A strong sense of pride, along with love, radiates through the last act of A Raisin in the Sun.
Before getting into the meat of the act, the beginning starts with a meaningful introduction that demonstrates the importance of the lighting in the room within the first couple of sentences as “gloomy…gray light not unlike that which began in the first scene of Act I” (131). This flashback shows the difference between what the room felt like in the beginning of the play itself, which was “a comfortable and well-ordered room” (23). The discomfort of the room is present because of the remaining disappointment that happened an hour before hand when Walter told Mama about all the money that Willy had taken.
Walter had no intention in setting aside a portion of the money for Beneatha’s schooling even after Mama put all her trust in him. At the end of the previous act, Walter had disappointed not only the family but the legacy and hard work in which his own father had done and worked himself to death. The money being taken away finally made Walter realize what that money had truly meant by saying, “THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY FATHER’S FLESH—” (128). In result, the pride Mama had in him was quickly taken away.
Walter’s pride in his own dream was taken away once Willy had taken all the money. Though, Walter did mope and “he starts to pound the floor with his fists, sobbing wildly” (128), he shows great pride towards something else by the end of the act.
Most of the pride in this act comes from Walter when Lindner, a prejudice white man who thinks that taking away this family’s pride by offering more money than they had initially bought the house for, would benefit his people. When Lindner responds to the phone call Walter made by coming over to the Younger’s apartment, Walter starts by saying to him, “Well Mr. Lindner…We called you —because, well, me and my family (he looks around and shifts from one foot to the other) Well— we are very plain people…” (147). He suggests to Lindner that just because they are “plain people” they are people who come from a lot of pride. The dynamic changes in the way Walter is proud by stating, “I mean–we are very proud people. And that’s my sister over there and she’s going to be a doctor— and we are very proud—” (148). Walter includes himself along with the rest of the family, in his pride for his sister’s decision in having a dream of becoming a doctor. Whereas, in the beginning of the play, he would say, “Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people—then go be a nurse like other women—or just get married and be quiet…” (38).
This change in pride shows that instead of being a selfish man with his own dreams, like before, he is now accepting of Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor and like Mama says towards the end of the act, “He finally come into his manhood today, didn’t he? Kind of like a rainbow after rain…” (151). This quote is significantly important because of the metaphor Mama uses to exemplify the change in attitude and perspective Walter has gone through. The metaphor is also a way to show the way the mood has lightened and is happier now that the family gets to all move into the house of their dreams.
The ways in which the dynamics of pride had changed was present and notable throughout the whole play. The prejudice the white folks had against the Younger family before they even knew them was insulting and critical in the way their pride shined in the decision made to move to that neighborhood anyway.
Questions:
1.) What other ways was pride shown throughout the play as a whole?
2.) Do you believe the decision of moving to the new house was the best choice, why or why not?
I love your focus in this blog post. Pride in the face of predjiduce is one of my favorite themes in literature to examine, and with the dynamic set of characters in this play, it is really one of the most satisfying examples. For your first question, I would say that I think Walter is the most obvious example, as he reaches a rock bottom with his family leading up to act three. Beneathas pride is something that I like to think about, as a reader I want to support and empower her pride as a female persuing a degree in the time she did, with the social oppression she constantly faces. Between her brother and her mother, she constantly is defending her pride and her stance on matters ranging from her right to education or religious beliefs, and though these arent the people holding her back on the larger scale, she still faces criticism, and sometimes reacts dramatically to their criticism of her without pausing to think. The final moment in act 3 starting to page 148, it seems a moment for both Walter and Beneatha begins to evolve into a truer shift in pride than had been anticipated by either of the characters.
I believe that, for the Younger family, moving into the new house was the right choice. If they had taken Linder’s money, they would have been giving away their pride. Money, to a point, is replaceable. Pride is much less so. Walter acknowledges his father’s sacrifices in the line, “And we have decided to move into our house because my father- my father- he earned it for us brick by brick.” Pride has always been closely associated with hard work, and the Younger family has had their fair share of both.
I forgot to source my quote- it is from page 148
Your focus on the pride they shared was great. Going back to all the time’s Walter has shown his pride was well done and a huge part of the play. Another example of the plays focus on the aspect of pride is that Walter’s sense of pride was even changed and renewed into a better, healthier understanding of it. Going from being fully enveloped in himself and having to be rich in his own way with his own business to wanting to be a man for his family and have pride in his family as well and not just himself. I believe the decision to move was the best choice because without it they may not have the motivation to pursue their real dreams. The family had been stuck at a dead end in the apartment for a long time so a change of scenery and a little bit of extra pride could push them to be who they want to be.
I too believe that pride plays a key role in this play, almost all of their actions are made because of how hard their family has worked to get there. One comment I’d like to make about your post is that maybe emphasize a little more on their past and the obstacles and challenges they faced throughout time to get where they currently are. Also, maybe express more how they want to pursue more in life than just the comfortable worn out home they’ve been stuck in for years. One of the quotes I found to support this was this quote from Mama: “Plenty. My husband always said being any kind of a servant wasn’t a fit thing for a man to have to be. He always said a man’s hands was made to make things, or to turn the earth with – not to drive nobody’s car for ‘em – or – (She looks at her own hands) carry they slop jars. And my boy is just like him – he wasn’t meant to wait on nobody. ” (Act II Scene II page 78). Mamas expressing how they have so much potential to do more than just drive around a rich middle/high class white man. But, overall I think you made some great points through your blog, especially when you quoted Walter screaming that the money was made out of his fathers flesh, it just proves how much blood, sweat, and tears they put into working and yet still remained at the same social status.