Prosperity The Ideas of American Dream as the Main Characters’ Motive of Life

Walter : Yeah. You see, this little liquor store we got in mind cost seventy-five thousand and we figured the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see. That be ten thousand each… Hansberry, 1994: 33. Walter knows that he has to do something to achieve his goal. He needs a lot of money for his business. He sees that the insurance money is the key to achieve his goal of opening his own business, a liquor store. From this point, Walter becomes an ambitious man Hansberry, 1994: 73. Walter always influences the members of the family in order to make them agree to invest the insurance money in the liquor store. He influences his wife, Ruth, to help him to influence Mama so that Mama will give the money for the business. It can be seen in the part when Walter has conversation with Ruth during breakfast time. As the line states “Mama would listen to you. You know she listen to you more than she do to me and Bennie. She thinks more of you. All you have to do is just sit down with her when you drinking your coffee one morning and talking ‘bout things like you do and … you just sip your coffee, see, and say easy things like that you been thinking ‘bout that deal Walter Lee is so interested in, ‘bout the store and all, and sip some more coffee…” Hansberry, 1994: 32-33. Walter also describes his ambition in a descriptive way to his son. Walter describes to his son how Walter is going to be in the future after he starts his own business. As stated in the following statement, Walter : No – but after tonight. After what your daddy gonna do tonight, there’s going to be offices – a whole lot of offices. Travis : What you gonna do tonight, Daddy? Walter : You wouldn’t understand yet, son, nut your daddy’s gonna make a transaction… a businesstransaction that’s going to 53 change our lives… That’s how come one day when you ‘bout seventeen years old I’ll come home and I’ll be pretty tired, you know what I mean, after a day of conferences and secretaries getting things wrong the way they do… ‘cause an executive’s life is hell, man – The more he talks the farther away he gets And I’ll pull the car up on the drive way… just a plain black Chrysler, I think, with white walls – no – black tires. More elegant. Rich people don’t have to be flashy… though I’ll have to get something a little sportier for Ruth – maybe a Cadillac convertible to do her shopping in…Whatever you want to be – Yessir You just name it, son… and I hand you the world Hansberry, 1994: 108-109. According to McClelland, one of human motives is the motive of achievement. He defines motive of achievement as a desire to be successful 1985: 46. By having prosperity or being financially successful as his ambition and motive of life, Walter’s dream of a better life through success in business and become rich comes out as a form of struggle to have a strong dignity and pride. Furthermore, Matthew Warshauer in his article “Who wants to be a millionaire: Changing Conceptions of the American Dream ”, stated that Americans are captivated by what many consider as an easy avenue to achieving financial success, the “rags to riches” legend has and continues to be a cornerstone of the American Dream. He said that, the traditional message taught that through hard work, frugality, and self-sacrifice one could achieve financial success and social mobility. This thought seems to be appearing in Ruth. Idea of American Dream can also be seen in Ruth’s character. Ruth is a wife and a mother who has dream of a better life. For her, the most important thing that is needed in achieving something such as to have a better life is hard work and sacrifice. 54 Maslow in Atkinson, Atkinson, and Hilgard, 1983: 317 in his Hierarchy of Needs stated that the basic motive in human life is to fulfill the physiological needs like hunger, thirst, and others which are homeostatic and organic. In Ruth’s mind, to achieve the fulfillment of these physiological needs people need to work hard and able or ready to sacrifice themselves. Mama : … Ruth Younger, what’s the matter with you today? You look like you could fall over right now? Ruth : I’m Tired. Mama : Then you better stay home from work today. Ruth : I can’t stay home. She’d be calling up the agency and screaming at them, “My girl didn’t come in today – send me somebody My girl didn’t come in” Oh, she just have a fit… Mama : Well, let her have it. I’ll just call her up and say you got the flu— Ruth : Laughing Why the flu? Mama : ‘Cause it sounds respectable to ‘em. Something white people get, too. They know ‘bout the flu. Otherwise they think you been cut up or something when you tell ‘em you sick. Ruth : I got to go in. We need the money Hansberry, 1994: 42-43. Ruth’s characteristic as a loving and patient woman has made her able to sacrifice herself to go to work although she is not in a good condition. Ruth insisted to go although Mama asked her to stay home and take a rest. She argues with Mama that she might lose the job if she does it and she absolutely hopes that it never happens because she knows that the family needs the money. Ruth’s will of hard work can bee seen in “… I’ll work twenty hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago…I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to and scrub all the floors in America and wash all the sheets in America if I have to – but we got to move We got to get OUT OF HERE” Hansberry, 1994: 140. It is fine for Ruth if 55 she has to work very hard like working twenty hours a day or washing all the sheets in America just to achieve her dream of a better life which in this part is moving into a better house in the nice and safety place. According to Maslow, when somebody has fulfilled the physiological needs, he or she will move to the next step of fulfilling another level of needs in Atkinson, Atkinson, and Hilgard, 1983: 317. In this case, Ruth’s dream of moving into a better place is part of another level of needs to be fulfilled. The idea of hard work that American Dream taught has motivated her. The Idea of American Dream about a better life has become her motive and she knows exactly that a dream will cost a hard work and sacrifice in achieving it.

