Raisin in the Sun, Walter Younger likes to think of himself as a giant. He has big dreams of making it as a businessman, and yet no one else supports him in his ambitions, least of all his wife, Ruth, who shows zero enthusiasm for his plans.

It's no wonder, then, that Walter, a man who thinks very highly of himself, should compare himself to a giant. Giants are tall and powerful, but it can get awfully lonely up there, with the clouds swirling around your head. That's just how Walter feels, frustrated as he is that no one's prepared to share his ambitions.

George is on hand to deflate Walter's ambitions and take him down a peg or two. He compares him to Prometheus, by which he means that Walter's ambitions, like those of the Titan, are liable to have dangerous consequences. Walter may not end up having his liver eaten by an eagle, but there's a very real danger that he will come to grief through his planned business endeavors.

George's reference to Prometheus also refers to the fact that Walter's being eaten up by his frustrations of being a giant surrounded by ants, just like Prometheus's liver was eaten by Zeus's eagle each and every day.

In act 2, scene 1 of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, George Murchison has arrived at the Younger home to take Beneatha to a play. While he is waiting for Beneatha to get ready, George is accosted by Walter, who insults him about his shoes, his father's investments, and his college courses. Walter is actually coming on pretty strong, and George calls him out for his bitterness.

Walter's response is obscene and definitely bitter, for he highly resents George's success. “Bitter?” Walter says, “Man, I'm a volcano. Bitter? Here I am a giant—surrounded by ants! Ants who can't even understand what it is the giant is talking about.” He is on the verge of violence, and he maintains that no one is with him; no one supports him, not even his own mother.

George bites his tongue and says nothing until he is ready to leave with Beneatha. Then he sarcastically addresses Walter with “Good night, Prometheus.” Walter has no idea what he means, but George is deliberate in his insult. He is referring to Greek Titan Prometheus who stole fire from the other gods to give to human beings. As his punishment, Prometheus was bound to a stake, and an eagle forever feeds upon his liver.

Apparently, Walter's claim to be a “giant” triggers the idea of Prometheus in George's mind, but also, something is clearly “eating at” Walter, and George can tell that. Walter is ranting bitterly and making little sense. He is jealous of George and deep down wants what the other man has (like Prometheus wanted the fire) even though he would never admit it. Further, Walter feels cut off from everyone, alone in the world even among his family members who cannot understand his dream. In George's mind, he is much like the lone giant Prometheus, forever consumed by his bitterness.

As was mentioned in the previous post, Walter criticizes George for his attire and education before George takes Beneatha on a date. As George is leaving, he says, "Good night, Prometheus!" (Hansberry, 88). Prometheus was the god who created man and stole fire from Mt. Olympus to give to mankind. Prometheus was later punished by Zeus for giving mankind fire and was chained to Mt. Caucasus, where an eagle would eat his liver daily for eternity. However, Hercules ends up killing the eagle and freeing Prometheus from his eternal punishment.

Walter shares several similarities with Prometheus. Both characters are considered creative individuals that follow through with their unpopular plans. Both Walter and Prometheus suffer throughout their lives and are punished for the decisions they've made. Walter is a conflicted individual who becomes extremely depressed and dejected after one of his business associates steals the money that was set aside to open Walter's liquor store. Also, Walter continually drinks alcohol throughout the play, which is ruining his liver. Similarly, Prometheus's punishment is to have his liver eaten each day by Zeus's eagle. Walter and Prometheus are also both relieved of their long suffering. Hercules eventually frees Prometheus, and Walter maintains his integrity by refusing to sell the home to Mr. Lindner.

George Murchinson and Walter have just had a discussion about Walter's dream. Walter makes snide remarks to George about his white shoes and college prep style. Walter is a bitter black man who feels he has never had a break in life. Of course, Walter has just come home drinking and George is sitting on the couch waiting for his date with Beneatha.

Walter begins taking out his frustrations on George. George maintains a calm and collected attitude. After Walter has fussed and cussed and said what he wanted to say to George, he retires for the evening. After Walter is out of earshot, George says "Good night, Prometheus." Prometheus is a character who suffered much but was being punished for foing wrong:

Prometheus, the god who was punished for having brought fire to mortals, was chained to Mt. Caucasus, where his liver was torn out every day by an eagle but grew back each night. Prometheus' suffering lasted for thousands of years — until Hercules killed the eagle and freed Prometheus.

George is more or less being sarcastic and showing off his knowledge. However, Walter's character of having a fiery personality, wrong behavior and much suffering in his life is parallel the character of Prometheus.

George is pedantic, showing off his knowledge, when he says to Walter (after he is safely half-out the door), "Good night, Prometheus."

Lorraine Hansberry’s play about a low-income African American family struggling to better itself in a predominantly white and racist world contrasts the intellectual underpinnings of those members of the family who lack formal education (especially the main protagonist, Walter, and culturally conservative Mama) with those who represent higher levels of academic achievement but who subscribe to vastly different perspectives on racial relations (mainly Beneatha and George). This contrast is a major component of A Raisin in the Sun and is nowhere better exhibited than in the brief exchange between Walter and George in act 2, scene 1, in which George, exiting the Younger family apartment with Beneatha, addresses Walter as “Prometheus.”

