The two works that will be compared and contrasted in this paper will be “A Raisin in the Sun” and “The House on Mango Street.” “A Raisin in the Sun” gives insight to the lives of the members of the Younger Family who will inherit a check for $10,000 from Mr. Younger’s Life Insurance. Each member of the family has a different idea of what to spend the money on, two of the members of the family, Mama and Ruth, both want to use the money to move into a new house. Walter Younger wants to use the money to open up a liquor store with his friends that he believes will help solve the family’s financial problems forever. Walter’s Sister Beneatha, wants to use the money to help pay for her school tuition as she is going to medical school.
The play revolves around each member making choices and having to deal with the outcome, or consequences of their actions. For Example, Mama uses half the money to buy a new house for the family to live in, in an all-white neighborhood. This causes the neighborhood to send Mr. Linder, their representative, to negotiate with the Younger’s and convince them to not move into the neighborhood by bribing them with money. The Younger’s then refuse this deal and move in anyway even through all of the racial prejudice. Another Example would be Walter, using his share of the money, along with Beneatha’s to invest in the liquor store. But when he does, he finds out that the person he is investing with has run away with all of his money leaving him with nothing. The play ends with the Younger’s moving into their new house while looking towards their futures with uncertainty. (Spark notes Editors 2002)
“The House on Mango Street” tells the story of a young Chicana girl named Esperanza who moves with her family to a house on Mango Street. Esperanza does not like the house as she believes that it is run down and that she has no privacy. She then decides that someday she will leave Mango Street behind and that she will have her own house. During her first year there, she befriends two other Chicana girls and they, along with Esperanza’s little sister, share some adventures while in the containment of their little neighborhood. The story then evolves and follows Esperanza going through puberty and her being sexually assaulted by a group of boys when one of her new friends leaves her alone with them. Esperanza writes in order to free herself from her prison on Mango Street and realizes that she will not ever be able to truly leave Mango Street behind, because she must rescue the other women that she will leave behind, but in the meantime she writes in order to free herself, and to explore her spirituality. (Sparknotes editors 2004) The settings of both stories take place in slightly similar locations, in impoverished neighborhoods with the families having to struggle to make ends meet. While “A Raisin in the sun” deals more with racial prejudice, the subject can be related to both stories. In “A Raisin in the sun” The Racial Aggressor is Mr. Linder, who wants to bribe the Younger’s away from moving into the all-white neighborhood. Mr. Linder and his association believe that the Younger’s presence in the neighborhood will disrupt the delicate balance that exists there. The Younger’s move in anyway because their strong will to get a new house will not be swayed by futile attempts to bribe them away. The Younger’s current dwelling is in the south side of Chicago. When they get the insurance check, Mama wants to buy a new house for her family.
In “The House on Mango Street” Esperanza and her family live in a crowded and rundown apartment, but later that year, they move into a new house on Mango Street which happens to be a big improvement over their old apartment. The House in located in a poor Latino Neighborhood in Chicago. The setting of this story mostly takes place within the confines of this neighborhood. Esperanza sees this neighborhood and place as a prison and she would like to get away from Mango Street as soon as possible and have her own house. Throughout the story, she finds that one day, even if she moves away, she will have to return to help all the friends that she will leave behind.
The Plot of “A Raisin in the Sun” revolves around the members of the Younger family deciding what they want to do with the insurance money that will come in from Younger Sr’s life insurance. Since each member has a different view on what would be the best way to use the money, there are some quarrels between family members. The plot also centers on Mr. Linder, who is trying to convince the Younger’s not to move into the neighborhood that he is affiliated with because the neighborhood consists of all-white residents and they believe that the presence of the Younger family would cause a disturbance in their own little sanctuary. The Story also deals with betrayal, both outside and within the family. Mama Younger gives Walter explicit instructions to put half of the money she gave him into a savings for his sister Beneatha’s medical school bills, but he instead uses all the money Mama gave him to invest into the liquor store without Mama knowing. Later, it is revealed that Willy Harris, the man who Walter was going to invest with into the liquor store betrayed Walter and ran off with all of the money. This leaves Mama furious and she even hits Walter in the face for disobeying her. In the end, the Younger Family moves into their new house with weary, but optimistic attitudes about their future.
The plot of “The House on Mango Street” mainly revolves around the girl Esperanza, and her adventures within her neighborhood, as well as the friends that she makes while living on Mango Street. It follows the growth, both physically and mentally of Esperanza as she grows up from being a simple child, to hitting puberty and experiencing a bunch of new things, such as new hormones, her first crush, and the fact that she gets sexually assaulted on more than one occasion. She also begins to write as a way of expressing her distaste of the life she is living right now with her family’s poverty and just everyday life. Esperanza befriends a new girl named Sally who is more sexually experienced than she is. On one occasion, Sally leaves Esperanza alone, which makes her become prey to the sexual assault of a group of boys. This experience, along with the observations of the elders around her and how Mango Street has metaphorically trapped them there fuel her resolve to leave Mango Street once and for all and make a life for herself. Meanwhile, she writes in order to free herself both emotionally and spiritually. The Character’s in both works have a variety of differences between them, but they each share one common trait: They all want the best for themselves and their families. The Characters from “A Raisin in the Sun” All want to help solve the family’s financial problems.
Walter serves as both the primary protagonist and antagonist of the film during which the actions that he takes put the family at risk. Walter simply wants to get a lot of money in order to support his family. This makes him to believe that investing in a liquor store with one of his friends could solve all of his and his family’s financial problems for the rest of their lives. But his family thinks otherwise. It is this trait of not listening to his family that costs him to be double crossed by his friend and has all of his money taken from him under his nose. (Sparknotes editors, 2002) Mama is the Matriarch of the family and just wants to move her family into a new house. This is what she wants most and doesn’t care about Walter’s new scheme to get money, as long as she has a house that all her family can live in comfortably. Beneatha is Walter’s sister and is very feminist. She wishes to become a doctor. While at first she blames her brother for all the financial stress he puts the family in after his fiasco with the liquor store investment, she later comes to respect him at the end of the play for the way he stands up to Mr. Linder and refuses the money that he attempts to bribe them with to not move into the all-white neighborhood. REFERENCES

SparkNotes Editors. (2002). SparkNote on A Raisin in the Sun. Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/raisin/
SparkNotes Editors. (2004). SparkNote on The House on Mango Street. Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mangostreet/