What does the plant symbolize in A Raisin in the Sun?

The plant in A Raisin in the Sun represents Mama's dream of someday having her own house, with her own little garden in the back.  The dream has been a long time coming, and at times she's been close to giving up hope, but the fact that she keeps nurturing the plant and that it means so much to her shows that she never gives up - on her dream, herself, or her children.

The plant is first mentioned moments after Mama appears in the play for the first time in Act I, scene i.  The notes state that she "goes to the window, opens it, and brings in a feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the windowsill.  She feels the dirt and puts it back out" (39).  Just as the plant continues to "doggedly" grow despite its poor environment, Mama continues to hold on to her dream of someday owning her own home.  In the meantime, she nurtures and cares for her plant as best she can.

In a household often filled with anger and arguments, however, Mama is frequently reminded of the struggles the family continues to face.  She sees both Walter and Beneatha slipping away from her, not holding on to the values she has tried to instill or being the people she wants them to be.  This concern shows itself in her concern for her plant:

"Lord, if this little old plant don't get more sun than it's been getting, it ain't never going to see spring again" (40).

When Ruth and Mama talk about possible uses for the insurance money, Mama mentions that she is thinking of putting some money down on a house so the family can move out of their cramped apartment.  This, she explains, has been her dream for a long time, something she and her late husband had hoped to do many years before.  They had even had a particular house in mind:

"Looks right dumpy today.  But Lord, child, you should know all the dreams I had 'bout buying that house and fixing it up and making me a little garden in back" (45).

They were never able to buy that house, and Mama's regret is apparent as she looks at her plant.  When Ruth points out, "You sure loves that little old thing, don't you?" Mama explains why her plants means so much to her:

"Well, I always wanted me a garden like I used to see sometimes at the back of houses down home. This plant is close as I ever got to having one" (53).

When Beneatha later criticizes Mama for wanted to bring that old plant to the new house, Mama adamantly states: "It expresses me!" (121). 

The news that the money has been lost leads Mama to give up momentarily on her dream - she tells the others that they better call the moving men and tell them not to come.  Then, as the notes state:

A sense of waste overwhelms her gait; a measure of apology rides on her shoulder.  She goes to her plant, which has remained on the table, looks at it, picks it up and takes it to the windowsill and sits it outside, and she stands and looks at it a long moment (139).

In this scene, we see Mama resigning herself, it seems, to the idea that this is the only garden she will ever have.  However, with the ultimate decision, after Walter rediscovers his pride, to move into their new house, Mama readies her plant - it is one of the final items to be packed, as she steps out to finally see her dream be realized.

What is the significance of the check in A Raisin in the Sun?

The check is the ten-thousand-dollar life insurance compensation that Lena Younger receives after her husband passed away. The check represents possible financial freedom and the opportunity to pursue the various dreams of each of the family members.

The check means something different to each person in the Younger family and represents numerous future possibilities. For Walter Jr., the check provides him with the financial backing to go into the liquor business, which he hopes will prosper and bring the family more financial freedom. For Walter's wife, the check gives her husband the opportunity to follow his dreams and a rare chance to leave the south side of Chicago. For Beneatha, the check means an opportunity to enroll in the college of her choice to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. For Lena, the check means an opportunity to provide a comfortable home for her family and the financial means for her children to pursue their lofty dreams.

What is the significance of the check in A Raisin in the Sun?

At the beginning of the play, the characters keep referencing a check that is supposed to be arriving the next day.  The audience learns that this check is a life insurance check, and it's coming because Mama recently lost her husband, Walter Sr.  The check is worth $10,000, quite a large sum for this poor family that lives on Chicago's Southside.  

This check is the center and symbol for each of the family members' dreams.  For Mama, she dreams of a house where her family can grow and flourish.  Currently, she, her daughter Beneatha, her son Walter, her daughter-in-law Ruth, and their son Travis all live together in a very small apartment.  Because of the cramped living conditions and because of their poverty, Mama and the audience see the deterioration of Walter and Ruth's marriage, and Mama wants more for them and for her grandson.

For Walter, the check represents a chance to be a man, the leader of the family.  Walter wants to use the money as a downpayment on a liquor store, which he thinks will make him big money.  For Walter, money means power and respect.  Currently, he is a chauffeur for a wealthy white family, and Walter idolizes that family because he thinks they "have it all."  So the money would mean the American Dream for Walter.

For Beneatha, the money would mean a college education and a chance to create an identity for herself.  Currently Beneatha is the only adult in the household who is not working to support the family.  She is trying to attend medical school, but really, that is just one step in trying to find out who she is supposed to be--her identity.  

