In “A Raisin In The Sun”, Hansberry uses the check as symbolism for each family member’s value on hope and how they all see each of their dreams coming true with the money given to them. After reading act one, I quickly noted the importance of the check Mama is receiving after losing her late husband. The family shows clear signs of financial struggles from the beginning of act one. Hansberry writes, “TRAVIS: (Eating) This is the morning we supposed to bring the fifty cents to school. RUTH: Well, I ain’t got no fifty cents this morning,” (28). These lines show how important the check is to them because the check could help them with their finances. The importance of the check is shown throughout the story when Hansberry repeats the same type of phrase between Walter and Travis when talking to Ruth. “WALTER: …(Stopping and thinking) Check coming today? RUTH: They said Saturday and this is just Friday and I hopes to God you ain’t going to get up here first thing this morning and start talking to me ’bout no money…,” (26). And then later on the son asks a similar question, “TRAVIS: Mama, this is Friday. (Gleefully) Check coming tomorrow, huh? RUTH: You get your mind off money and eat your breakfast,” (28). These two quotes show the family needing the money off of this check. After coming to this conclusion, I realized that the check is symbolizing their dreams for their own futures and how they imagine this check helping them each. With this being said, I want to focus on two main characters and their feelings towards the check, Walter and Beneatha.
In the story Walter has a very different viewpoint than his sister, Beneatha, has on the check and what it could mean for their family. Walter, from the very beginning, has this idea of the money being used as an investment through the liquor store. “WALTER: Yeah. You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be ’bout thirty thousand, see. That be ten thousand each. Course, there’s a couple of hundred you got to pay so’s you don’t spend your life just waiting for them clowns to let your license get approved,” (33). Walter talks about wanting to invest all of the money in the store and the good things that could come from investing it all over spending it all. I think this mindset of investing the check comes from a few different standpoints. It definitely plays into him wanting to invest so that the money grows and he can have a way to provide for his family and finally be the head of the household. I think that the check symbolizes for Walter how his life can improve. “WALTER: (Quietly) Sometimes it’s like I can see the future stretched out in front of me—just plain as day. The future, Mama. Hanging over there at the edge of my days. Just waiting for me—a big, looming blank space—full of nothing. Just waiting for me. But it don’t have to be,” (73-74). Walter is growing tired of the same old job, he wants to branch out and explore the different possibilities that could be given to him like they are given to white people. His dreams of moving forward in life are shown clearly as his main reason for wanting the check.
Beneatha on the other hand, chooses to trust her mother to do whatever she wants with the check. Although she could ask her mother for some parts of it for her medical school so she can become a doctor, like Walter suggests she will do, she is assertive in wanting her mother to choose how she spends the money. “BENEATHA: (Turning on him with a sharpness all her own) That money belongs to Mama, Walter, and it’s for her to decide how she wants to use it. I don’t care if she wants to buy a house or a rocket ship or just nail it up somewhere and look at it. It’s hers. Not ours—hers,” (36-37). She is telling Walter that she wants their mother to choose for herself, which further proves her femininst side. Beneatha’s entire character is about being a feminist, and her wanting her mother to choose what to do with the money, something she never would have had the choice to do if her husband was alive, is Beneatha’s way of letting her mother take back some of her power and control. I think what the check symbolizes for Beneatha is about allowing her mother to pave her own path, something women were not allowed to do in this time. By letting her mother make her own decisions and become more of a feminist, her dream of being accepted by her own family is more likely to happen. “WALTER: (Defensively) I’m interested in you. Something wrong with that? Ain’t many girls who decide—WALTER and BENEATHA: (In unison) —“to be a doctor”,” (36). As of right now, no one accepts her wanting to become a doctor, so maybe if Beneatha’s mother taps into her womanhood, she will understand where Beneatha is coming from and support her more. The future Beneatha see’s for herself will be easier to achieve with somebody on her side, especially her mother.
