A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry

There are many symbols throughout the play including Mama's plant and her insurance check. The insurance check was an important image in the story. Most of the action centered around what Mama was going to do with the money. Walter wanted it to start a business, Ruth wanted a new house, and Beneatha wanted her schooling paid for. In this way It symbolized the key to their dreams. Walter couldn't achieve his dream without the money to start his business. Similarly, the others' dreams couldn't come true without the money. This idea of the importance of money greatly affected the younger people in the family, creating tension between them and Mama. Mama didn't want to focus on money. "Somebody would have thought my children done all but starved to death the way they talk about money here late."( Hansberry 43) Because of this, Walter, Beneatha, and Ruth had to tread carefully by not saying outright that they wanted the money because it might upset Mama, the person who controlled it. In this way the money symbolizes how they can't control whether or not their dreams come true.