has lived in this tiny little apartment virtually for all their lives not by choice but by circumstance. This is the first opportunity that the Youngers have had to move to a bigger and better place and here is Mr. Linder offering to pay them not to move because of their race. Everyone accept for Walter objects to this offer, arguing that they have too much pride to accept not being able to live somewhere because of the color of their skin. When Mr.
Linder arrives Walter made the right decision when he told Mr. Lindner that the Youngers are proud and hardworking and intend to move into their new house. For a long time it had been mama’s dream to move out of that shabby apartment. Mama put the down payment down on the house. It did not matter to mama that the house was in an all white neighborhood so why should it have mattered to Walter. Mama had trusted Walter with of the family’s money.
Walter blew all of the money and now she was left with nothing. Walter had already done enough damage to the family and if he accepted Mr. Linder’s offer he would have lost the respect of his family. The Younger family consisted of five people and a new baby on the way. Their small apartment was on the South Side of Chicago and it had only two bedrooms.
The Term Paper on Walter Lee Dream Family Money
... baby because she felt that she and Walter did not have enough money to support another family member. She also felt that the ... thing. He surprises the family by changing his mind and deciding to move into the house. I was also moved by what Mama said. ... and if he couldn't, he wanted to be able to offer his son a better future. Their situation gave them a ...
One for Mama and Beneath a, and one for Ruth and Walter. Travis sleeps on the couch in the living room. The only window is in their small kitchen, and they share a bathroom in the hall with their neighbors. The living conditions were completely unsuitable. The new home was much more respectable. When Ruth heard the news of the new house she proclaimed, “Hallelujah! And good-bye misery…
I don’t never want to see your ugly face again!” (Potier, 264).
Travis could now have his own room and a yard to play in. Walter was not able to provide his son and wife with a dwelling like this was an excellent opportunity. Mama asks for their understanding. It was the best house and only house that she could afford.
The Younger family really needed this house. Walter basically had an obligation to his father who was a laborer most of his life. His father earned the house for them brick by brick. The Younger family do not want to cause problems for the new neighborhood. Mr. Linder’s offer was extremely prejudice.
If the Younger’s were a white family Mr. Linder would not have had made such a suggestion. The more diverse a neighborhood is the easier it will be to end racism within that community. In conclusion, Walter is driven by his dream for money and material goods but no amount of material goods could make the Younger family want to stay in that tiny apartment any longer. If Walter decided to accept the offer it would be extremely selfish of him. By making the decision that he did, Walter proved that his pride, work, and family was far more important to him than his dream of money.
The Younger’s have worked too hard to have anyone tell them where they can and cannot live. In mama’s eyes, rejecting Mr. Linder’s offer was the first sign that Walter’s finally matured. She stated “he finally come into his manhood today, didn’t he? Kind like a rainbow after the rain” (Potier, 294).
Works Cited Potier, Sidney. “A raisin in the Sun” Making Literature matter 2 nd Edition.
The Research paper on Liquor Store House Money Family
Tamara Orekhova Eng 201- 811 Prof. Z. Yablokova May 4, 2000 Out-of-class pape Research paper Many people are born into poverty along with a society of ridicule and discrimination, in which people must encounter in order to overcome these struggles and accomplish their goals. In Lorraine Hansberry? s work? A Raisin in the Sun, ? the Younger family face numerous situations and dilemmas that obstruct ...
Ed. John Shill and John Clifford. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2003, 264 & 294.