For Ruth, that money would just mean happiness for her family that seems to be falling apart.  While Ruth does not have specific plans for the money like the other main characters, she thinks that the money can make the other three happy in their endeavors.  That dream is complicated, however, when the audience discovers in Act I, scene II, that Ruth is pregnant.  Because of the family's poverty, Ruth feels she must give up the baby in order to keep the family together.  That $10,000 could mean the opportunity to keep the baby.

What is the significance of the Younger's living room in A Raisin in the Sun?

The living room, which is described in the play's exposition in Act One, Scene One, is a metaphor for the Youngers' lives. The room is described as one that would be "comfortable and well-ordered...if it were not for a number of indestructible contradictions to this state of being." The "indestructible contradictions" are related to the Youngers' cyclical poverty, further represented by the worn places in the carpet and "the once loved pattern of the couch upholstery," which has since been covered by "acres of crocheted doilies and couch covers".

The Youngers are proud people who do not wish to be defined by their poverty, despite their inability to escape it. The doilies and couch covers are attempts to mask what they cannot control but desperately try to. Hansberry describes the room as one in which "[w]eariness has, in fact, won." She describes a space that has been frequently washed, scrubbed, and polished, but still shows the signs of "weariness" and "depressing uniformity." The space reflects the lack of change that characterizes the family's lives--a condition that is reversed at the end of the play when they decide to move to Clybourne Park.

What is the significance of the Younger's living room in A Raisin in the Sun?

The significance of the Younger's living-room is that it emphazises their poverty and their life of struggle and strife.  Nearly every important scene takes place in this living room full of run down furniture and cramped living space.  Travis, Walter's son, has to sleep on the couch because there are not enough bedrooms for this family of five.  Another child is to be born and and Walter's sister at one point in the play asks, "where is he going to sleep; on the roof?  The living room also emphasizes the importance of the closeness of this family.  They need each other and they need the love and support of each other.  The living-room is the soul of the play.

What is the significance of the "Younger" family name in A Raisin in the Sun?

The Younger family name alludes to the young members of the family who have hope for a better future and desire to climb the social ladder along with the newer generation of African Americans as the Civil Rights Movement gains traction. Walter Lee Younger and his sister Beneatha are depicted as ambitious, enthusiastic characters, who both have extraordinary dreams. Walter Lee dreams of becoming a successful businessman while Beneatha dreams of earning a college education and becoming a doctor. Their fantastic dreams correspond to their youth and their hopeful attitudes align with the demands for equality championed by the Civil Rights Movement. In addition to their optimistic outlook on life and big dreams, the Younger family name also alludes to their naivety, which is a typical characteristic of young people. Beneatha struggles with her identity while Walter Lee loses the family's insurance money after he is robbed by his shady business partner. In many ways, Walter Lee and Beneatha underestimate the challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of attaining their dreams and rely on the oldest member of the family, Lena, to make the correct decision. In the end, Lena influences her son to make the right decision by refusing to sign over the house to Mr. Lindner. Overall, the Younger family name alludes to the strong youthful members of their family and aligns with the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement.

What is the significance of the "Younger" family name in A Raisin in the Sun?

The name calls to mind the "younger" generation.  This family is living in a time a great change.  The Civil Rights movement is promising equality to African-Americans, who have suffered unfairly for hundreds of years.  Opportunities are present everywhere, and there is hope that the "American Dream" can be for all people and not just for white people.  However, there is much that still stands in the way.  Racism, greed, pride... these sins plague the family from inside and out.  Although the younger members of the family should be able to make a better life for themselves, it is the oldest member of the family - Mama - who has the most ambition and sense to actually make it happen.  Although change is present, it is slow and arduous.  The "Youngers" will still have to work hard if they really want to see success.

What is the significance of the garden in A Raisin in the Sun?

The garden is significant because it represents Mama's long-denied dream. From the time she married and moved into her small, dark urban apartment, Mama hoped to own her own small house with a garden. She and her husband, Big Walter, thought they would only be in the apartment a year, not a lifetime. Mama says to Ruth,

you should know all the dreams I had 'bout buying that house and fixing it up and making me a little garden in the back—(She waits and stops smiling) And didn't none of it happen ...

All Mama has as she speaks to Ruth is a plant, which doesn't do well in the dark apartment.

Mama is delighted to get gifts of garden tools and then a garden hat from Travis. Although the family criticizes the hat as too much like what the white Scarlett O'Hara might wear, Mama is delighted with the gesture, which means her dream is closer to reality.

The garden represents the American Dream, and for Mama, after inheriting the insurance money, this dream seems finally within reach, even if Big Walter can't share in it. The garden, along with the house in the suburbs, symbolizes to Mama a chance for the family to breathe and grow and have a better chance in life than was afforded them previously.