The setting in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun greatly impacts the characters and the overall story line of the play. For Walter Young, he was constantly surrounded by shame. Everywhere he looked in their apartment, whether it be at the shabby walls, the trails of cockroaches, or his son's temporary bed on the couch, he only saw his failures. In his mind, he felt he had failed to provide a decent life for his family. Even the little objects of the house, such as food, would set Walter into a rage. "DAMN MY EGGS -- DAMN ALL THE EGGS THAT EVER WAS" (Hansberry, 443)! I think the eggs were symbolic to Walter. The measly food symbolized, in Walter's mind, all of his failures. He fantasized about living in a mansion with servants and extravagant food for every meal. But, when his wife served him eggs in their dump of a dwelling, he exploded in frustration.
To Mama, the house represented all that she and her husband had worked for. She was so attached to the apartment that she didn't even seem to ever be bothered by how run-down it was.
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