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Becoming A Man in A Patriarchy Society
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a great fictional example of some of the struggles that African-Americans faced in the 1950s. Hansberry’s play is ultimately having a family as its center, where Mama, is trying to fight for the Younger family’s future under difficult circumstances during a time when discrimination was a major issue in the US. Throughout the entire play, Hansberry displays Walter Lee’s struggles in becoming a man and the head of the family, which is expected of a man during this time. Despite his struggles, he does end up becoming the face of the family who makes the difficult decisions, which is thanks to the major events that Walter Lee goes through after the death of his father. This play is ultimately an example of the struggles that many African-American men went through in the 1950s when it comes to masculinity and being the head of the family.
Walter Lee, the son of Mama, acts as the protagonist and antagonist in this drama, where money seems to be the biggest driver in his decisions. The plot focuses on him and the actions that he makes; most of his actions and mistakes hurt the Younger family to a major extent, and it seems like everything is going the wrong way for the family. Mama, the mother of Walter Lee and the head of the family tells him that he is nothing like his father who recently died:
MAMA. You… you are a disgrace to your father’s memory. Somebody get me my hat. (1938)
This describes the major difficulties that the family has because it is depending on Walter Lee to be the provider, unlike today where women have a much more prominent role in providing for the family financially. The fact that the setting is in a poor part of Chicago after WWII does not contribute positively to the situation either and reading over the play, it is inevitable not to feel the tension that it creates. However, Walter does turn out to be a man that can make decisions on behalf of his family. Walter is the typical man who struggles to support his family, which is an issue in 1950s America because the man is expected to carry the family. Walter therefore tries to discover new opportunities to ensure the family’s economic well-being and money seems to be his solution to all issues that present themselves. However, he does not turn out to be lucky or smart around money. An example of this is when he loses the insurance money that Mama gave him:
BOBO. [Looking up at Walter with the tears running down his face.] Man, Willy is gone. (1962)
This is an example of one of the many bad decisions that Walter makes on behalf of his family even though it comes from good intentions. However, that does not change the fact that the insurance money was the only money that the Younger family had. Walter made a deal with Bobo and Willy about investing in a liquor store. He fails to make his dream come true, he fails in making everyone else’s dreams come true, and lastly, he fails in providing for his family.
Mis-match in expectations is a major theme that appears multiple times throughout the play, and most of the time it ends up in arguments that hurt the family more than it has to. Walter Lee fails to realize that he must pay attention to his family members’ ideas, wishes, and dreams in order to help them, which he most likely should have done in the situation with the insurance money. Up until that point, he had only been worrying about his own dreams and ambitions, and unluckily for everyone, Walter’s decisions affect the whole family even though they have nothing to do with the decision process. However, when Walter realizes that the house is the key to the family’s welfare, and not getting rich quickly, the story has a major turning point because from that point there is hope for the family’s future. By standing up to Mr. Lindner, Walter finally becomes a man. He refuses the money that Mr. Lindner offers the family not to move into their newly bought house:
WALTER. Never mind how I feel – you got any more to say ‘bout how people sought to sit down and talk to each other?… Get out of my house, man. (1956)
Mr. Lindner and the Youngers’ new neighborhood are being discriminated against by trying to convince the Youngers not to move into their new house. Mr. Lindner and the community only see the color of the Youngers’ skin and he threatens to tear the family apart in an all-white community. Ultimately, the Youngers respond to this discrimination with defiance and strength displayed in the quote above. The importance of this is crucial because racism was a huge issue at the time, and still is in today’s society. This is an important example of African-Americans standing up for themselves in terms of racism and defying being suppressed.
Walter’s dreams and ambitions do not become reality, but because of the fact that he becomes more of a man, he reevaluates them. While Mr. Lindner’s offer almost gets the better of him because of the guilt that he has for losing the insurance money, he still does not back down because his family convinces him that they have worked too hard and they cannot see their common dream to be flushed out the toilet. (1972) Walter finally becomes a man, knowing that being proud of his family and believing in, is more important than having money. Throughout the entire play, Walter goes through challenges in order to step foot into manhood. Despite failures and major issues, he succeeds in his own weird, hard, and difficult way.
Ultimately, the Youngers achieve what they dreamed of in the first place. They move to the neighborhood where they are not wanted despite multiple issues. They can look forward to a better life with rooms for pretty much everyone and they can live like humans; not like fish in a can as they have previously been doing. Mama’s plant represents the dream that she has for her family and her own dream of a house with a garden. The fact that the plant has managed to survive all this time gives Mama hope that she can manage the responsibilities of having a real garden. In other words, as long as the plant lives, so does the dream. Because of the decision that Walter makes in terms of turning down Mr. Lindner’s offer, Mama, himself, and the family actualizes the dream that Mama had all along living a better life in a house with a garden and room for everyone. The Youngers are going to live the American dream despite the odds that are against them. Walter Lee beats the odds by becoming the man that Mama always believed he could be. (1951)
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