A Raisin in the Sun / The Glass Menagerie

In these two stories, the relationship between mothers and their sons are very vived and key to the play. These two relationships are similar and different at the same time. In both stories, the father figure is missing in the family. The mothers expect their male child to step up and take charge like a father figure. In The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, the mother, wants Tom to step up and take care of the family like her husband never did. She wants Tom to turn out like a man who is exact opposite of her husband who left her family to survive on their own. On the other hand, Mama in A Raisin in the Sun wants her son, Walter, to turn out to be the man her husband was. She cherished her husband and thought so much of him. Even when she received $10,000 for his death it was not enough. Mama believed that his life couldn't be measured by money. I am sure that Amanda would've given up her husband for $10,000 any day.

Both mothers and sons have a relationship full of arguments, but it is only because the mothers care about how they turn out. It is obvious that both sons do feel tied down because they have to work so much to support a family and cannot live out their own dreams. In the end, Tom fails his family, gives up on them, thinks of himself and leaves; like father, like son. Walter actually steps up to the plate at the end of the story and stands up to defend his family. Mama believes that it is his first step in becoming a true man.

A Raisin in the Sun

3. I feel that the protagonist is Mama because she is the conerstone of the family and is ultimately the one receiving the money. The antagonist would be Walter because of the pressure he puts on Mama about the check. Also, he argues with everyone in the household about something. I believe that Ruth and Bennie are foils in this story. Ruth is all about helping other people out and putting her family before herself. She is willing to kill her baby just so the family can live easier. This would destroy Ruth, but she wants what is best for the household in general. Bennie on the other hand is all about herself. She cares about her education, the activites she wants to do, and the men she dates.

Travis is a minor character who has a big impaact on the play. He is only a child and a minor charcter at that, but he plays a big part when one looks at the big picture. At the end of the play, Travis definitely had an impact on the decision made by the major character, Walter. Walter has to decide to stand up for his family and their rights or back down and leave the housing community. Mama makes Travis see this situation because I think she knew it would help Walter make the right decision as well as show Travis how real men act.