Category: Fruits

Mama’s Plant Symbol Analysis Mama’s feeble plant represents her family’s deferred dreams for a better future, which have struggled to survive under the strain of life in Chicago’s South Side. Mama’s unending devotion to her small houseplant signifies her constant care for her family and her attention to its dreams. What are 3 symbols in […]

Walter Lee Younger The protagonist of the play. Walter is a dreamer. He wants to be rich and devises plans to acquire wealth with his friends, particularly Willy Harris. When the play opens, he wants to invest his father’s insurance money in a new liquor store venture. Who is main character in raisin in the […]

Ruth. Mama sits down with Walter who is upset by—and ashamed of—his poverty, his job as a chauffeur, and his lack of upward mobility. Finally, Mama tells him that Ruth is pregnant and that she fears that Ruth is considering having an abortion. Is Ruth and Beneatha pregnant? The following morning, Saturday, is the day […]

A Raisin in the Sun falls under domestic tragedy with the status and circumstances that the poor African American family with the constant struggle versus social roles and white America. Throughout the play, the Younger family has many hardships and difficult decisions come up. Is Raisin in the Sun a modern tragedy? Lorraine Hansberry’s A […]

With her natural hair, Beneatha proudly marks herself as an anti-assimilationist and visibly expresses her racial identity. Her decision foreshadows the “Natural Hair” movement that many young African Americans embraced in the 1960s, which championed the beauty of African-American hair. What does Beneatha Younger symbolize? The daughter of Mama Lena Younger and the sister of […]

When we leave Beneatha at the play’s conclusion, she is even considering marrying Asagai and practicing medicine in Africa. We never get to find out what ultimately happens to Beneatha, but we here at Shmoop hope somehow she finds that thing she’s looking for. What did Beneatha lose? Lesson Summary Beneatha is forced to change […]

Then three huge events happen: 1) Lena decides to buy a house for the family…in a white neighborhood, 2) Lena entrusts the rest of the money to Walter, advising him to save a good amount for Beneatha’s schooling, and 3) Walter loses all the money in the liquor store scam. What are the most important […]

Major conflict The Youngers, a working-class Black family, struggle against economic hardship and racial prejudice. Rising action Ruth discovers that she is pregnant; Mama makes a down payment on a house; Mama gives Walter the remaining insurance money; Walter invests the money in the liquor store venture. What are 3 conflicts in a raisin in […]

The major themes of A Raisin in the Sun include dreams, pride, money, race, and family. Each character in the play demonstrates at least one of the themes through their interactions with other characters. What are three themes in A Raisin in the Sun? Themes The Value and Purpose of Dreams. A Raisin in the […]

A Raisin in the Sun In this play, the educated and wealthy George Murchison represents the black person whose own self-hatred manifests itself as contempt for other blacks. What does George symbolize for Beneatha? George is accused of being an ”assimilationist,” which means he tries hard to fit into the white American society. Beneatha’s hair […]

Lorraine Hansberry wrote this drama, becoming the first African American woman to have a play produced on Broadway in 1959. Set in the 1950s, Hansberry’s work addresses the racial and gender issues that occurred then and still ring true today. What is the significance of A Raisin in the Sun? A Raisin in the Sun […]

Within the family, relatives may quarrel, nag, and insult each other, but when guests come over, certain proprieties must be observed. A Raisin in the Sun explores these complex family dynamics. Furthermore, this theme intersects with Dreams, Hopes, and Plans as children in a family inspire dreams and keep them alive. HOW DOES A Raisin […]

Walter Lee Younger The protagonist of the play. Walter is a dreamer. He wants to be rich and devises plans to acquire wealth with his friends, particularly Willy Harris. Who is the protagonist in raisin? WalterWalter is the protagonist in Raisin, for even though he does not appear to be a hero in the traditional […]

Eventually, he realizes that he cannot raise the family up from poverty alone, and he seeks strength in uniting with his family. Once he begins to listen to Mama and Ruth express their dreams of owning a house, he realizes that buying the house is more important for the family’s welfare than getting rich quickly. […]

1 Setting and Symbolism. Hansberry’s “furniture-dark” apartment reminds us of Plato’s cave; the absent sun symbolizes life, advancement and self-knowledge, all of which the Younger family lacks. 2 Character Revealed Through Allusion. 3 Metaphors Reveal Irony. 4 Portmanteau Combination. What literary elements are in A Raisin in the Sun? Johnson, and Ruth demonstrate their crude […]

In A Raisin in the Sun, incredible sacrifices are made for the benefit of the family. Some family members are more willing to shoulder sacrifice than others, however, which leads to conflict. Accepting sacrifice for the benefit of the family is a recurring theme throughout the play, culminating in its final scene. What is the […]

Ruth is an important character in the play, her dream is to build a happy family, and she believes that the first step towards this objective is to find a better place to live. What is Ruth’s dream quote? She dreams to live in a home better than what they have, but knows that’s never […]

about thirty. Ruth Younger She is about thirty, but her weariness makes her seem older. Is Ruth pregnant in a raisin in the sun? Ruth returns from seeing a doctor, who has told her that she is two months pregnant. She reveals this information to Mama and Beneatha. How is Ruth described in a raisin […]

A Raisin in the Sun is essentially about dreams, as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive circumstances that rule their lives. The title of the play references a conjecture that Langston Hughes famously posed in a poem he wrote about dreams that were forgotten or put off. What is the main idea […]

Walter changes from being self-centered to self-less. He gives up his dream of having a liquor store when Willy Harris runs away with the money. Walter does that so the Younger family can fill their lives with joy and do not have to struggle anymore. This is the biggest sacrifice that Walter makes for the […]