Sejal Says, "The Perception of the American Dream is Subjective to Ones' Values"
The central conflict in "The Raisin In The Sun" seems to be the internal conflict faced by each character when trying to achieve their dreams. One symbol that exemplifies the idea of dreams and it unattainability is Mama's plant.
The plant symbolizes her family in a way. When the family is down, the plant is down. Mama is constantly in protection of the plant, in hopes of holding on to her dream. Meanwhile, Walter is always looking to be somebody and make it in life. Throughout the novel, Mama and Walter always seem to become caught up over whose values are correct or more respectable but it seems that the two simply have various perspectives.
Walter sees wealth as the only solution to this meaningless life he leads as a chauffeur. He longs for financial support. He becomes corrupted by society -to find his identity through money. Walter tells his mother, "I want so many things"(60). This shows his greediness and his overall belief that money is the only resource to lead a happier life. All-in-all, Mama and Walter's dreams both involve money but in different ways. Mama shows us her longing for the acceptance of society when she immediately buys a house in a white neighborhood, to provide for her family. Walter shows us his desperation to be a valuable human being when he steals money in hopes of starting his liquor business. Walter wants to be respected and live a happy lifestyle for this family. He longs to be the head of the household just as his father once was. Walter also wants to recliam the power society deprived him of by owning a liquor store. It isn’t till the end until he rethinks the values of himself and his family’s future about how there is more to living than just having material riches.
Mama only yearns for her family to be respected and live up to what society perceives. No matter what you perceive the American Dream to be, anyone can be happy without the help of money. Happiness is simply a mindset and if more people decide to adopt this mentality, their lives can be in their control without the worry of money haunting them.
The plant symbolizes her family in a way. When the family is down, the plant is down. Mama is constantly in protection of the plant, in hopes of holding on to her dream. Meanwhile, Walter is always looking to be somebody and make it in life. Throughout the novel, Mama and Walter always seem to become caught up over whose values are correct or more respectable but it seems that the two simply have various perspectives.
Walter sees wealth as the only solution to this meaningless life he leads as a chauffeur. He longs for financial support. He becomes corrupted by society -to find his identity through money. Walter tells his mother, "I want so many things"(60). This shows his greediness and his overall belief that money is the only resource to lead a happier life. All-in-all, Mama and Walter's dreams both involve money but in different ways. Mama shows us her longing for the acceptance of society when she immediately buys a house in a white neighborhood, to provide for her family. Walter shows us his desperation to be a valuable human being when he steals money in hopes of starting his liquor business. Walter wants to be respected and live a happy lifestyle for this family. He longs to be the head of the household just as his father once was. Walter also wants to recliam the power society deprived him of by owning a liquor store. It isn’t till the end until he rethinks the values of himself and his family’s future about how there is more to living than just having material riches.
Mama only yearns for her family to be respected and live up to what society perceives. No matter what you perceive the American Dream to be, anyone can be happy without the help of money. Happiness is simply a mindset and if more people decide to adopt this mentality, their lives can be in their control without the worry of money haunting them.
I liked the way you described the difference between Mama's and Walter's dreams. Your analysis on both of these characters was really informing! I could see the connection from their dream to their personalities. I also liked how the symbol for Mama's plant not only showed her hope, but also her family's situation in the way she cared for it.
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