Bobo reports the bad news about the money. Walter gives all of the money to Willy, who takes it and flees, depriving Walter and Beneatha of their dreams, though not the Youngers of their new home. Later she relents and gives the remaining $6,500 to Walter to invest, with the provision that he reserve $3,000 for Beneatha's education. Eventually, Mama puts some of the money down on a new house, choosing an all-white neighborhood over a black one for the practical reason that it is much cheaper. Walter has a sense of entitlement to the money, but Mama has religious objections to alcohol, and Beneatha has to remind him it is Mama's call how to spend it. His plan is to invest in a liquor store in partnership with Willy and Bobo, his street-smart acquaintances.Īt the beginning of the play, Walter Lee and Beneatha's father has recently died, and Mama (Lena) is waiting for a life insurance check for $10,000 ($101,000 in 2023). Though Ruth is content with their lot, Walter is not, and desperately wishes to become wealthy. Walter is barely making a living as a limousine driver. Walter and Ruth Younger, their son Travis, along with Walter's mother Lena (Mama) and Walter's younger sister Beneatha, live in poverty in a run-down two-bedroom apartment on Chicago's South Side. The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959, and in recent years publications such as The Independent and Time Out have listed it among the best plays ever written. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chicago, as they attempt to improve their financial circumstances with an insurance payout following the death of the father, and deals with matters of housing discrimination, racism, and assimilation. The title comes from the poem ' Harlem' (also known as 'A Dream Deferred' ) by Langston Hughes. A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959.

A raisin in the sun book