Walter- A Raisin in the Sun

In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter faces many challenges. From the beginning, the stressful lifestyle the family lives is evident. The family is obviously struggling and is not very well off. The always present knowledge of the check they will receive only causes more problems. Walter has his own dreams and believes that because he is the man of the house, he should be able to decide what to do with the money. His idea of a smart investment turns out to be a scam and he loses all the money. I think that this horrible experience actually helped Walter to grow. He may lose all the money, but in the end, it is him who keeps the family together. He stands up against the white man in order to preserve his families honor. He also has the ulterior motive of his son. He knows that if he gives in and acts like a coward, he will be failing to show his son how "a real man" acts. In the end, he steps up and becomes a man for the family.

Realistic vs. Nonrealistic- A Raisin in the Sun

I thought that this play employed mostly realistic conventions. The dynamics of the family are realistic in that the family is not perfect and they fight often. The dialogue between them is realistic for the financial situation they have been put in. Their dreams of a better life and the eventual failure in achieving some of these dreams is also realistic. People will often be disappointed in their dreams just as Walter was with the liquor store and Benethea was with her dream of going to medical school. The dangers that the Younger's face because of racism and struggling equal rights are also realistic for the time they lived in. African American families were still fighting for their rights and were treated just as the Younger family was. In the end, the play was extremely realistic and their were little to none nonrealistic parts.

Themes in A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun has many themes which are expressed throughout the entire play. One theme which I noticed was the pursuit of the American dream and the struggle which comes along with it. The Younger family is the perfect example of a family which is struggling to reach the "American Dream" They are always looking to reach bigger and better things in life. This starts with Walter's outlandish dream to open up a liquor store with money that he just doesn't have. He ends up wasting the little money his family inherited on his dream which he thought would get him rich. Mama is also trying to achieve the American dream when she buys the house for her family to live in. The importance of family and the dysfunctional tendencies of a family are also highlighted in this play. While the family ends up seemingly okay in the end, there are many times when they struggle just as a normal family does. They fight and disagree many times, but in the end, they pull together for the good of the families honor.

Tom Wingfield

Throughout the play, I found Tom to be a very interesting character. He was miserable throughout the entire play and for this reason, he went to the "movies" until 5 am every day. His reasoning for this odd behavior was that he did not get enough adventure at his job so he liked to experience that adventure at the movies. I found this to be peculiar because going to the movies and getting highs off of things that other people are doing seems to be very weird. Instead of going out and experiencing things on his own and creating his own adventure, he feeds off of other peoples. He seems to be a very unreliable son and brother as he constantly complains about having to support them, goes out drinking every night, and eventually turns out just like his father. Throughout the entire play, Amanda is trying her hardest to raise her children (although she is a bit naggy at times). At the end, it turns out that everything she was hoping for and striving for for her son turns out to be a complete failure. He leaves the family to support themselves and ends up just as his father did.

Dramatic Suspense

While this play does not contain much dramatic suspense, I found some in the scene with Laura and Jim O'Connor. I thought suspense was created when Laura is finally speaking to Jim and beginning to open up to him. Finally, when Jim leans in to kiss Laura, the suspense reaches its peak. As a reader, I was believing that Laura had finally found someone who accepts her and will eventually marry her. If this was a fairytale, this probably would have happened. Instead, the suspense is built even more when the audience is informed that Jim is engaged and will never be speaking to Laura again. In some ways, this leads to a tragedy for Laura, but as a reader, I believe that this encounter with Jim has helped Laura to come out of her shell. Jim taught Laura to open up and to accept herself for who she is. Whether she took this lesson and applied it is unknown, but I like to think that she did.

Realistic vs. Nonrealistic

From the beginning of The Glass Menagerie, Tom allows it to be known to the audience that this play is nonrealistic. He tells the audience that he is "the narrator of the play, and also a character in it." This aspect is one of the nonrealistic aspects of the play. It is impossible for a person to be the narrator and a character at the same time. Also, he tells the audience that "the play is memory." This also sets up for a nonrealistic play because memory is often different from real life. It looks at these from a convenient perspective and only sees one person's point of view. Also, the many music cues which conveniently appear throughout the play are nonrealistic. These cues serve to reflect the feelings of characters and what is going on. Also, the scene where the father's photo conveniently lights up when the son is speaking of him is nonrealistic. This is a figment of the son's imagination because this is how he remembers this encounter with his sister taking place. One of the realistic aspects of the play is the dialogue between the characters. They fight how people normally would and apologize as well. They also relate and have dynamics like a normal family has.