A society’s definition of success as a certain sex can heavily influence the values and goals of individuals within that society. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the character Walter Lee Younger strives to achieve what he considers success by struggling to fit the definition of a man in 1959 America. Throughout the play, Hansberry’s portrayal of Walter Lee Younger reveals that American society at the time based masculinity on financial power and a man’s ability to provide for the household. Walter’s obsession/desire towards financial power is obvious due to his strong desire to increase his wealth and his association of financial power with manhood. After George Murchison arrives at the Younger’s household to take Beneatha to
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After mama eventually decides to give Walter part of the insurance money for investing, Walter first begins to imagine what he can provide Ruth, his wife: “Rich people don’t have to be flashy…though I’ll have to get something a little sportier for Ruth – maybe a Cadillac convertible to do her shopping in…” (Act 2 Scene 2). Walter imagines solely what he can provide Ruth in materialistic terms instead of as a good supporting husband, a trend seen earlier in the book where Walter acts abrasively towards Ruth due to her supporting his dream. This dream to provide for his wife in luxuries shows that he only sees providing for his family financially, not emotionally, as a pathway to success as a man. Walter’s desire to provide for the family is further emphasized when he dreams of sending his son to college: “…your daddy’s gonna make a transaction…a business transaction that’s going to change our lives…we’ll go up to your room to see you sitting on the floor with the catalogues of all the great schools in America around you…Just tell me where you want to go to school and you’ll go. Just tell me, what it is you want to be – and you’ll be it…You just name it, son…and I hand you the world!” (Act 2 Scene 2). Here, Walter dreams of being able to provide his son with the college of his choice, and “handing him the world”. This strong desire to provide for his family shows that Walter feels the pressure of this masculine stereotype and feels the need to fulfill it in order to be a successful man. Together, Walter’s aimlessness without having the insurance money, and his strong dreams of providing for his family using this money are used by Hansberry to represent the masculine expectation of supporting a family at the
After mama eventually decides to give Walter part of the insurance money for investing, Walter first begins to imagine what he can provide Ruth, his wife: “Rich people don’t have to be flashy…though I’ll have to get something a little sportier for Ruth – maybe a Cadillac convertible to do her shopping in…” (Act 2 Scene 2). Walter imagines solely what he can provide Ruth in materialistic terms instead of as a good supporting husband, a trend seen earlier in the book where Walter acts abrasively towards Ruth due to her supporting his dream. This dream to provide for his wife in luxuries shows that he only sees providing for his family financially, not emotionally, as a pathway to success as a man. Walter’s desire to provide for the family is further emphasized when he dreams of sending his son to college: “…your daddy’s gonna make a transaction…a business transaction that’s going to change our lives…we’ll go up to your room to see you sitting on the floor with the catalogues of all the great schools in America around you…Just tell me where you want to go to school and you’ll go. Just tell me, what it is you want to be – and you’ll be it…You just name it, son…and I hand you the world!” (Act 2 Scene 2). Here, Walter dreams of being able to provide his son with the college of his choice, and “handing him the world”. This strong desire to provide for his family shows that Walter feels the pressure of this masculine stereotype and feels the need to fulfill it in order to be a successful man. Together, Walter’s aimlessness without having the insurance money, and his strong dreams of providing for his family using this money are used by Hansberry to represent the masculine expectation of supporting a family at the