Over the year, we've seen many variations of The American Dream. The Puritans achieved their dream by sailing to a new world and making a life for themselves where they had religious freedom. The founders of the country achieved their Dream by gaining political independence. Immigrants to America have achieved and continue to achieve the American Dream by creating a better life for themselves and their family in a foreign country. And in the Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men, some people trying to achieve their American Dream did not succeed.
What is The American Dream in A Raisin in the Sun? Were they able to achieve it? Finally, what is the play's commentary with regard to the American Dream?
**OR**
What does it mean to be a man? How is Walter's manhood challenged? Does he achieve manhood in the end? Why or why not?
The American Dream in this movie would be owning a nice house and making a lot of money. They were able to achieve half of their dream because Walter gave the money to a man to said he was going to invest in it, but instead the man just took it and the family was literally left with nothing except the house Mama already paid for. Walter was able to achieve his manhood because he stood of for his family and his dead father when he said he was going to keep the house and live in the white neighborhood. This play is saying that anyone is able yo achieve the American Dream. No matter what nationality you are or where you come from you can achieve the American Dream if you work hard enough. This play also says that you can't always rely on other people or trust other people too much, especially with money.
ReplyDeleteThe American dream in the Raisin in the Sun would be to have a lot of money and to have a big house. Walter and his family want money and a bigger house and they end up getting it. Him and his family get $10,000 and Mama buys a new house for them, but Mama only puts $3,000 down on it. She gives the rest to Walter to put it away in the bank, but he gives it to Willy and ends up losing all of it. In the end, they lose the money, but they move into the new house. So the partly got the American dream. They got a big house, but not a lot of money. Typically, anyone can have the American Dream, but you have to be very careful on how you achieve it.
ReplyDeleteTo be a man means to be the head of the family and to provide food for the family. Walter's manhood is challenged by him living in a poor class and trying to work hard for his family. He achieves manhood in the end, because even though things are tough he can always work around it. He knows that as long as they have each other that everything will be alright.
ReplyDeleteThe American Dream is to not be poor and to make money and have a better living. In the movie Walter's American Dream was to get alot of money and to have a nice house. He didn't want to be a driver, but wanted to be making lots of money like the white men his age. They were not able to fully achieve the American Dream but are on their way and close to having it. The movie ends with Walter and his family moving into the bigger and nicer house in a white community, and the rest of the money he inherited stolen. This is not the full American Dream because they still have lower income jobs, and relying on the inherited money and not the money they earned themselves. The play's regard with the American Dream is that it is possible for anyone. It shows that anyone can achieve the American Dream but it takes alot of hard work. It also shows that any race and gender can achieve it.
ReplyDeleteIn this movie, the American Dream is to live wealthily, have a good and providing job, own a big and beautiful house, and not have to worry about any financial difficulties. Walter's family was not able to achieve this American Dream in the movie, and by the end of it they were still struggling financially and there were many future obstacles to overcome. They didn't achieve the dream because the insurance money was stolen from them and they were left with no money to support themselves, but in the end they were still happy. The play's commentary on the American Dream is that not everyone will achieve it, and that being wealthy and owning a beautiful and extravagant home is not the only way people can be happy in life, and that just being surrounded by the ones you love can make you happy.
ReplyDeleteThe American dream is becoming successful in America, going from rags to riches. From the beginning, the Youngers are waiting for an insurance check of 10,000 dollars and each has their own idea of what to use the money for. In general they all want to use the money for a better life. Walter wants to invest the money in a liquor store so they can make more money to live a better life, Ruth and Mama want to use the money to give Travis and the rest of the family a better life. Mama goes and makes a down payment on a house, so they can "finally have floors of our own". With the rest of the money she trusts Walter to go and invest some of it in the liquor store and some of it will be saved for Beneatha's schooling. They are on their way to becoming successful, living the American Dream, but are set back when they find out that they are unwanted in their new neighborhood because of their color and that their money that Walter was supposed to invest is gone. Now they either have to give up their house or work from poverty. I think the film says that everyone wants to achieve the American Dream but not everyone achieves the American Dream.
ReplyDeleteThe American dream in this movie I thought was about getting to become rich and live like the rich white men. I think that in a way the dream was achieved. This is because even though their money was swindled from them, they were still able to move into their new home. The family is able to live in a big home where they can live like a white family and they do not have to be cramped in a small apartment. I think the play is saying that the American dream cannot be achieved by gambling methods. The way to achieve the American dream is to work for it. Times will be tough but to truly experience the American dream you need to go through some hardship. I believe that the family is still on their way to achieving the American dream. Now that they have basically no money, this will force them to work even harder to retain that money and then achieve the American dream.
