Deferred Dream and Importance of Achieving Goals Essay Example

desires to find a partner who values her intelligence instead of solely focusing on her physical appearance. Ruth is married to Walter, and they have a son named Travis. She manages household tasks and occasionally works as a house cleaner for others.

The protagonist's aspiration for financial success is delayed when she discovers her pregnancy and contemplates having an abortion. However, Lena's hopes are lifted when she receives a ten thousand-dollar insurance check following her husband's death. For Lena, this windfall offers the opportunity to buy a comfortable home for her family. Walter sees it as a chance to start a liquor business, while Beneatha views it as a means to pursue further education (Hansberry 15). Throughout his son, Walter has always shared anecdotes about the privileged lives of white people and the excellent education their children receive. This check allows him to prove the truth behind his stories. All family members perceive the check as a pathway to attain the desired good life.

Lena spends 3,500 dollars on purchasing a home in a predominantly white neighborhood because she believes it will be crucial in improving her family's quality of life. The house she buys has a backyard where Travis can play and where she can have a small garden. Upon discovering this, Walter feels insignificant and begins drinking excessively, ultimately refusing to go to work (Hansberry 17). Lena becomes aware of the situation and hands over the remaining 6,500 dollars to Walter. She instructs him to allocate 3,500 dollars towards Beneatha's education while allowing him to utilize the remainder according to his own desires.

Walter is happy with his mother's action, and their relationship flourishes positively. However,

Lena's dream of providing a good home for her family is delayed once again when a man from the white neighborhood visits them. He offers them double the amount they paid for the house and urges them to give up their newly acquired home because it is located in a white neighborhood. Walter angrily throws the man out but later realizes that his business partner has disappeared with the $6,500 Lena had entrusted to him. It turns out that Walter had given all the money to his liquor business partner. Consequently, Beneatha's dream of pursuing a medical degree is also deferred because Walter had failed to save $3,500, as advised by Lena (Hansberry 20).

Walter believes he must accept Lindner's offer for his family to recover their lost money, but realizes that family love and dignity are more important than money. Thus, he rejects the offer and defends his family's dream of moving into a new home. A Raisin in the Sun showcases how the American dream is valued more by white individuals than black individuals. Lena's family, despite being able to afford it, is denied the opportunity to relocate due to racial segregation in the neighborhood. They are even tempted with double their initial house payment as an incentive to relinquish their dream.

The text discusses Martin Luther King's famous speech "I have a dream" where he envisioned a United States with racial unity and coexistence between white and black citizens, even in segregated neighborhoods. However, Lena and her family faced discrimination from Lindner and his neighbors, hindering their pursuit of the American dream. This led them to consider selling their home to Lindner at a

higher price. The play portrays a reality where Walter works as a chauffeur for a white man while his wife cleans for white individuals. These examples highlight the ongoing discrimination against black people in society (Bloom; Hobby 10).

Martin also expresses his hope that African Americans will refrain from simply relocating from one small ghetto to another in order to improve their lives. When Lindner approaches the family and offers them money to abandon their dream, it appears that he is encouraging them to move to a larger ghetto rather than striving for a better neighborhood. In Langston's poem "Dream Deferred," the notion is raised that when a dream is postponed or neglected, it may become rotten. This idea is evident in the play "Raisin in the Sun" when Walter's dream of owning a liquor store is delayed when his business partner runs away with the money (Whitfield 09). Walter trusted his friend with the funds because he believed it was time to finally achieve his long-postponed dream, but unfortunately, things did not go as anticipated. Langston further contemplates whether a deferred dream sags or becomes a heavy burden.

In the play, Lena experiences a constant feeling of not doing enough to help her family achieve their dreams and goals. This is similar to the poem's question on whether a deferred dream can explode. In the play, a deferred dream explodes when Walter receives money from Lena. He becomes so desperate to achieve his dream of owning a liquor store that he risks his sister's studies by giving all the money to his partner (Whitfield 10). The explosion worsens when he discovers that his partner has run

away with all the money. Once again, his dreams seem to explode when he feels the need to recover the lost money by accepting Lindner's money, even though doing so would mean losing the family's dignity and deferring their dream of owning a home.

Despite obstacles, it is possible to achieve one's dream with consistent effort and determination. Lena successfully ensured her family had a comfortable home by making wise decisions when opportunities arose. In contrast, Walter nearly jeopardized his family's aspirations by accepting Lindner's offer and also endangered Beneatha's ambitions by giving all of his mother's money to his business partner. Despite efforts to rectify his mistakes, Walter often places his longing for a better life above his love for his family. On the other hand, Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of equal opportunities for everyone is gradually becoming a reality in today's society.

To achieve their goal and consider the values of others, one must be focused.

Works Cited

1. Bloom, Harold, and Blake Hobby. The American Dream. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2009. Print.
2. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun: A Drama in Three Acts. New York: Random House, 2002. Print.
3. Whitfield, Jo'rell H.

The book titled "The Deferred Dream" was published in Cork in 2012 by BookBaby, and it is available in print format.