A Raisin in the Sun: Metaphors 1 key example

The apartment is metaphorically a “rat trap” in that Big Walter and Mama initially move in believing they will soon leave, but are never quite able to do so—they are effectively trapped there. This metaphor unflatteringly equates the Youngers to animals through a self-comparison that emphasizes how downtrodden they feel. Constantly facing adversity as working-class Black Americans, there is nothing they can do to escape the apartment. Indeed, the insurance payout is transformative precisely because there are no quotidian means through which they could get the necessary money to move into a house.

When describing the house as a rat trap, Mama recalls her and Big Walter’s shared dream of moving into a house together. While she is saddened by the end of her reflection, the moment nevertheless influences her decision to spend a large portion of the 10,000 dollars on a down payment for a house. If the house is a trap, they have no choice but to escape, and thus the metaphor presents Mama (and the rest of the family in the final scenes of the play) as having made the right decision in spending at least a portion of the insurance payout on finally escaping the trap.

Rats come up again and again throughout the play: for example, Travis chases a rat outside, and Walter is called a “toothless rat” by Beneatha after being conned and prostrating himself. The fact that Walter is compared to a rat after squandering some of the money that otherwise allows the Youngers to achieve their dream of moving into a house reinforces the broader metaphor discussed above: the apartment is a trap that must be escaped.