Lorraine Hansberry s novel, A Raisin in the Sun, revolves around a middle-class Afro-american household, fighting during World War II. By reading about the Younger s true to life experiences, one learns many of import life lessons. One of the aforementioned would be that a individual should ever set household s demands before their ain. There are many illustrations of this throughout the novel. Just a few of these would be the illustration of Ruth and her unborn babe, Walter recovering the regard of his household, and Mama and her unselfish ways.
The first event that shows one should ever set household before oneself is the instance of Ruth and her unborn babe. At first, Ruth is believing about holding an abortion, and has already paid a five-dollar down payment to the physician. She explains to Walter her concluding for such drastic steps by stating, I I m regretful about this new babe, Walter. I guess possibly I better travel on and make what I started I conjecture I merely didn t recognize how bad things was with us I guess I merely didn t realize. ( 87 ) Ruth is traveling to destruct this babe because she feels that she and Walter merely do non hold adequate money to back up another household member, and feels that she and Walter will merely convey the babe into a universe of contending.
Beneatha besides has influence on Ruth s determination by inquiring, where is he traveling to populate? On the roof? ( 58 ) . Beneatha feels that if Ruth has another babe it would merely perplex the life state of affairs, which is strenuous plenty as it is. Later, even with all of this negative energy, Ruth comes to recognize that she should non take the life of her babe and decides to maintain it. One of her grounds for this alteration of bosom is that her and Walter have been acquiring along much better, and their changeless combat was one of the chief grounds she did non desire to hold the babe in the first topographic point. Besides, now that they are all traveling into a new house, there will be adequate room for the babe. In the terminal, although holding an abortion seems like an easy manner out, Ruth alternatively thinks about the babe s life instead than her ain, and chooses non to end her gestation.
Another illustration that proves this, is when Walter gives off his and Beneatha’s money to purchase a spirits shop, and loses it all. He so tries to acquire the money back by selling their new house to Mr. Lindner, although the lone ground Mr. Lindner wants to purchase it is because he and the other members of Clybourne Park do non desire a black household populating in their community. After the household tells him non to, Walter invites Mr. Lindner over to finalise the understanding. Walter even tells Mama what he is traveling to state: All right, Mr. Lindner that s your vicinity out at that place! You got the right to maintain it like you want! You got the right to hold it like you want! Just compose the cheque and the house is yours. ( 144 ) So even though Walter had his whole address for Mr. Lindner planned out, he changes his head at the last minute. The ground for this sudden alteration is because of the words his female parent implied on him earlier. Mama told Walter, Son I come from five coevalss of people who was slaves and sharecrop farmers but ain t cipher in my household ne’er allow cipher pay em no money that was a manner of stating us we wasn t tantrum to walk the Earth. We ain t
ne’er been that hapless. We ain t ne’er been that dead interior. ( 143 ) Mama is stating that Walter will be disrespecting five coevalss of Youngers if he goes through with his programs. The statement Mama made helped Walter to recognize that by selling the house he was merely doing himself experience better about the money being lost, but was doing everyone else in the household lose more and more regard for him. To demo merely how disquieted the household was, Beneatha even told her female parent, Love him? There is nil left to love. ( 145 ) Beneatha feels that Walter has stooped so low this clip that there is nil at that place but a soulless organic structure that can non be loved.
Walter makes damagess between himself and his household by stating Mr. Lindner, We have decided to travel into our house because my male parent my male parent he earned it for us brick by brick. We don t want to do no problem for cipher or battle no causes, we will seek to be good neighbours. And that s all we got to state about that. We don t want your money. ( 148 ) Walter is stating that it is their house. They are traveling to populate in it, and have earned the right to populate wherever they please. Another thing that Walter learns through this ordeal is that he should believe about how his actions can lend to the hurting of the people he loves, and non to believe entirely about the result refering himself, but the result refering others every bit good.
The 3rd and concluding illustration of how a individual should ever believe about household members before themselves is the manner Mama is ever making thing to do her household s life less nerve-racking. Mama is ever seeking to assist out the household whenever she can. Walter even gets disquieted about this, stating, Mama, every clip we need a new brace of drapes and I have to watch you travel out and work in person s kitchen ( 71 ) . Walter is stating that whenever the household needs things they can non afford, Mama goes out and cleans other people kitchens, even though she is in her early 1960ss and has worked all her life. Another manner that Mama puts her household before herself is when she gets the insurance money.
Although it is Mama s money, she still uses it to purchase the household a new house so that Travis would hold a better topographic point to turn up. Mama could hold spent that money on something she wanted, but alternatively bought something that would do the whole household happy. After she buys their new house, Mama gives Beneatha $ 3000 dollars towards college and gives Walter $ 3500 dollars to break his hereafter. Mama has given all of the insurance money to the people she cares about, and kept none of it for herself. She thought about her kids s hereafter and decided to put the money towards a better life for them. This is a really unselfish act on Mama s portion, a perfect illustration of seting household before oneself.
Although sometimes people can acquire wrapped up in events that they feel merely concern themselves, they should ever take a minute to believe about how their actions could be impacting the people they love. Friends will ever come and travel, but household is everlastingly. If a individual wants to remain near to their household, they have to see things from both theirs and the other individual s points of position. For love, people have to give things that they might non desire to, but they have to love their households plenty to assist them before they help themselves.
