A Raisin in the Sun: Post #2

Considering the fact that the play takes place in the 1950s, Walter is having an extremely difficult time with his life. During this time period, he is supposed to be the one who brings food to the table and provides for the family, but look at the state he’s in now. His family doesn’t acknowledge his opinion on what they should do with the money; nobody is taking him seriously. In frustration, Walter vents by getting drunk, where, for once, he is at peace and forgets about his problems, about the new baby, and about the excuse of a job where he “opens and closes car doors all day long” ( 73). Something has to change in the Younger family, something that’ll make everyone happy.

Within the play, that something does happen. Mama splits the money into three shares, allowing the family to buy a house and redeem Walter’s masculinity. I feel that the decision Mama made was a excellent one; she made everyone in the family happy. Not only can they move into a bigger house, but Beneatha will have some money for school, and Walter will have some cash for the proposed business. It gives each individual family member to better themselves.

However, if I was Mama, I would’ve invested it all into the liquor store business; if it succeeded, it would create a reasonably large amount of income for the Youngers. And, considering the situation that they’re in, I’d take a risk and at least try to make my family’s life substantially better for them so one day, I could buy my wife “a Cadlillac convertible” and have a gardener (109). If the outcomes outweigh the consequences, I would risk my family’s finances in hopes of economic success. Many people do that here in Delaware, so why shouldn’t I?

Either way, it is starting to look as if the family is reunifying in the play and are attempting to establish a better living for themselves. I can only hope for the best.