A Raisin in the Sun - I recognize that my titles are becoming increasingly less relevant

This is literally all I could think about while reading this play:


It's very distracting, I'll have you know. I don't even know what this is. I think I just saw something about them on Family Guy once.

I think I'll talk about some similarities between Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun. First off, they both depict the tale of a family which is trying to achieve financial security and independence. Also, they both have a desperate hope that something will come along and solve all of their problems. In Glass Menagerie, this hope comes in the form of a "gentleman caller" who will come along, marry Laura, and support the family forever. In A Raisin in the Sun, the hope is the life insurance check from the late father of the family. Now, while everyone in the family has different ideas of how the money should be spent, all of them still view it as the ultimate solution for their problems. Mama hopes that they'll be able to move into a better home, and secretly hopes to put the money towards Beneatha's medical school bills. Walter, on the other hand, wants to invest all of the money in a liquor store in order to achieve financial security forever. However, in both plays, their hopes and dreams don't quite fall together exactly as planned, and the family has to find some way to make things work on their own. Or they don't, we don't really get a clear picture there. Yay for open endings.

Also, both families lack the father. However, the way that they are presented is completely different. In a glass menagerie, the Amanda uses the father as an example of everything that Tom should not be. However, in A Raisin blahblahblah, Mama urges her son to strive to act more like his father and defend the life of his unborn child. I just think it's a tad interesting.