A Raisin in the Sun Review Notes from Class
AMERICAN DREAM
Liberty
Justice
Equality
SETTING
one bedroom apartment
share bathroom with neighbors
everything is well worn -- apartment kept clean
FEELINGS AS THE PLAY BEGINS
House is filled with tension
Characters wait for the life insurance check to come
MAJOR CHARACTERS
Walter — 35 years old
father
husband
chauffeur
NOT head of household
money “is life”
he likes money
materialistic perversion of American Dream
loves his son; wants best for him (gives him $1)
shows excessive pride to son
wants to invest in a liquor store
doesn’t agree with his mother’s Christian ethics
(especially about money)
drinks a lot
stubborn
depressed
slender
on the go
wants to talk about his dream but no one listens
Ruth —
would like to use all of the $10,000 check
CHANGES – becomes a man, finds family pride
will not take money from Lindner
says the family will move into the house in the
white neighborhood
Walter’s wife
sick and tired
no hope
early 30s
her dream is dead
domestic worker
cares for her family
torn between work and family
disappointed in life
pregnant (considering abortion)
early 30s
no relationship with her husband
close to her mother-in-law
doesn’t listen to her husband; when he talks of
his dream she says “eat your eggs”
says she and Walter have grown apart
CHANGES – is happy at the end, glad to move
to house
Mama (Lena) — loves her family
wants a house
in her 60s
wants to garden
tends her plant
head of household
strong Christian values
strong woman
would like to use the check on a house and
Beneatha’s school
has been domestic worker
CHANGES – gives Walter the money, and in the
end, lets him be head of the household
Beneatha —
20 years old
single
college student
wants to be a doctor
says doesn’t want to get married
says she doesn’t believe in God
dabbles in different hobbies (trying to “find”
herself)
interested in the future (being a doctor) and
the past (African heritage)
says Mama can use check however she would
like, but wants some money for school
CHANGES – says no longer wants to be a doctor
people are mean to one another, how can she fix
their bodies if society and people are so mean
Walter and Beneatha are brother and sister and argue often;
they both would like to spend some of the life insurance check!
MINOR CHARACTERS
Travis — Walter and Ruth’s son
about 10-11 yrs old
sleeps on couch in living room
Mr. Lindner — white man
neighborhood representative
came to buy the house back from Youngers
Joseph Asagai — Beneatha’s friend from college
from Nigeria
gift of robe/headdress
proposes to Beneatha and asks her to go
to Africa
George Murchison — from a wealthy black family
Beneatha dates him but says he is “shallow”
college student
Wants a woman who is pretty, sophisticated,
and quiet
Mrs. Johnson — nosy neighbor
tells about bombing
asks about Ruth’s pregnancy
Bobo — Walter’s business partner
tells Walter that Willie ran off with their money
*Willie — Walter’s business partner
takes Walter and Bobo’s money and runs away