Did Walter Really Do the Right Thing?

     Throughout "A Raisin In the Sun" we see the character of Walter Younger become a "man".  This is an evident struggle and in almost every act the idea and the expectations of being a man are discussed.  His Mama's opinion is always based on how well Walter's action resembles his father's.  When Walter finally gets his mama's approval, he has spoken the words of his father. But, the real question that arises from this dramatic play is, "Did Walter really do the right thing"?

     We all know everyone makes mistake and Walter's was a BIG one.  If I lost all of my mother's money I would do anything to get it back.  I actually sided with Walter when he chose to throw out his already broken pride, and resale the house his Mama bought.  I made a pros and cons list to help me see the better option:
Pros-                                                       -Cons
~much nicer living conditions                     ~no more money for Beneatha's schooling
~a house for Travis to use when older       ~impact of hatred of the neighbors
~more space                                            ~unsafe environment
~advancement in society                          ~no way to continuously pay the mortgage on current salary
/fulfillment of father's dreams
                    
Though the American Dream sounds enticing, I believe that Mama was looking for an immediate change, not the best interest of her family.  Yes, Walter Sr. wanted them to live in a comfortable house, but he also wanted to see his daughter graduate from college and his son to make a comfortable living.  Mr. Lindner was willing to pay the price of the house and more to remove the Youngers from his neighborhood.  They could have taken that money, paid for Bennie's collage, and saved up enough to afford an even nicer home.

     If you really think about it, wasn't it Mama's pride forcing them to move?  Mama knew the dangers of blacks living in a white society and she chose to bring her family into harms way.  If Walter would've stuck to his guns and shaken Mr. Lindner's hand, their financial well being and their safety would be much better off.

The American Dream: In All Races

     In most classes students are only taught two things in African American history, one being slavery and the other being the civil rights movement of the sixties and seventies.  Until recently, I had never given the twenties a thought when it came to African history. I guess, in my mind, there was just a void space between slavery and the great movement; a space where Blacks just existed and had no impact. Now, I know the Harlem Renaissance was a major period in history, not only for the blacks, but for people of all races.  These writers and poets were the ones who inspired legends such as Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr.  They paved the way for Africans in America and fought the stereotype of being poor and uneducated. 
     In a sense, some writers did obtain the American dream that they so desperately wished for. Zora Neale Hurston, the author of How it Feels to Be Colored Me, grew up being told to "follow her dreams no matter how impossible they seemed"(McDougal 858).  She worked tough jobs to pay for high school and finally completed it after twelve long years.  Hurston set off to New York "with $1.50, no job, no friends, and a lot of hope"(McDougal 858). She put herself through college and became one of the first blacks to graduate from Barnard. By the 1930's Hurston had published many great pieces, including Mules and Men and Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Though she had success, it was short lived.  By the 1940's she had lost popularity and reverted back to doing meager jobs until her death in 1960; Zora Hurston was buried in an unmarked grave.  Her story embodies the American dream. She came from nothing, found great success, and then was stripped of her nobility.  Hurston never stopped believing in her dream much like Jay Gatsby.  Hurston lived the American dream, where the hard working rose quickly to the top and were brought tumbling down just as fast. The blacks envied the whites, pushing for the ideal American life, but when looking at Jay Gatsby’s life compared to Zora Hurston’s life we notice a pattern. They both had wonderful beginnings and they both had tragic ends.  That was the American Dream.

Blue Jeans

    This weekend I was just relaxing with my sister listening to music and while we were doing this I began to complain because I had absolutely no idea what to write my post about! Then, a sweet orchestra sound began to build through the speakers and my most recent obsession, Lana Del Ray, started singing her song Blue Jeans.  We had listened to about half of the song when I yelled, startling my sister, "Wait! This song is exactly like the "Great Gatsby"!”, I now had my inspiration.

    The song Blue Jeans has so many similar themes in comparison to the "Great Gatsby".  The only difference is that Lana Del Ray is a girl and you have to imagine Gatsby singing this about Daisy. The song begins with "walked into the room, you know you made my eyes burn". This describes the first meeting between Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby instantly falls in love with her liveliness as well as her money.  The next line goes "it was like James Dean, for sure", which I interpreted as Daisy being this celebrity among the men in Louisville. Gatsby saw her as a jewel he must possess just as many women saw James Dean.  Lana also sings "You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip hop, But you fit me better than my favorite sweater". I interpreted this line as Gatsby and Daisy coming from two separate social classes, poor and wealthy, but Gatsby realizing that Daisy fit him "better than his favorite sweater".  

   

     The most true lines to the novel is the chorus where Lana sings, "I will love you till the end of time, I would wait a million years, promise you'll remember that you're mine".  Gatsby was always in love with Daisy, even while away at war; the chorus relates to Gatsby's waiting for Daisy and his strange belief that Daisy will remember their love and leave Tom.  Gatsby also wants Daisy to remember all the fun they had, especially the past. The lines “I just want it like before, we were dancing all night, then they took you away – stole you out of my life, you just need to remember”, plays off of Daisy and Gatsby’s separation during the war; Daisy was “stolen” away by the other men she began to date while Gatsby served. The next line in Blue Jeans goes "Love you more than those b*t*hes before, Say you'll remember". Though a bit strongly worded, you feel as though Gatsby is telling Daisy to forget anyone that she has ever loved because his love is greater than them all.

    As the song plays out the lyrics mention "Big dreams, gangster" which implies Gatsby's illegal means of getting money. The lyrics also talk about "but he (but in this case Daisy) headed out on Monday, said he'd come home Sunday, I stayed up wait'in, anticipat'in and pac'in"; this relates to the episode where Daisy and Tom quickly leave town, but Gatsby remains in New York just in case Daisy comes back.  Another example of the great similarity is when Lana sings "But when you walked out that door, a piece of me died", this is just how Gatsby was throughout the novel. When Daisy didn't deny her love for Tom and ran away, Gatsby was left in the memories of their past; a piece of Gatsby died.

     Blues Jeans embodies the story of the “Great Gatsby”. The last line of the song is “I will love till the end of time” and Gatsby’s last thought was that he would love Daisy till the end of time.  Lana Del Ray’s song modernizes this epic love tragedy and proves that this type of sad, love affair still happens in the 21^st century.