Damian To

Ms. Storer
English 3 Honors
March 16th, 2020
My Biggest Takeaway from A Raisin in the Sun
The biggest takeaway that I had from reading Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is
how one’s dream can be deferred based on the beliefs and ideas of family members. This can be
seen by the interactions between Walter and Lena. Furthermore, these influences that the
character faces from their family can be an explanation to one’s dream being deferred as seen in
the poem, “Harlem”, by Langston Hughes.
Walter has a dream of owning a liquor store in order to gain massive amounts of wealth
and allow his family to live in comfort. However, Walter’s wife Ruth believes that it is not the
best idea, “Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs.” (Hansberry
37). Additionally, Beneatha adds, “Picking on me is not going to make her give it to you to
invest in any liquor stores” (Hansberry 41). Both his wife and sister both share to Walter that the
money would not be best spent on his liquor store dream. Due to these ideas shared by his family
members, Walter is forced to convince his mother for the money while making sacrifices such as
promising to pay for his sisters’ education. This shows that, Walter has his dream postponed
temporarily due to the beliefs of his family members. Another instance of Walter having his
dream deferred is when he wishes to have large amounts of money, he decides to take up the
offer by the HOA’s and sell the house for a large sum of money. However, Lena explains to
Walter, “You making something inside me cry, son. Some awful pain inside me.” (Hansberry
142). Lena explains to Walter that his dream of selling the house in order to make money hurts
her and her pride. She wishes for the family to have dignity and not have to bow down to the
wishes of the white men. Walter upon hearing this and getting pushback from his wife, sister and
mother decides against his original plan and tells Linder that he will be keeping the house. This
shows that the power to conform to the ideas and wishes of one’s family members can defer a
dream that one has.
In many ways I can relate to Walter, it often feels like I would like to pursue a goal in life
but often get criticism from my parents. I think it’s very hard to defy a family member’s wishes
especially those of our parents. This is because we are taught from a young age to always listen
to our parents and their guidance. For example, at a young age I had always wanted to be an
astronaut. However, as I grew older my parents began to advise against my dream giving
examples of issues that may arise such as rigorous training required and lack of job opportunities
in the field, they gave me alternatives such as engineering that had similarities with being an
astronaut. I believe the reason that I can conform to their ideas is based on the teachings of
respect given to our parents. They are often wiser in many situations and have had learn new
knowledge from previous experiences. Thus, it is easier to mold to their ideas and teachings even
if they go against our own ideas because they simply know more and are simply trying to help us
succeed in life and want what’s best for us.