One specific theme of “A Raisin In The Sun” that I think ties into the conflict of the check, and what should be done, is the endless struggles against human oppression for individual fulfillment, recognition and liberation. I think this theme connects well with the message the check achieves throughout the story because it is clear that the family is struggling mainly because of the oppression they are being faced with. They could only get jobs helping out white people, or chauffeuring them around, except for Beneatha who is struggling to achieve what everyone thinks is impossible. This theme is important to the symbolization of the check because without the oppression they faced, they would have been better off financially and individually. Walter wouldn’t have been so focused on investing, for individual fulfillment in looking for something more meaningful. Beneatha wouldn’t have been suffering and looking for recognition in what she was trying to do, and how hard she was working at attempting to achieve it. And Mama wouldn’t have wanted her own control over her own home, because without being oppressed they would have left the apartment they had been living in forever and she would have liberation in her own life. The impact of the check and oppression ties together through the characters actions and feelings.
And with that being said, there are two questions left to discuss…
- How does the check affect the family in different ways?
- How does money affect people & how can that be related to the story?
Work Cited:
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Random House, 1997.
Hi April! This is a great blog post! It’s very detailed and gives great insight! The check definitely plays a significant role throughout the story and definitely impacts each family member differently. I think that like the story, even in today’s world, money is viewed differently by everyone. Ruth is definitely more cautious with money. She realizes how little she and many have and it seems as though she is saving as much money as she can for a “rainy day”. I think that she realizes that although they do not have much, they have enough to survive and that is the most important thing to her. Walter, on the other hand, realizes they don’t have much money to spare and I think that even with the little savings they have, he wants his family, more specifically his son, Travis, to be able to do whatever he can to enjoy it. This is shown in the story when he says, “In fact, here’s another fifty cents… buy yourself some fruit today – or take a taxicab to school or something!” (Hansberry 31). Travis did not need 50 cents, and he definitely did not need the dollar in change, but I believe Walter felt that this small amount of money would put a smile on Travis’ face and that’s why he gave it to him. Travis understands that his family is struggling, but I don’t think he has a firm grasp on how much they are struggling in comparison to the way most white people lived during this time.
Hi April. Your blog post was a good read. I really liked your emphasis on their financial struggles and how you shed a lot of light on issues pertaining to money, human oppression, and endless struggles. I like how you connected the theme of the story to real life realities. You did a good job making the “check”, that at face value wouldn’t seem like much of a symbol, into something very deep and intriguing. The quote you chose, “Course, there’s a couple of hundred you got to pay so’s you don’t spend your life just waiting for them clowns to let your license get approved.”. That quote to me was deep, showing the power and restraint white people can put on black families, especially in that time frame. I’d like to answer your second question. Money affects everyone and everything. It affects what you eat, where you sleep, where you live, what health care you can get, what education you can get, and so on. This relates to the story because as you can see, almost all their struggles are financial. Had the family been rich, they could have ten liquor stores. Sure, money can’t buy happiness, but it can solve a lot of problems and open a lot more doors to happiness.
Hi April, I really enjoyed your interpretation of the meaning of the check. To answer your question “How does money affect people & how can that be related to the story?” Money is a big topic to talk about. In today’s world you need money to pretty much do anything and to live the life you want to live. In the story ‘A Raisin In The Sun’ Walter is hoping to use that money for his liquor store so that he can provide for his family and live the life he sees fit. In the story it stated “ I’m thirty-five years old; I have been married eleven years and I have a boy who sleeps in the living room and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live”. Money can change people in a good way or a bad way. People can get greedy very easily.
Hi April,
I could see that you put a lot of thought into the deeper meaning of the text and especially the check. That check is crucial to every single person in that house. It could be life changing to Walter and his family because he wants to invest the money for a liquor store and hope it turns out well so maybe him and his family could move out to an apartment of their own or maybe just get a bed for their son. It could set the path for Beneatha because she’s trying to be a doctor in the 1950s where colored people were still moving up from the south to find better jobs. Ruth just found out that she’s pregnant. This family is in a finical crisis and can barely float by, how is she going to bring another child into their lives when their one son is already sleeping on the couch.
