The only white character to appear onstage during the play, Karl Lindner is a representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, which seeks to dissuade the Youngers from moving to its all-white neighborhood. Lindner is a “quiet-looking middle-aged” man who, when describing Clybourne Park’s offer to the Youngers, insists in vain, “that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it.”
Karl Lindner Quotes in A Raisin in the Sun
The A Raisin in the Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Karl Lindner or refer to Karl Lindner. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 2, Scene 3
Quotes
But you’ve got to admit that a man, right or wrong, has the right to want to have a neighborhood he lives in a certain kind of way. And at the moment the overwhelming majority of our people out there feel that people get along better, take more of a common interest in the life of the community, when they share a common background. I want you to believe me when I tell you that race prejudice simply doesn’t enter into it. It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities.
Related Characters:
Karl Lindner (speaker)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Karl Lindner Character Timeline in A Raisin in the Sun
The timeline below shows where the character Karl Lindner appears in A Raisin in the Sun. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2, Scene 3
...that he looks after his mother’s “business matters.” The man then introduces himself as Karl Lindner, a representative of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association. Walter is comfortable and at ease as...
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As Lindner sits and begins to explain the purpose of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, Beneatha grows...
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Seeing that Lindner still looks uncomfortable, Ruth offers Lindner another chair to sit in, but “more frustrated than...
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Lindner continues his speech, “gaining confidence in his mission” when he sees the interest in his...
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With this evidence of Lindner’s true motive in visiting the family, Beneatha bitterly denounces the so-called “Welcoming Committee.” Walter is...
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...had a “caller,” and Beneatha, Walter, and Ruth “saucily” and playfully relate the story of Lindner’s visit. Visibly concerned by this news, Mama tends to her plant and asks whether Lindner...
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Act 3
...made a phone call to “The Man.” Beneatha realizes that Walter is referring to Karl Lindner and questions Walter about the call. Walter states that the family is “going to do...
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Still in denial of Walter’s intentions in calling Lindner, Ruth again asks Walter about the phone call. Walter says that he told Lindner to...
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...gives his family a preview of the “show” that he plans to put on for Lindner, dropping to his knees and “groveling” in an “anguished imitation” of a “slow-witted movie stereotype.”...
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...runs into the room and says that the moving men have arrived. A moment later, Lindner appears at the door. Ruth “mechanically” goes to the bedroom and tells Walter that Lindner...
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Walter begins his conversation with Lindner meekly, telling him that the Youngers “are very plain people.” Looking down at his feet,...
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Calling Travis to him, Walter stands proudly behind his son and tells Lindner that Travis “makes the sixth generation of our family in this country.” Walter reaches the...
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Making final preparations to leave the apartment, Mama references Walter’s confrontation with Lindner, asking Ruth, “He finally come into his manhood today, didn’t he?” Biting her lip to...
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