A Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis

A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. The play takes place during the 1950s with the Younger family. The Younger’s live in a cramped apartment on the south side of Chicago. The Younger’s are excited this particular morning because of the arrival of the ten thousand dollar check coming in to the family because of the death of Walter Younger Sr. Ideas clash on how the money should be spent. Walter Lee, the protagonist, wants to invest in a liquor store, while his sister Beneatha wants to use the money towards her college and Lena, who is the mother, wants to buy something the whole family may enjoy. Throughout the play, the characters Walter Lee, Beneatha, and Mama all undergo changes when deciding how the check should be spent.
Walter is the oldest son of Lena Younger. Walter often fantasies about become wealthy so he make his family happy. He believes this dream can become reality if he invests in a liquor company with Willy Harris. But tragedy strikes when Willy Harris proves himself to be a fraud when he absconds with the $6500 Walter gave him. Due to this incident, Walter learns to be wise. He learns he will have to be man and provide for his family to make up for his mistake. Walter demonstrates this by telling Mr. Karl Linder that the family will be moving into their new home,
Another character that demonstrates a drastic change at the end of the play is Beneatha. Throughout the act, Beneatha constantly makes jabs and snide comments at her brother Walter because of his actions. When Walter mistakenly gives her college money away to a con-artist, Beneatha proclaims that she hates her brother. Later, Beneatha learns to love and respect her brother. She understands that people will make mistakes and that Walter was only trying to do what he believed would benefit the family. Beneatha gains respect for Walter when tells Mr. Linder that they will be moving into the