Mama is a christian woman and she believes that ruth should keep that baby. What would happen if ruth wanted to abort the baby, would mama give them the money so they would keep it? Would she kick them out? In book Mama says ” Your wife say she going to destroy your child. And I’m waiting to hear you talk like him and say we a people who give children life, not who destroys them,. i’m waiting to see you stand up and look like your daddy and say we done give up one baby to poverty and that we ain’t going to give up carry another one. . . I’m waiting” (pg. 75) What other baby is she talking about? Was it mamas and she regrets it?
• How does money affect people & how can that be related to the story?
In today’s world, money affects people in many ways. Some things that money in today’s world can affect are things like self-view how you view yourself with the amount of money you have, gambling also tends to be very popular to people who have a big amount of money to their name and they can get hooked to sports gambling and just throw down $1,000 or some large amount of money on a parlay and if they stay doing that, their units could go up and have a potential of going broke just from gambling itself. Money affecting people could relate to “A Raisin in The Sun” because Beneatha gets a check and gives it to her mother, when it is Beneatha’s money that she just received. I feel most people today who get a check would not hand it over to their mother and call it their mother’s money besides Beneatha. Beneatha says on page 37, “I have never asked anyone to do anything for me”, which is kind of hard to believe due to the fact she gave her mother her own check with her money to keep and it is like Beneatha got that check for nothing. Beneatha would relate more to the self-view side of how money affects people, gambling most likely was not a thing back then but self-view could relate to Beneatha.
Hey April! I enjoyed reading your point of views and interpretations of the play in your blog post, I think this aspect of finance is really important to focus on. There very much is this need for individual fulfillment in life, as you said. This is something that everyone experiences in some way or another, that is part of being human. In this story, Walter wants to be able to provide for his family as he feels a man should, Beneatha wants to prove herself to her family in. nursing school, Ruth wants more out of life and what’s best for her son, and Mama just wants her children to appreciate what they already have. I feel as though Mama is the saving grace in the story so far, especially in act one. She has done her time and knows where the priorities in people’s lives should lie. To address your second question, “how does money affect people & how can that be related to the story”, money and greed are often associated with the human need of fulfillment. Money can alter ones view of their own personal life and alter their priorities. On page 43, Mama addresses this topic in the house: “Somebody would of thought my children done all but starved to death the way they talk about money here late.” She sees how this excitement over finance has consumed the families thoughts and how their emotions are beginning to rely on the arrival of this check.
Hi April! Great blog post. Your post is very thought-provoking and it captures the significance of the check and how every family member has a different idea of how to use the money. You did a good job providing details to explain the symbolism of the check. To answer your question, how does the check affect the family in different ways? Throughout Act I we can see how important the check is. The check highlights the hopes and dreams each family member has for the future. It is a recurring topic in the household that in the beginning Mama says “Somebody would of thought my children done all but starved to death the way they talk about money here late.(43)” This proves how often the check was talked about. In the household, everyone had different intentions on how they should spend their father’s inheritance. Walter hopes to use this check to fulfill his dream of becoming a businessman. He is currently a chauffeur and feels as if it is not even a job, as he just caters to the rich all day. His dream is to open a liquor store which will give him the opportunity to make money and be able to fulfill the head of the household role. He desires to open this business and plans to be able to provide for his family as they are very poor now. Meanwhile, Benetha aims to become a doctor and although ideally, she would like to use the money for school, she knows that the money belongs to Mama. She says “That money belongs to Mama, Walter, and it’s for her to decide how she wants to use it. I don’t care if she wants to buy a house or a rocket ship or just nail it up somewhere and look at it. It’s hers. Not ours—hers.( 36) “ Beneatha is level-headed in the sense that she knows she does not deserve the money and it should be rightfully given to her mother. Mama does not exactly know what she wants to do with the money. She wants to put some of it away for Beneatha for school and has the idea to buy a house with a yard. Ruth suggests Mama do something for herself and use the money to just pack up and take a trip somewhere. Clearly, everyone has a different idea on how to spend the check, causing lots of tension in the household.
