Analysis of the Character Walter in "A Raisin in the Sun".

             Everyone in America wants to achieve some sort of financial success in his or her life. Sometimes living in a capitalistic society entices many to become too materialistic. Greed is the characteristic that many Americans then attain. This is all in pursuit of the American dream. For most Americans, this high status is very difficult to achieve. In Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun", she examines an African-American family's struggle to break out of the poverty that is preventing them from achieving some sort of financial stability, or the "American Dream". It focuses on Walter's attempt in "making it," or "being somebody." She also analyzes how race prejudice and economic insecurity affects a black mans role in his own family, his ability to provide, and his identity. What Hansberry is trying to illustrate is how Western civilization has conditioned society to have materialistic aspirations and how these ideals corrupt the black man's identity and his family. .

             Many black men have to deal with a systematic racism that effects their role in society. The frustrations that a black man has to deal with can affect the family a great deal. For example, if Walter gets upset at work or has a bad day, he can't get irate with his boss and risk loosing his job; instead he takes it out on his wife Ruth. Also, the job that he holds can only provide so much to the family. He's not even capable of providing his son Travis with some pocket change without becoming broke himself. What type of "breadwinner" can a black man be in America? .

             Walter Younger is thirty-five years old and all he is, is a limousine driver. He is unhappy with his job and he desperately seeks for an opportunity to improve his family standing. He tells his mother how he feels about his job when she wouldn't give him the ten thousand dollars; " I open and close car doors all day long.