ReplyDeleteTo be a man is to support your family and do what's best for them. Walters manhood is challenged when he had to decide if he was going to move in to the white neighborhood or stay where he was and take the money. He achieves his manhood in the end when he moves into the neighborhood because it's whats best for his family. Even though they weren't wanted in that neighborhood, he knew staying where he was would hold him and his family back.
ReplyDeleteIn Raisin in the Sun, Walter's family, tries to find themselves, their place, and their purpose in America. Walter's family is African american and the only one who actually tries to go back and learn about where she can from is Walter's sister, Beneatha. The dream in Raisin in the sun, for a black person is to live like the white people. All the blacks in the movie seem to work for white people and they always get down graded. Walter's dream was to invest in a business and become rich so he doesn't have to wait on white people's hand and foot. No one in the white community wants black people living around them, or living like them so everyone treats blacks with racism. Everyones dream is that they be treated equally. In the movie mama was able to accomplish her dream of having a home in a white community and giving her family a better living. Walter wasn't able to accomplish his dream of investing in a business and being rich. The movie shows that not everyone can accomplish their perfect dream but it takes hard work and dedication.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it mean to be a man? How is Walter's manhood challenged? Does he achieve manhood in the end? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteIn the movie "Raisin in the Sun," to be a man means to care for your family, to watch over them, and be responsible for your families actions. Walter's manhood is challenged by driving everywhere and opening doors for the the rich white men. He's challenged by not living his dream but he tries to take care of his family by working hard and trying to do his best for the family. I think that he achieves manhood in the end because he spoke up for his family when he spoke to Mr. Lindner about the house. He wanted the best for his family so he decided to keep the house.
What does it mean to be a man? How is Walter's manhood challenged? Does he achieve manhood in the end?
ReplyDeleteBeing a man means to be responsible of his family and take care of women and children. Walter acknowledges the importance of him in the family, but his responsibility drives him to be stressed and obsessed about it. He feels the need for him to go and earn money for the family. In the film, he says "I want my wife to wear a pearl." Walter also has pride as a man, and as a husband. He does achieve manhood when he talks to the white man in front of his son, Travis. He shows the man that he is willing to move in and face the challenge instead of receiving their money. His manhood as a firm leader of his family as a husband and as a father is achieved in the end.
In the movie "A Raisin in the Sun," to be a man means, that you posses the ability to care for your family, the ability to make difficult and important decisions regarding your family, and the ability to to be responsible for your family. Walter's manhood is challenged throughout the movie, one instance is his greed for money and his insisting that these money scams are legitimate and worth pursuing. Another instance in which his manhood is challenged is when Lena tells Walter that Ruth is considering aborting their baby, and then Lena tells him to convince ruth to keep the baby. His manhood is challenged, in that Lena would like Walter to step up and be a man and tell his wife that she cannot abort the baby because that would be killing a life, much like his father would. Lena would Like Walter to be a man like his father was and step up for what is right. Another instance in which Walter's manhood is challenged is when the family is face with the dilemma in which they must decide whether to move into their new house or not despite the prejudice agains them and the opposition from the neighbors. I think that in the end Walter does achieve manhood, he stands up to Mr. Linder and says that his family is indeed going to move into that house despite the fact that they now have to work hard to be able to maintain their new home and there is a new baby on the way. This shows how he is now taking into account what will be best for his family instead of focusing so much on money and envying how the White people he had been working for and interacting with live. His decisions at the end of the movie show how he has grown into his manhood and how he is ready to be the man of his family.
ReplyDeleteBeing a man means to be the one who makes the money in the household and the one who is in charge of everyone. Also the man provides the necessities that the family needs to survive. Walter used to just follow what he thought was right, but in the end, he followed what the family wanted. Walter's manhood is challenged because they are poor and he doesn't make a lot of money from his job. In the end, Walter does achieve manhood by being able to keep the family under control and doing the right thing that the family needed and wanted.
ReplyDeleteWhat it means to be a man is to provide everything needed for one's family. To make sure everything is set into place and one can get the most that is given to them. Walter's manhood is challenged because he dreams big and wants to take all these risks but the family is unsure about it. With these risks, he has the be more cautious because of the little amount of money he has. He does achieve his manhood where he gets to keep his house and to satisfy his family.
