Allusion: Topic B

[Sarah D]

OK so for topic B it is describing about allusion. In this novel, A
Raisin in the Sun, there is an allusion that relates Walter to a Greek
God named Prometheus. As George is about to leave with Beneatha, he
calls in to Walter and says " 'Goodnight Prometheus' ". In the Story
of Prometheus, A short summary is that Prometheus was a god that
helped create humans and then Zeus banished them to Earth. As more
tricks went back and forth between Prometheus and Zeus, at one point
Zeus took away the fire from the humans and Prometheus stole it back
from Zeus. In doing this, Zeus got so mad that he made an evil human
named Pandora trick Prometheus's brother into marrying her and opened
her box and sent upon disease, war, poverty, and other things on the
world, while Prometheus got chained to a mountain peak and had an
eagle eat his liver. But, because he was immortal, the liver always
grew back and he was tortured for thousands of years. It is my
conclusion that Walter is like Prometheus because Walter wants to try
to do something with his life like open a liquor store. As Walter says
in the book: "Big. Invest big, gamble big, hell, lose big if you have
to..." (pg 84). In his speech, Walter is talking about how he wants to
invest in the liquor store and he doesn't care what he has to do to
get it, whether that means loosing money or what have you. I think
this relates to how Prometheus stole the fire back from Zeus.
Prometheus went threw so much trouble for the humans and was not about
to give up then. He went straight up to Olympus and stole back the
fire. Just like Walter, he did not care what the punishment would be
for doing such bold moves. I believe that Walter aspires to be like
Prometheus and take a wild gamble and not care what happens. Adding to
that, when George says Goodbye, I think he is acting like Zeus, like
how Zeus banished Prometheus to the top of the mountain and how he is
reminding Walter that he might end up just like Prometheus atop a
mountain.I believe that George is reminding Walter that thing could go
horribly wrong and that even though he wants to do great things, they
might not happen like he thinks they will, just like what happened
with Prometheus. Also, Walter doesn't know what George is talking
about. Walters lack of knowledge about Prometheus or caring that
George called him that relates to how Walter does not concern himself
about the hypothetical consequences that could appear due to his
actions. This helps us understand Walter's role in the family because
He is the one that wants to take chances. Walter does not want to sit
around anymore and see what other people have. Walter wants to have
these nice things and do whatever he can to get them. So, Walter is
considered as the dreamer in the family that wants to take action and
make his family have a better life.