2. Equality and Opportunity

Equality in The New Oxford American Dictionary means the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities McKean, 2005: 569. Equal here can be anything and it is not limited to certain aspects, and opportunity means a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something McKean, 2005: 1194. The concept of equality and opportunity in the American Dream appeared to demonstrate that if one had talent, intelligence, and willingness to work extremely hard, he or she was likely to be success in life as a result without considering their sexes, ages, and skin color. It shows that everybody has the same right and the same opportunity in pursuing success. These ideals of American Dream also have become the characters’ motive of life in the A Raisin in the Sun. 56 Equality as one of the ideals of American Dream has become another Walter’s motive of life. He wants to be equal with white people. Learning through his workplace environment, Walter Lee sees money as a means of uprising his identity to be equal with whites Worchel and Shelbilske, 1989: 374. He sees money also as a tool to uplift his pride and dignity. To be equal with whites, Walter must uplift his pride and dignity. For Walter, materialism and wealth seem to be the source of pride, dignity and identity. Walter believes that it is free for everybody to pursue wealth or to become rich. Everybody is equal especially in the opportunity of pursuing success. Walter’s effort to gain approval, to be respected and to be equal with whites is by having his own business. He believes that by having his own business, he can easily earn lots of money which later can uplift his pride and dignity and finally become equal with whites. Walter’s ambition to be equal can be seen also in how he envies the white people. Walter told his mother how jealous he is, when he sees white people whom are not older than him sitting down and talking about big money. Walter : … Pause. Kneeling beside her chair Mama – sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool, quite-looking restaurants where them white boy are sitting back and talking ‘bout things… sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars… sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me— Hansberry, 1994: 74. Walter feels that he has the same right to be equal with them. He tries to ensure Mama that he has the same opportunity with white people in running business and becoming millionaire. By becoming rich, Walter believes that he will be respected by others not only fellow black people but also by the white people. As Adler stated in 57 Human Motivation that everyone is motivated by the desire to compensate for weakness. They want to look perfect in the eyes of other people in McClelland, 1985: 39. In this case, Walter wants to have strong dignity in front of other people and he does not want to be despised even though he realizes that he has some weaknesses. Therefore, he tries to do his best to be stronger even if it is hard to do. Another form of Walter’s motives of equality and opportunity can also be seen at the end of the story. At the end of the story, Walter decided to keep on moving into Clybourne Park. Walter : And we have decided to move into our house because my father – my father – he earned it for us brick by brick. Mama has her eyes closed and is rocking back and forth as though she were in church, with her head nodding the Amen yes … and that’s all we got to say about that. He looks the man absolutely in the eyes We don’t want your money. He turns and walks away Hansberry, 1994: 148. His decision is based on his motive that they have the same right as the white people to have a better place of living. The Youngers family believes that they are equal with the white families in the rights of living in Clybourne Park. They bought the house legally with legal money and because of that there is no reason at all for Walter and his family not be able to move in. Walter believes that he has the same opportunity like other white families have in having a better place to live such as to live in Clybourne Park. It is related with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that shows how someone’s motive can be based on Esteem needs that consists things such as to achieve, be competent, and gain approval and recognition in Atkinson, Atkinson, 58 Hilgard, 1983: 318. Walter tries to show that the Youngers are competent in living in an area like Clybourne Park since they can afford to buy a house there and they also believe that they are capable to be a good neighbor. As stated in the following statement, Walter : … We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors... Hansberry, 1994: 148. The ideas of Equality and Opportunity can also be seen in Mama’s characteristic. Just like Walter and the other characters, Mama also has a dream for