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A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry [1959]Name: ______

Plot Overview: ARaisin in the Sun portrays a few weeks in the life of the Youngers, anAfrican-American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s.When the play opens, the Youngers are about to receive an insurance checkfor $10,000. This money comes from the deceased Mr. Younger’s life insurancepolicy. Each of the adult members of the family has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with this money. The matriarch of the family, Mama, wants to buy a house to fulfill a dream she shared with her late husband. Mama’sson, Walter Lee, would rather use the money to invest in a liquor store withhis friends. He believes that the investment will solve the family’s financial problems. Walter’s wife, Ruth, agrees with Mama, however,and hopes that she and Walter can provide more space and opportunity for their son, Travis. Finally, Beneatha, Walter’s sister and Mama’s daughter[who is studying to be a doctor], agrees that Mama should be able to do whatever she wants with the money. Beneatha is seeking her own identity, looking back to the past and to Africa, and wishes that her family members were not so interested in joining the white world.

Themes: [Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literarywork]: While reading the play, reflect upon the following ideas; each of these ideas is presented—what does each of these ideas reveal about the themes in the play?

  • The value and purpose of dreams—each character in the play has a dream, and the idea of dreams is emphasized in the beginning of the play with the Langston Hughes poem. What will happen to each of their dreams?
  • The need to fight racial discrimination—the family’s move illustrates their desire for a home and the desire to break free of their depressing apartment in the south side of Chicago. How far will they take this fight? Who, exactly, are they fighting against? What does ClybournePark represent?
  • The importance of family—while the relationships between the members of the Younger family are complicated, the family members clearly love each other. In what ways do the family relationships change during the play?

Symbols: [Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts]:

  • Eggs: Ruth tells Walter Lee, “Eat your eggs”—what do eggs symbolize? Being quiet and eating one’s eggs represents an acceptance of the adversity that Walter and the rest of the Youngers face in life—how would you describe this adversity?
  • Mama’s plant: Mama has always wanted a home with a garden, yet her small, struggling houseplant is all she has to illustrate her hopes for a family home. How does this small plant represent the Younger family?
  • Beneatha’s hair: Beneatha’s hair changes as the play continues—why? What does this change illustrate?

Vocabulary:

Act I, scene i:

  1. indictment [25]: charge with a crime; blame; to make formal accusation of
  2. indifference [26]: without interest or concern
  3. exasperated [28]: to irritate or annoy
  4. “slubbornness” [29]: to be slubborn is to be careless, to do something carelessly
  5. vindicate [30]: to clear of suspicion; to liberate
  6. mutual [31]: shared
  7. initial [33]: occurring at the beginning
  8. vigorously [33]: energetically, forcefully, powerfully
  9. permeated[ 35]: penetrate into, through; to spread
  10. vengeance [35]: infliction of injury or harm in return for an offense or injury;revenge
  11. intently [36]: great in force, severity/acute, to a high degree
  12. unobtrusively [39]: to not impose oneself on others, to not get in the way
  13. feeble [39]: weak
  14. ledger [42]: an account book of final entry
  15. tentatively [44]: hesitant, unsure
  16. furtively [44]: secretively
  17. reflective [44]: to look back on

Act I, scene ii:

  1. heathenism [57]: heathens do not believe in or acknowledge God of the Bible or Koran; not religious; uncultured
  2. salvation [57]: the act of saving or protecting from harm; deliverance from sin;redemption
  3. acute [60]: intense, sharp
  4. assimilatonist [63]: to conform to customs, attitudes; to incorporate as one’s own
  5. incredulity [63]: disbelief
  6. recitation [64]: to repeat as from memory

Act II, scene i:

  1. coquettishly [76]: a coquet is a woman who flirts with men to earn their admiration
  2. eccentric [80]: different
  3. submerge [81]: to cover, bury; to sink beneath water or other medium
  4. oppressive [81]: to exercise harsh authority over
  5. Prometheus [86]: Titan in Greek myth who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to humankind in defiance of Zeus; in revenge, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock where an eagle tore at his liver until he was released by Hercules
  6. menacingly [90]: threateningly
  7. incredulous [92]: disbelief

Act II, scene ii

  1. distaste [96]: dislike
  2. undaunted [101]: not discouraged
  3. revelation[105]: something communicated disclosed
  4. nonplussed [103]: to puzzle completely
  5. conked [hair] [106]: chemically straightened [and then sometimes set in waves]
  6. decisive [107]: having the power to decide

Act II, scene iii:

  1. exuberance [112]: having high enthusiasm
  2. raunchiness [112]: vulgar
  3. N.A.A.C.P. [113]: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
  4. dumbfounded [118]:
  5. elaborate [124]: greatly developed; intricate
  6. Mrs. Miniver [123]:The film Mrs. Miniverdepicts a self-sufficient, admirable woman during WWII
  7. ludicrous [124]: ridiculous; laughable
  8. prosperous [125]: financially successful
  9. jubilance [125]: joyful
  10. taut [126]: pulled tightly
  11. agitation [126]: to shake; disturb; excite

Act III
48. colonialism [133]: a system by which a nation seeks to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories

  1. flippancy [137]: to be flippant is to be frivolously disrespectful
  2. reverie [148]: a state of daydreaming; meditation
  3. precariously [149]: uncertainly; unsteadily

Briefly describe each of the main characters[How is each person significant to the plot? Is each a static or a dynamic character?]:

MAMA:

WALTER LEE:

RUTH:

BENEATHA:

TRAVIS:

JOSEPH ASAGAI:

GEORGE MURCHISON:

MRS. JOHNSON:

KARL LINDNER:

BOBO:

Questions to Keep in Mind…

ACT I: scene i

  1. Where does the title “A Raisin in the Sun” come from?
  1. Name all of the people who live in the Younger apartment:
  1. Why is the Younger family expecting a check in the mail?
  1. How much is the check for?
  1. What does Walter want to do with the money?
  1. What is Ruth’s opinion of Willy Harris?
  1. Is Walter supportive of Beneatha’s dream of being a doctor?
  1. Mama Lena is immediately associated with her houseplant when we first meet her in Act I, scene i—why?
  1. Why is Mama against Walter’s plan for the liquor store?
  1. What two things does Mama want to do with the money?
  1. What happens to Ruth at the end of Act I, scene i?

ACT I: scene ii

  1. Mama says that, if it wasn’t for her children, she would do what with the insurance check?
  1. When Ruth accidentally lets it slip that she has visited a female doctor, what does Mama realize about Ruth’s plans?
  1. Where is Asagai from? Where has he been studying all summer?
  1. Asagai calls Beneatha “Alaiyo.” What does “Alaiyo” mean?
  1. Does Beneatha like that nickname?
  1. Asagai accuses Beneatha of being an “assimilationist” for straightening her hair. What is an assimilationist?
  1. What gifts does Asagai bring Beneatha?
  1. Who tells Walter that Ruth is pregnant?
  1. Who says, “Money is life”? Why is this significant?
  1. What does Walter do for a living?
  1. What is Walter’s reaction to Ruth’s pregnancy?
  1. Why does Mama call Walter “a disgrace to” his father’s memory?

ACT II: scene i

  1. Why is George Murchison appalled when he arrives at the Youngers to pick Beneatha up for their date?
  1. How does George insult Walter?
  1. George calls Walter “Prometheus”—who is Prometheus? Why is George’s comment significant?
  1. What is the major problem concerning the house that Mama has bought?
  1. What has happened to other black families who did what Mama has done? [This is mentioned in the beginning of the play…look back if you don’t remember!]
  1. How does Walter intentionally hurt his mother?

ACT II: scene ii

  1. Why does Beneatha tell her mother that George is “a fool”?
  1. What is the name of the Youngers' jealous neighbor?
  1. How long has Walter been skipping work? Where has he been?
  1. What does Mama do to signify that Walter is the head of the household? More importantly, WHY does she do this?
  1. How much money does Mama want to be put away for Beneatha’s education? How much is left for Walter to decide upon?

ACT II: scene iii

  1. Karl Linder is referred to as part of the welcoming committee. What is his purpose in visiting the Youngers’ apartment the first time?
  1. When Karl Linder is prepared to make the Younger family an offer, Beneatha says she will accept “Thirty pieces and not a coin less!” [118] What does her statement allude to—and what does it illustrate?
  1. What gift do Ruth, Walter and Beneatha give to Mama? Why—what does this gift illustrate? What gift does Travis give her?
  1. What news does Bobo bring to Walter? What is the family’s reaction?

ACT III:

  1. Beneatha realized she wanted to be a doctor at a very young age. What event made her realize this dream?
  1. What offer does Asagai make to Beneatha?
  1. What is her answer?
  1. What two classes of people does Walter say exist? Describe these two groups—and what Willy Harris has taught to Walter. Why does Walter thank Willy for this lesson?
  1. How does Walter embarrass his family before Linder’s second visit? What does his behavior reveal?
  1. Why is Walter’s family proud of him after the visit?
  1. What is the last thing that Mama takes with her when they move?