Character Analysis - Lena Younger aka Mama - Essay Example

The idea of Mama's son Walter's struggles to attain his goals are what motivates her immensely. Her main concern was to help Walter’s marriage. She gets determined to ensure Walter’s marriage was successful and that he paid more attention to his wife. Mama wanted Walter to see the benefits of holding a family together while striving to achieve his goal (Hansberry 6).

Her dreams from the play are not about herself but for her entire family’s future generations. From the play, she states that… “Big Walter used to comment, … lean his head back with the water standing right in his eyes and say, ‘ it seems like God did not see it fit to give the black man not anything but dreams, … but He gave us kids to make them dreams seem real” (Hansberry 14).

Mamma places a down payment on a house for the entire family. She seems to believe that a large brighter residence will help all of them. The house is in Clybourne Park, an exclusively white neighborhood. When the neighbors (Younger’s future neighbors) realize they are moving in, they send a member of the Clybourne Park Association to offer the Younger money not to move into the neighborhood. Mama’s plant is a symbol of the vision of her dream. This is because she cares for it just as she cares for her family. She attempts to provide the plant with water, and light to flourish just as she wants her family to flourish. The relentless care shows how hard she is fighting to preserve her dream.
Mama wields a lot of power as the matriarch of the family. She announces Ruth's pregnancy and controls the interaction of the members of her family. She constantly reminds the family of the benefits of family and history. She also makes the economic decisions of the family. This is visible when she holds the checkbook. Mama also wants her children to be religious and strict on that. She gets annoyed when her daughter Beneatha, claims that God has nothing to do with her ambition of being a doctor. Mama smacks her and makes her repeat the words, “In my mom’s house, there is God” (Hansberry 12).

Mama conflicts with Walter. This is because he could not be able to achieve his dream. According to Mama, “… a fine man, but just could not catch up with his dreams …” (Hansberry 18). He could not achieve the dream of schooling his children. This is all because of Walters's foolish business dealings with Wily Harris. Walter and Beneatha fight with Mama's conservative protestant ethics. She does not accept Walter’s business plan because she disapproves of liquor selling. She states, “… whether they drink it or never drink it is none of my business. But whether I enter into the business of selling it to them is… do not want that in my ledger…” (Hansberry 18).

She also puts Beneatha on notice of her moral conviction. When Beneatha claims that God is just an idea she does not believe in, she gets slapped across the face by Mama. This sends a clear message to her that atheism will not be accepted in her house. She also confronts Beneatha when she victimizes her brother for her decisions and gets confronted by her mother, who makes it clear to her, that is during difficult times that her brother needs family love and support.
Despite her conflicts with the family, she loves her children and is kind to them. Her enduring care becomes shown; by the way, she nurtures her plant. Even though, it is wilting she still loves it unconditionally, as she does her family. She has faith that one day all of them will be successful. Read More