ReplyDeleteNikki Stewart, Period 5, English 11.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it mean to be a man? How is Walter's manhood challenged? Does he achieve manhood in the end? Why or why not?
To be a man is to be the head of your family. To be able to provide shelter, clothing, food, money & etc. to everyone in your family. It means to take control and to make sure that everyone in your family is happy and is content with everything they do. It means to push each and every family member to do the best of their abilities. Walter's manhood changed because he became a lot more happier towards the ending of the film. During the entire film, he was always mad or screaming at someone about something. Something that wasn't even that important. Even a little towards the ending of the book, he was still yelling at people but the last 10 minutes, he became happier and was willing to start over at a new home and start fresh. Even if that means living in a white neighborhood. I think yes, he does achieve manhood in the ending of the film because he grows up and sees what is right for his family. He took control and is willing to give his family a new life and a new place for them to start over.
Chloe Yim
ReplyDeleteI think being a man means to take care of the family, stay srong no matter what the situation is. Also, he should make a wise choice because everything depends on what kind of choice he makes. I think
Walter also faced the challenge b/c he had to choose if he should move in to the house where all the white neighbors were. Even though there were some difficulties, he achieved manhood since he made his family happy by making a wise choice.
What does it mean to be a man? How is Walter's manhood challenged? Does he achieve manhood in the end? Why or why not?
ReplyDelete-To be a man means to make the right choices. Some might think to be a man you have to muscles or its all about "physical strength", but its not only physcial strength its more about metal strength. Being a man means succeeding your goals and expectations. Walters manhood is challenged when he finds out he just got robbed and decides to sell the house to get easy money or start over to earn it the way his father did. He does acheive it in the end because he made the decision to not sell the house and take easy money but to earn his money by working hard to show he can support his family even after he hits rock bottom.
A Raisin in the Sun was about an African American family facing the struggles of 1950's America. From the movie I understood the American dream was to hold an amount of respect for oneself and for a person's family and not to let anyone else take that away. Although it was difficult for the family in the movie they did achieve the American Dream from that perspective. In the end throughout everything the family still had their honor.
ReplyDeleteIn A Raisin in the Sun, what a man is supposed to be and what Walter portrays a man of the household to be is entirely different. Walter believes that being a man is all about providing everything to his family and being able to support his son financially in whatever he wants to do. A man is actually someone who realizes the situation that his family is in and acts according to what his heart tells him is right for his family. When Walter called the “Welcoming Committee” from the new neighborhood they were going to live in, he said, “There ain’t nothing but taking and he who takes the most is the smartest.” This shows that Walter strongly believes that the men who have the most, no matter how they get it, are superior. Walter’s manhood is challenged because he does not earn enough from his job to support both his family and himself. He has to decide what is best for his family and what he can do to make them happy. Walter does achieve manhood in the end because he comes to the realization of where his family came from and his family member’s dreams. Choosing not to sell the house shows that Walter wants his family to be happy, even though they will not have as much money prior to Walter losing the money.
ReplyDeleteCourtney Seki
Period 7
Walter really want to provide for his family and have money to take care of everyone. He felt as if he was less of a man by not being able to do that for everyone. He was challenge many times about his manhood. One very significant time that he was challenged was when all the money he put into investment was stolen by Willy, one of the members that was apart of the investment. This left the family with nothing but just the new house that mama bought for them. Towards the end of the movies Walter realizes that his man hood did not depend on supplying money for his family, but showing them the right thing to do. He did achieve it in the end because he showed his son how to be a man and what he would have done.
ReplyDeleteBrittney Brown
Period 7
In Raisin in the Sun, Walter believes that to be a man you must be rich and have your family live in luxury. Walter soon learns that to be a real man, you must be able to provide for your family despite the amount of money you have. He learns to embrace him self for who he really is and to not act like people he's not. In the end he embraces his true manhood after seeing what he already had made him happy.
ReplyDeleteChaztity Mendigorin
Pd. 7
In the movie "Raisin in the Sun", Walter's manhood wasn't quite shown throughout the movie until the very end. Manhood is based on a husband that takes care of his family. Be the head and set good examples. Work hard and provide food, water and shelter for the family. All Walter cared about was money and he thought money was the most precious and reason for life. His family and him didn't agree on things. Towards the end of the movie, Walter made his family happy and made his mother happy for the choice he picked. It was difficult in the beginning for Walter to reach his manhood, he went through many challenges. But in the end he went with the good choice and they all lived happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteKatelynn Barsano
Period 7