Prometheus is a figure from Greek mythology, a Titan who famously created humans and who, unforgivably, gave to his creation the instrument of fire. So, with that information in mind, our task is to understand Hansberry’s choice of Prometheus for this quick, seemingly innocuous exchange between George and Walter. Hansberry’s characters are a judgmental lot, each turning his or her nose down at others depending upon the context, which is usually centered on the distinctions mentioned above. Beneatha likes George, but not in any serious, romantic way:

George looks good—he’s got a beautiful car and he takes me to nice places and, as my sister-in-law says, he is probably the richest boy I will ever get to know and I even like him sometimes—but if the Youngers are sitting around waiting to see if their little Bennie is going to tie up the family with the Murchisons, they are wasting their time . . .

George and Walter share a mutual disregard for each other, Walter viewing George as the pompous blowhard he is, and George looking down on Walter from the socioeconomic perspective that differentiates these two African American men. Beneatha looks down upon any African American who does not embrace her vision of respect for heritage. In this sense, let us look at the first entrance of George early in act 2, scene 1. Walter greets George’s arrival with exaggerated rhetoric:

WALTER: Telling us to prepare for the GREATNESS OF THE TIME! (Lights back to normal. He turns and sees GEORGE) Black Brother! (He extends his hand for the fraternal clasp)

GEORGE Black Brother, hell!

During the action that follows, Walter broaches the subject of a business arrangement with George, who ignores the suggestion. George, with his white shoes and culturally superior demeanor (a rather artificial effort given George’s intellectually shallow nature, something upon which Beneatha commented earlier in the play), cannot be bothered with the uneducated and culturally inferior Walter. Their conversation becomes more heated and confrontational until George and Beneatha head out on their date, the former now addressing Walter as “Prometheus.” To understand Hansberry’s choice of this particular mythological figure, one needs to go beyond the initial description of Prometheus into the specifics of the punishment to which he was sentenced for the sin of stealing fire for the benefit of humanity. Prometheus was condemned to an eternity of being chained to a mountain, during which time an eagle eats his liver again and again. By using “Prometheus” in this context, George is suggesting that Walter is condemned to a lifetime (or eternity) of ignorance and poverty.

At the end of act 2, scene 1, George Murchison visits the Younger apartment to pick Beneatha up for a date. While George waits for Beneatha to get ready, Walter begins criticizing him for his outfit and college education. Walter, who is intoxicated, continues to ridicule George by mocking his formal demeanor. Fortunately, George is able to keep his composure and tells Walter that he is full of bitterness. As George and Beneatha are leaving the apartment, George tells Walter, "Good night, Prometheus!" (Hansberry, 88)

George recognizes the similarities between Walter and Prometheus and is aware that Walter will not understand the reference. Prometheus was the Greek god, who stole fire from Mt. Olympus and gave it to mankind. Zeus ended up punishing Prometheus by chaining him to Mt. Caucasus, where an eagle tore out his liver each day after it regenerated.

Similar to Prometheus, Walter suffers every day at his unfulfilling job and ruins his liver by continually drinking alcohol. George Murchinson's comment is also another opportunity for him to display his intelligence as he sarcastically references the tortured Greek god. 

As George waits for Beneatha to change into "proper attire" for the show, Walter talks to him about money and investments.  Walter is aware of the financial success of the Murchison family, and he tells George that he must have keen ideas about making money.  George wants little to do with this conversation, yet Walter continues and tells him that they must get together to talk about business plans.  George refuses the gesture, and Walter then rails him about his "useless" education and ideas.  Walter claims that George knows nothing about being a man, implying that he himself does.  On the way out, George calls Walter "Prometheus" as a sarcastic stab at his identity and as an element of foreshadowing. 

In Greek myth, Prometheus challenged the power of the gods and thought that he was being clever by stealing fire for humankind.  Similarly, Walter believes that his ideas trump those of his other family members including Mama, and he simply sees the outside world as an oppressive force rather than a path which he must learn to navigate.  For his actions, Prometheus is punished by the gods and must live in the recurring hell of having his liver eaten by birds; Walter later is punished by fate when he loses the family's money in an ill-planned scheme with Willie Harris and Bobo.  Walter can never get this money back and is destined to live with this guilt.

Walter, like Prometheus, is punished for believing that he is clever enough to trump higher powers with his simple plans.

In addition to that stated above, George is criticizing Walter for always thinking that he has the best plan of action.  Walter wants to talk business with George; however, Walter really has no idea what a "business talk" would entail.  Similarly, Prometheus believes that he is clever and that he can trick the gods.  For a while he gets away with his theft, but eventually he is caught and punished.  Walter is also punished for trying to be "clever" and disobey all the good sense that is around him.  Mama opposes the liquor store, but Walter believes that his dream and plans are more important than Mama's reservations about this deal.  So in the end, Walter suffers.