Black Plague Essay

Submitted By archie313
Words: 920
Pages: 4

Gender conditioning effects both male and female identity in A Raisin in the Sun, determining characters’ motivation, life goals and self expectations. Examine comparatively the role of gender conditioning for two of the play’s characters A Raisin in the Sun, written by playwright Lorraine Hansberry, tells the story of the Younger's, an embattled African American family living in the Southside of Chicago, somewhere between ww11 and present, so somewhere in the 1950s. An opportunity to escape poverty comes in the form of a $10,000 insurance cheque inherited from the passing of the father, and each member of the family has their own ideas of how the money should be used. The family consists of Mama (Lena Younger) and her two children Beneatha and Walter and his wife Ruth and young child Travis. The matriarch of the family who is Mama wants to buy a house and fulfil the dream that she shared with her late husband. Walter lee wants to invest the money into a liquor store and believes that the investment will solve the families financial problems. Ruth agrees with mamma, hoping that this will provide more space and opportunity for Travis. Beneatha wishes the money to be spent on her medical schooling. Throughout the duration of the play, the family clashes over their competing dreams. In this presentation I will discuss comparatively how gender conditioning effects both the characters of Mamma ( Lena Younger) and Walter Younger in accordance to the characters 'motivation, life goals and self expectations.
Dreams. That is motivates the characters. Dreams. because without dreams there is no incentive to want change your life, have a better life, be truly happy. Walter lee characters' motivations, life goals and self expectation all attribute the fact of masculinity. Throughout the play we see notions of Masculinity woven throughout. Walter feels his social - economic situation much more strongly that the rest of the characters, more so because that he's supposed to be the man of house, the man of the family. For example in the opening scene where Ruth is making scrambled eggs for Walter and they say. "That it. There you are. Man say to his women: I got me a dream. His women say: Eat your eggs.
Man say: I got to take hold of this here world, Baby! And a women 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 women say - Your eggs is getting cold" ( Walter ) Ruth Replies Walter, that aint none of our money. ( Ruth ) ....I'm thirty five years old; been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room - and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live... (Walter)
Walter often uses his manhood as an argument for him wanting a better career, reasons for his wife's support and the fact that he should inherit the insurance money and invest it into. I feel his masculinity is challenged being a black man in that time and having no real proper job, something that he regularly expresses to his wife and gets no sympathy and support in return. " "Honey, you never say nothing new. I listen to you every day, every night and every morning, and you never say nothing new. so you would rather be Mr Arnold than be his chauffeur. so - I would rather be living in Buckingham palace"