Lee And Lena Similarities

Walter Lee, Benethea, and Lena are all very similar in their rebelliousness against social norms and tradition. Although Lena at first appears to be quite traditionalist, she is quite rebellious in some ways, for example, by getting the family to move into a white neighborhood. This was at a time when cities were still very segregated, and this would have gone against all social norms. In fact, the people from the neighborhood that the Younger family wanted to move in to try to pay them so they would not move in. When Lindner, the representative from the neighborhood, tells the family about this offer, Lena strongly opposes it. Later, after Walter Lee rejects the offer, Lena makes clear her determination by saying, “I am afraid you don’t understand. My son said we was going to move and there ain’t nothing left for me to say” (Hansberry 121). This shows that once Lena makes up her mind about something, she will not change it. She is very determined to stick by her values, even if they go against the social norms of the time. Walter Lee and Benethea are also very rebellious and have …show more content…
Although it at first appears that Lena strongly conforms to tradition, and the children, especially Benethea, do not, none of these characters can be considered conforming. Lena only appears to be more traditional because she is older than the children and grew up in a different time period with different norms. She would have been like Benethea and Walter Lee, had she grown up in the time they did. This is because all three characters have strong opinions and feelings, and largely do not care whether or not they conform with the societal norms. Because they refuse to change their opinions for any reason, there is lots of arguing in the family that causes conflict. Essentially, the only thing that makes these characters different from each other are their beliefs; otherwise, they have exactly the same