Unconsciously, Walter"s American Dream is to assimilate into the mainstream and become a part of the affluent hegemony.

             Walter"s frustration festers and his anger turns inward towards his family who, in Walters eyes, do not understand him. Walter"s family members do understand him and they also want to amass material dreams, but Walter"s family members know that it is going to take work to get there. .

             Walter begins to drink, stay away from home, and to constantly argue with his wife, Ruth. Walter"s life is contrasted by the role of his recently widowed mother, who holds to more traditional values of acceptance of life"s lot and of making the best of any situation. Walter Lee"s "Mama" holds Walter"s father up as an example of a man with pride and a man that, despite racial injustice in a dualistic society, worked hard to provide for his family. This adds to Walter"s frustration. Walter now feels incapable and small in his mama"s eyes.

             Mama"s inheritance of ten thousand dollars left by her deceased husband provides fodder for conflict in the family. Each of the family members, envisioning their own American Dream, has an idea of how the inheritance should be spent. All of these ideas, of course, conflict with Walter"s "get rich quick" scheme. Mama, Ruth, and Travis all have the dream of moving to their own home with a white picket fence, a garden, a place for Travis to play outside and a bathroom that is not shared by other tenants. Walter"s sister, Beneatha has a dream of going to medical school and being able to help others. And Walter wants it all! Walter wants the money, the house, a business, and an overall good life for him and his family. Walter, like many other Americans, measures his dream by income (Stein 1). .

             Mama, deciding that the family needs to realize the dream of owning their own home, makes a small down payment on a house in the "white" suburbs.