A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin In The Sun

For an audience to understand, enjoy, and relate to a film is based on many

factors. One of those factors is the actor’s ability to create a realistic portrayal of his/her

character. Danny Glover, a very well known and respected actor, played as the role of

Walter Lee in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun. Using the aspects of voice,

body, and mind, Danny Glover was able to effectively portray his character in a realistic

manner.

The character Walter Lee is the protagonist of the play. He is a typical African-

American male struggling to support his family financially through the times of racial

discrimination. Walter is the dreamer of the family. His dream is to own a liquor store

with a friend named Willy Harris by investing his father’s insurance money. In the end,

Walter lost most of the insurance money when Willy had fled with his money. Although

Walter’s mistakes had hurt his family a great deal, in the end his rise to manhood made

Walter a sort of a hero.

The voice is one of the ways Danny Glover was able to portray his character.

There are many aspects when you are trying to understand voice itself. Mr. Glover did an

exceptionally well job using voice to play the role as Walter Lee. His vocal tone, volume,

pitch, rate, articulation, and pronunciation were all right on cue. When Walter Lee was

explaining his dream to his family, Danny did a great job in persuading the audience in

making it seem as though he was overwhelmed with joy and enthusiasm about his dream.

Everyone in the audience was able to hear and understand clearly without any distraught

or confusion. His rhythm of voice was not too fast nor slow. The pitch and volume of his

voice was loud and clear enough to believe that Danny’s acting was realistic and

believable. Most of all, his articulation through his voice was most impressing. In the

scene where Walter had just found out that all of his money was lost when Willy had fled

with it, Danny did a magnificent job in expressing his grief, pain, and agony while he was

on his knees crying.

Next, the body is another essential element in acting. Danny’s body movement

had what you might call a “natural movement.” His expressions through his body

movements were very realistic as if I had the