Lorraine Hansberry’s Play a Raisin in the Sun

A Journey Towards Manhood

Within Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun,” it is undeniable that no character drives the plot more than Walter Younger, the husband of Ruth, father of Travis, brother of Beneatha, and the son of Lena. While simultaneously being portrayed as both a protagonist and antagonist, Walter means well in his actions while most of the time being misunderstood by his family. He dreams big for himself, as he is not satisfied with his job as a chauffeur. While his heart is in the right place, he is delusional about what is a realistic versus an unrealistic way of improving his and his family’s quality of life. The big risk he would take and how he would respond once it backfired truly defined what kind of character Walter is and how he evolved to become a “man” in the eyes of his family.

Throughout the play’s entirety, Walter prioritizes money. He believes the more money one has, the happier they are. “You tired, ain’t you? Tired of everything. Me, the boy, the way we live—this beat-up hole—everything. Ain’t you?”, Walter asked his wife, Ruth. Walter desperately wants to move up in life and believes money is the key to that. He is embarrassed by his current profession and anxiously wants something more. Right at the play’s start, this aspect to his character is introduced when he handed over a dollar to his son Travis before he heads off for school. Originally, Travis asked Ruth for 50 cents for school, which she refused to give him. Such a response should establish for Travis that money is valuable and that it has to be earned, not just handed out. Walter then gives him the 50 cents and an additional 50 cents after that. That extra money was his bus fare for the day, which early into the play shows Walter is not great with managing any amount of money.

Walter sees his son feel happy upon receiving the money, showing how he only associates happiness with money. He feels irritated because he believes his family is holding him back from his dream of owning a business. In reality, Walter’s family disagrees with the plan itself, not necessarily the purpose of it. Everybody tries to warn Walter against investing in the liquor store. Ruth tells her husband that he shouldn't trust Willy Harris. And Lena, a devout Christian, thinks it is sinful to sell liquor (Shmoop). Walter failed to realize that his family is not against the basic idea of making an investment. Had Walter invested in something aside from a liquor store and with more trustworthy people, Lena and Ruth would have likely been on board with the plan. Ruth’s distrust of Harris turned out to be very true later on, as he ran off with the money Walter would give him. Early on, Walter was rudely critical of his wife’s response to his business plans. “That’s it. There you are. Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs. Man say: I got to take hold of this here world, baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work. Man say: I got to change my life, I’m choking to death, baby! And his woman say your eggs is getting cold!” This quote from Walter in his early on conversation with Ruth about his dream investment shows his passion for the potential liquor store while at the same time being disrespectful towards his wife. What Walter is failing to understand is that his attitude is what is making him appear less of a man towards his family rather than his paycheck as a chauffeur.