Families are all the members of a household under one roof according to Dictionary.com. Families have been around since the beginning of time. Families are there so you have someone to get help with when things are hard. The support given to us by our families shapes our ideas and values. Families can come in all shapes and sizes such as they could be a club or they could be a set of people that came from the same parents. Even though all families seem to look different and serve different purposes, all families are similar in some shape or form. A family can be made up the traditional dad, mom, and kids or any combination of people who are usually blood related or related by marriage. In the two plays, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Lena “Mama” Younger and Amanda Wingfield are similar and different in many ways such as caring for their kids, domestic status, and goals.
Mama and Amanda care for their kids in many different ways. For example, both mothers want the best for their kids by trying to get the best thing for them. In the play, Mama wants the best for her kids by getting a new house. When Mama is talking to Walter about the new house, she describes how the house is set up: “It’s–it’s a nice house too… Three bedrooms–nice big one for you and Rut… Me and Beneatha still have to share our room, but Travis have one of his own.” This example shows that she is buying the house so her kids and her grandkids will have a nice place to grow up in rather than a beat up apartment. With the house, her grandson Travis will be able to have a yard where he can play. Also Travis will be able to have his own room so he will not have to sleep in the living room every night. Next, Amanda wants the best for her kids by working a tough job. Amanda puts herself in a humiliating spot by selling subscription. She does this so she can get the better things so Laura can get a better chance of finding a suitor.
Second, Mama cares for her kids by holding a strict environment in her house. When Ruth says a comment after Mrs. Johnson walks out the door Mama replies, “Shush. Don’t talk about folks behind their backs.”(104) This example shows that Mama cares for Ruth by scolding her so she does not turn into a bad person. Mama knows when she helps Ruth from being a bad person she is actually helping her be a happier person. Also Amanda cares for her kids by not letting Tom go to the Merchant Marines till Laura gets a caller. This holds Tom back from being a happy person, but Amanda knows Tom will be a much happier person if they get Laura settled down. In addition, when Laura is settled down she will be a happier person.
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Overall, both mothers care for their kids and want them to do well. Amanda and Mama have similar domestic conditions. Both Mama and Amanda keep a very tidy house. In the Wingfield apartment, Amanda keeps things clean. An example of this is when Jim comes over and Amanda sends Laura into the parlor with Jim while Amanda cleans up. Next, Mama keeps the Younger apartment clean. At the beginning of the play, the setting is set up and it reads, “Everything has been polished, washed, sat on, used, scrubbed too often.”(23) This explains that Mama washes her house a great deal and works very hard to keep it clean. Second, both Mama and Amanda live in apartments. Amanda lives in an apartment in the lower middle class section of the city of St. Louis. Also, Mama lives in an apartment. In the play. Mama’s apartment is referred to as the living room: “The younger living room would be a…..” (23) Both these families have the same type of household characteristics, which are small cramped apartments, but their apartments form the family into who they are. Even though both families are from different cities, both Mama and Amanda care about their domestic status at their house.
Amanda and Mama hold many of the same goals. Both of their goals are they want their kids to be successful. In Amanda’s life, Amanda wants Laura to be successful by getting married. She knows that Laura would not survive on her own and she wants her to get taken care of by a husband. Mama wants her kids to be successful by going to college. When Mama receives the insurance check, she gives part to her daughter. In the play, Mama is talking to Walter about what she is going to do with her money and she says to Walter to go deposit it for Beneatha: “I want you to take this money and take three thousand dollars and put it in a savings account for Beneatha’s medical schooling.”(107) This is a goal of Mama’s since she knew Beneatha would not be able to become a doctor on her own.
She gives part of the check to both of them so they can successful. Both the mothers hope their children will be successful. Second, both mothers’ goal is to move. Mama wants to move into a new house so she can have a yard. In the play, Mama tells Walter and Ruth that she bought the house and she describes the house: “And there’s a yard with a little patch of dirt where I could maybe get to grow me a few flowers.”(92) This is a goal of Mama since she wants to grow flowers and this is one of the bigger things she is looking forward to getting with the new house. Also, Amanda wants to move because she wants to get on with things. In the play, towards the end of the play we never read that she moves, but when Tom goes back there to visit Amanda and Laura they are gone.
