Raisin in the Sun: Gender Roles Defied Following the event of World War Two, America during the 1950s was an era of economic prosperity. Male soldiers had just returned home from war to see America “at the summit of the world”(Churchill). Many Americans were confident that the future held nothing other than peace and prosperity, so they decided to start families. However, the 1950s was also a time of radical changes. Because most of the men in the family had departed to fight in the war, women were left at home to do the housework. Even after the war, women were urged to stay at home to take care of the children. On the other hand, males would deal with financial businesses to keep their family out of poverty. These gender roles were embedded …show more content…
It was normal for a man to have the most power over a household. However, Walter struggles to the role his family plays in his daily life. Because of Walter’s business failure, he was able to develop and find the harmonic balance between money and family. Walter was able to face Karl Lidner when given the choice to sell his family’s dream home in return for one thousand five hundred dollars. He confronts his greed and desire to become a wealthy businessman and realizes that he lost his only supporters throughout his journey. Walter declines Karl Lidner while staring at Travis, his little son. With these actions, Walter is seen as a family man- somebody who realizes the importance of family. Walter develops into a character similar to his father- Big Walter. Big Walter was seen as “a man who loved his children”(PAGE) according to Mama. Even though he was financially unstable, he “” QUOTE. Walter was introduced as a man who cared about nothing other than his business. He had sacrificed his sister’s dream of becoming a doctor, and held the power to wipe out Mama’s dream for a better home. Walter sees the gender roles as boundaries keeping him from loosening up to his family. He is given the insight that men must be powerful, wealthy, and demanding for them to truly be the head of the household. However, Walter sees past these gender roles, and not only challenges these rigid roles, but he also regains his family’s trust along the
In the months leading up to World War Two, additional labor was needed in the United States. Men had to fight in the war, so they left their jobs unoccupied. Women were needed to work in the war front, as well as in “essential civilian” jobs--jobs that kept the home front running smoothly. Examples of these occupations are teachers, taxi drivers, child-care workers, bank tellers, restaurant workers, and police officers (Colman). Housewives were the only group of people who were not contributing to the war efforts, or in Teresa English’s words “the only untapped demographic.”
During WWII to most men were drafted to join the military. This some what forced many women to take on the jobs most held by men at the time. When the Baby Boom happened, many Americans viewed this as a chance to get women back as household keepers. Many magazines at the time promoted sending women back to housewives. They would post articles like “Cooking To Me Is Poetry” and “Femininity Begins At Home”.
Fiona Walsh Dr. Campbell HIS 467 March 30, 2023 Role of Women Following WWII: What Polls Can Tell Us The effects of WWII brought about many drastic changes in American society, one of which being the role of women. As more and more men enlisted in the war, women began to play a larger role than ever as they filled jobs and stepped further out of the domestic sphere than ever before. Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the workforce increased from 27% to nearly 37%, an unprecedented amount in American history.
In the beginning Walter is basically perceived as a jerk-he doesn’t seem to get along with anyone, not even his own family. His character likes to turn discussions into fights, make rude comments to his wife, and act all around immature. A part that accurately shows the way Walter conducts himself is when he is arguing with Ruth and says “Man say: I got to change my life , I'm choking to death, baby! And his woman say- Your eggs is getting cold!”
Before the 1920’s, during World War 1, women were pushing social boundaries by creating large emphases on education, wage gaps, work conditions, and breaking the traditional gender roles that society puts in place . These women were encouraged to leave their housework behind and join the war efforts by taking over their husband’s jobs. During this time, many women's organizations, clubs, and unions were forming all trying to create spaces where women felt safe enough to address their experiences and issues publicly. Although these were very progressive advancements, there was a latent understanding that once the war was over women were expected to go back to their housework, and give the men their jobs
Although Walter does not deserve the power, the manhood of Walter Lee enables him to “control” the family. Conversely, Beneatha’s talkativeness and her aggressive personality are against how a 1950s African American should act. Ruth asks “Can’t you be a little sweeter sometimes? (Act 1, Scene 1)” to indicate the modest characteristics women should have. Furthermore, Ruth’s decision of abortion at the beginning of the play was unconventional since it was against gender expectation because it is against her duty as a wife and a mother.
Walter’s statement tries to tell the women that he didn’t try to make the world the way it is now. Yes, he wants luxurious items for him and his wife. However, even though he seriously messed up, he’s still the man in the family and will continue to make the decisions for the
Following the death of his father, Walter Lee is now the man of the house, not only to his wife and son, but also to his mother and sister, as they live in a multi-generational home. Faced with an internal conflict between choosing to chase his dreams of owning a liquor store or to move his family into a larger home, Walter Lee faces challenges in his family relationships. Ultimately, Walter Lee betrays his family and spends their money on his dreams, which in turn leaves the family with no inheritance, as the person he invested with runs off with the money. Rightfully so, the family is hurt and feel a sense of
He wants to be a businessman and own a liquor store. He wants to be able to provide for his family and give them what they have never had. Walter also wants to take his mother’s position as the head of the house and make the financial decisions for the family. Walter can be seen as selfish as instead of putting the money for him and his sister in the bank he uses it all and loses it trying to fulfill his own dreams with no regard to his sister’s dreams or the rest of the family’s.
Equality of genders is a basic human right that all should posses. However, in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, the reader explores Afghanistan’s true nature of extreme gender inequality towards women and how it affects all the characters within the novel. The novel explores how within a marriage, women have unequal rights, undergo major amounts of physical abuse, and are emotionally and mentally tormented by their very own supposedly beloved husbands. A marriage is defined as a union of two people as partners in a personal relationship.
The women were expected to create a happy home, guard the religion, and the morality of her family. The unmarried and married women who tried to seek work outside the home faced limited employment opportunities because of their gender. Women were expected to only focus on domestic duties and her role were limited to continue living in the man’s world. Women roles were expected to be in line with the culture and norms set by the society. The American culture perceived that women were not intellectually and emotionally stable to be involved in the complex world of work and, therefore, women did not take up leadership and political roles.
A Raisin in the Sun addresses major social issues such as racism and feminism which were common in the twentieth century. The author, Lorraine Hansberry, was the first playwright to produce a play that portrayed problematic social issues. Racism and gender equality are heavily addressed throughout the play. Even though we still have these issues today, in the 1950’s and 60’s the issues had a greater part in society. Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period.
Walter states that the Youngers are a calm, good family who “don’t want to make no trouble for nobody,” and are not looking to stir up trouble. All they intend to be is hard working, peaceful “good neighbors” and that give them every right to live in Clybourne Park. Afterwards, Mama, talking to Ruth about Walter, states that, “he finally come into his manhood today,” (151). Walter made his family proud and after much struggle they feel that he has matured. For Mama proudly exclaims that Walter “come into his manhood” by doing the morally right thing “finally.”
The women of the 20th century, often struggled with beauty and fashion restricting their clothing options. Women were thought to be weak and a symbol of being delicate and fragile. In the 50’s, women were simply expected to get married to a wealthy man, stay at home, and raise children while her husband worked to provide for the family. During world war II, the role of women changed drastically. Since men were off fighting for the country, women stepped into their roles as factory workers.
Rebecca Parise Theatre 111 Professor LePine February 8 2017 Reflection Essay In order to make their plays stand out there are certain measures that playwrights tend to make. Lorraine Hansberry was very good at making not only her play, A Raisin in the Sun, standout, but she was also able to use diction and make this play into a beloved masterpiece.