GOOD MORNING APRIL IT’S A LOVELY DAY OUTSIDE. But as for your paper, I agree with the standpoint of Beneatha. She has an activist mindset. Not caring about what the “norms” are and decides to stick to her own morals no matter what anyone tells her. “(MAMA absorbs this speech, studies her daughter and rises slowly and crosses to BENEATHA and slaps her powerfully across the face. After, there is only silence and the daughter drops her eyes from her mother’s face, and MAMA is very tall before her)” This was a section in which Mama didn’t agree with Beneatha’s viewpoint on Religion. Beneatha was talking down on the Lord and Mama didn’t appreciate that. In my opinion from this scene this shows that even if they are physically oppressed because of their heritage. That doesn’t mean that they’re spiritually oppressed. They still have their way in which they could be in control of their lives.
Great job April! I love both of your questions you have here but I want to focus on the question “How does money affect people & how can that be related to the story?”. Money in general to some people in the world can be viewed differently depending on your socioeconomic status. Some people may use money to go on fancy trips, buy nice cars, and never think about how people out in the world can be struggling. In “A Raisin in the Sun” though, 10,000 dollars is life-changing type of money for the Youngers. While there is differing opinions on how they should spend this money we will soon see how the money can and will affect relationships. Money while it can maybe bring people together at times, typically people can and will get jealous if you have money and they don’t. I will be interested to see what Mama does with this check and if she gives more to one person or another.
Hi April!
I really enjoyed reading your post, I found that your reflection on act 1 of “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry was very thorough and well thought out. I would like to say first that I completely agree with your point of view. I also would like to try to answer one of the questions you asked, namely the following : « How does money affect people and how can that be related to the story? ».
Money can have a profound impact on people’s lives, influencing their behaviors, attitudes, and even their relationships. Indeed, money provides a sense of security and stability by meeting basic needs such as food, shelter and healthcare. Without enough money, people may experience anxiety and stress about their financial situation. It is then possible to relate this to « A Raisin in the Sun » in the meaning that money plays a central role in shaping the characters’ lives and decisions. It is then possible to quote the following quote « Once upon a time freedom used to be life – now it’s money ». Indeed, in the first act of the play, the Younger family is awaiting a $10,000 insurance check as compensation for the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurance policy. This money symbolizes different hopes and dreams for each family member especially financial freedom which is very important for the well-being of the family. Walter Lee dreams of investing it in a liquor store, hoping to achieve financial independence and fulfill his aspirations of being a successful entrepreneur. Ruth, his wife, hopes to use the money to provide a better life for their son, Travis, and to move out of their cramped apartment into a house with more space and dignity. Mama, Walter’s mother, wants to use the money to buy a house in a predominantly white neighborhood, fulfilling her late husband’s dream of giving his family a better life.
Hi April,
After reading your blog post I completely agree with the significance of the money in this story. Clearly, this is one thing the family lacks and for the family, this check brings a sense of hope or a second chance for the family to make something of themselves and create a better life. I think in Act One, just like you mentioned you learn everyone’s viewpoints on money. You talked about Benetha and Walter and how they felt and I agree with your thoughts on that completely but I also wanted to mention Mama’s point on the money. She seems to think it’s evil or she is scared of it “Put it somewhere Ruth (She holds the Check away from her, still looking at it. Slowly her face sobers into a mask of unhappiness)” Pg 69 She seems to want anything to do with the money and believes that it’s going to tear the family apart. This feeling kind of shows when she’s trying to calm everyone down when the check comes in “Now don’t act sill … we ain’t never been no people to act silly ‘bout no money”.Pg 68
Hello April, I hope you are doing well today. The blog post that you have made was great. I like the way you have summarized Act I from A Raisin In The Sun. To answer your first question, it is simple. This family is not rich. That is something we can acknowledge. Walter and Beneatha had gone back and forth when Walter mentioned a check arriving. This check affects the family in many ways as stated in the text when Walter says how apart from Beneatha, the rest of the family had to wear the same pair of shoes for the past 2 years. Also, this check is a reminder of their father which is very important. To answer your second question, money changes people in various ways. In the end, it is who you are truly and what you do with the money. Money is never given but earned and the connection with that question to the story is how the money is spent and how the money is distributed.