A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
Mr. Younger has a very strong presence in the play even though he is dead and never physically present in any part of the action. He continues to influence his family and affect them in a variety of ways.
The most important and the most obvious of these influences comes in the form of the insurance check. Mr. Younger's hard work throughout his life to provide for his family is also providing for his family long after his hard work had concluded. "THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY FATHER'S FLESH" reinforced Walter (Hansberry 128). The check also connects Mr. Younger to the play because it is Mama's with which to deal and distribute. Mr. Younger was Mama's as well, and together, they sought to build the dream which continued to evade them: home ownership. However, this dream is finally realized by Mama when she uses the insurance check in order to buy her home.
Another of his lasting legacies is that of his impact on the character of his son. Criticized by his mother earlier in the play, Walter begins to understand what it means to be a man through the example set by his father. In the end, he experiences an emotional metamorphisis that allowed him to round into the ideals and morals of his father incarnate.
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