A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun Essay Often in works of literature a character’s life is affected by a single act or mistake In the play, “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry , the character Mama is affected by a mistake. When Mama’s husband dies, she receives a $10,000 check. She decides to split the money three ways. One portion will go to purchasing a new house for the family, the second to her daughter Beneatha’s school and the rest for her son Walter to put in the bank.

Her son’s plan was to use the money to make an investment on a liquor store.

Mama tells him that he is to not use the money on the store and trusts him with the money. In result, he does not listen and gets scammed for the money. This affects Mama by crushing her dreams, disgracing her husbands death, and the selfishness of her children. Throughout the play, Mama has a dream of someday having her own garden where she can plant this little flower she keeps in the window.

Although the plant isn’t a beautiful bright flower and is on the verge of dying, it symbolizes her dream of having a new home and garden.

When her son goes against her, she feels that her dreams are crushed. With the money left over, Mama trusted her son to do as she said with the money. The money she told her son to put in the bank was gone and they now had to figure out how to pay the bills.

Get quality help now

Bella Hamilton

Verified

Proficient in: A Raisin In The Sun

5 (234)

“ Very organized ,I enjoyed and Loved every bit of our professional interaction ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

She even at one point considers changing her mind about keeping the house she purchased in Clybourne Park. The plant she cared so much for she began to let die. She felt as though her dreams were beginning to die as well.

When Walter got scammed for the money, he crushed the dreams of his mother. When Mama realizes the money is gone she feels kind of as if it is a disgrace to her husbands honor. He had worked so hard throughout his life to earn that money and more than half of it was gone. When the family lost the money, Mama felt almost as if she let her husband down. He was the love of her life and it was hard enough receiving the check as it was loosing it.. Walter Sr. loved his children very much and worked hard each day earning that money brick by brick for them.

Although she loved her son very much, it was frustrating to see he couldn’t be a man similar to her husband like she wanted him to be. Mama was heartbroken when she lost her husband, and it was extremely hard to see all of his money washed away the way it was. One of the biggest affects on Mama by Walter’s mistake is the way her children react. She is embarrassed in the way they are acting as if money is everything. In Act I Scene II, she asks her son why money is life to him because life used to be freedom. Walter responds by saying it was always money which infuriates her.

She informs him that before they had to worry about staying alive and that him and Beneatha aren’t acting satisfied or proud of all her and her husband have done for them. Also in Act II, she tells Walter that she comes from five generations of people who were slaves and sharecroppers, and they never let anyone pay them money or make them feel like they weren’t fit to walk on this earth. This occurs when a man tries to pay them to not move into the house in Clybourne Park because it is a “white” neighborhood. Beneatha replies to Mama by saying all their dreams are dead now.

It is hard to see her children act so selfish, considering all that her husband and her have done to provide for them. Within the play, “A Raisin in the Sun“, Mama is affected by the loss of the insurance money. She felt many different things that affected her because of the money loss. Her dreams had been crushed, her husbands death was dishonored and her children were acting ungrateful. It was hard loosing the money, but It was even harder how it affected Mama. In the play, Mama is greatly affected by her son’s selfish mistake.