The Life Of The Younger Family In A Raisin In The Sun
The growth of the Younger family is very strange but, an amazing one. They started off as a family that was struggling but was still able to make a decent living. They were expecting to a insurance check. They got the check because he passed away while working. It was a $10,000 dollar check, but something drastic happened that changed the story. Was it for better or worse?
The Younger family was an African American family living in a apartment building in Chicago where the rooms weren’t that big and the whole building shared the same bathroom. The father died while working to help support his family, and now the Younger family is going to receive an insurance check worth $10,000 dollars. Back then that was worth a lot more than it was now, Everyone in the Younger household was waiting for the check. In the book Raisin In The Sun they talk about the check, it all starts with theme hearing a bell which was the mailman bringing the check. In the story it says “Get down them steps boy!” Everyone that is in the house is getting excited because everything they’ve ever known is about to change in this one moment. They’ve been living in the one apartment with cramped rooms and one single bathroom for everyone in the apartment building.
They got the check and let’s be honest all of them knew what they wanted to use the money on, but they couldn't agree on one thing. Grandma just wanted to have a place where she could have a garden, Ruth just wanted to move into a bigger house or an actual house where they don’t have to share it with at least 15 other people, and then Walter wants to invest into a liquor store in New York so that he could be rich, He asked Ruth to talk to Mama about it; it says in page 10 of Raisin In The Sun “Mama would listen to you. You know she listen to you more than she do me and Bennie. She think more of you, All you have to do is just sit down with her drinking your coffee one morning and talking ‘bout things like you do and you just sip your coffee see, and say easy like that you been thinking ‘bout that deal Walter Lee so interested in, ‘bout the store and all, and sip some more coffee, like what you saying ain't really that important to you.” Walter was so focused on the liquor store that he lost his mind and started to act differently.
While Walter was out drinking he met up with his friends and they started talking about the idea of the liquor store. Walter’s friend Willy compromises the amount of money they would have to invest and he lowered it down to $10,000 for Walter. That gets Walter’s hopes up again and tries to convince Mama to give him the money but he failed and ran off to go drinking again.
The Younger family was getting ready to move into their new house in Clybourne Park before Mr. Linder came trying to convince them to not move into the neighborhood. Walter and Ruth walk out the room and grab a box and give it to Mama. It’s full of gardening tools, but then Travis walks out and brings in a gigantic box and hands it to Mama. She opens the box and it’s a big gardening hat and all the adults laugh at him except for Mama she explains to him how much she loves and how thankful she is.
Just as things are starting to look up, Walter has the money and he’s suppose to put most of it in the bank and the rest for him to invest. Instead he takes it all and invests it all in the liquor store idea. He goes back home saying he gave all the money to Willy to invest into the liquor store. Everyone gets mad but, most of them stay hopeful until the news from Walter’s friend Bobo comes in with terrible news. He comes in and tells them that Willy ran off with all the money.When Walter realizes that the money is really gone he goes making a mess looking for something, but nobody knows what he’s looking for except for him.
Everyone is asking Walter he is looking for and he explains to them that he's looking for Mr. Linder’s card so that he can call him and get the money back and then some. Right now the Younger family in general is at its lowest. Beneatha just realized she’s not going to be able to go the medical school, Ruth just realized that she’s not going to be able to move into her new house, and Mama is not gonna be able to have her garden, or a yard for the kids to play in. While Mr. Linder is on his way they are all arguing. Mama explains to him that he can’t do it to think about Tavis nd the baby that’s on the way.
When Mr. Linder arrives he says he soo glad that Walter called that he came to senses. When Walter is about to sign the paper Mama says to look at Travis and show him how a real Younger man of the house deals with their problems. Walter pauses and looks Travis deep in the eyes and he thinks about it. He then denise the contract and says he’s sorry but they’re all going to move into the house and there is noting that he could do that would change his mind.
Works Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin In The Sun. Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Austin, 1984
