The relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist is always one of conflict. Walter has conflict with Lindner because of what he represents, but Walter's greatest conflict is with all the circumstances that stand between himself and the goal that he is obsessively trying to reach.
Uncertainty about the outcome of the story is known as suspense. If what happens in the drama goes against the expectations of the audience, it is known as surprise. The relationship between suspense and surprise heightens the magnetic power of the plot. In Raisin, we are surprised that Mama makes the spontaneous decision to entrust Walter with the remaining $6,500 of the insurance money. Suspense is created by our not knowing exactly what Walter will do with it.
The plot of a drama has unity of action if it is complete and orderly, and all of the parts of a plot are necessary to the development of the story. For perfect unity, all of the action must be significant action. All events that do not relate to the plot are omitted, which distinguishes literary narrative from merely telling a story of events from real life. All of the events in Raisin are necessary to the development of the plot or to the development of the characters. When Walter gives Travis two fifty-cent pieces and then has to return to and get carfare from his wife, we learn a lot about Walter's character: his wanting to shield his son from discovering the family's true economic situation, his feelings of economic inadequacy, and his denial of the ugliness of his family's economic reality.
