Beneatha Quotes

family would not survive. Ruth’s aspirations are hindered due to the fact that she is

Ruth just want to get out of poverty and to have a happy family. She doesn’t want to lose her opportunity to get out of the too small dilapidated apartment of which her family is forced to live in do to their lack of finances.

As we see from her first entrance, Beneatha is a loud and outspoken character. She is a single young female living in a home with Ruth and Mama. Quite similar as characters, they share traditional values and believe women should care for the wellbeing of their family. Ruth and Mama take pride in doing domestic service work as their source of income and are continuously seen putting their children’s needs before theirs. Hansberry uses Beneatha’s character to contradict these values and introduce a character with modern feminist views. Beneatha fiercely fires back to anyone who questions her life goals. She is constantly found bickering with Walter about her dream of becoming a doctor. She is reminded by him that “girls” shouldn’t be doctors. Beneatha voices her feelings on male dependency when she mentions to Mama and Ruth “Listen, I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet - if I ever get married”, and they respond with a shocked “if!”(50). The idea of a woman not wanting to get married was shocking to Mama and Ruth. Beneatha feels that she does not need to be dependent on a man; she has one goal, to become a doctor. She does not need a man in her life, she feels perfectly

     Ruth’s dream is to improve her family’s lifestyle and move into a house where she can raise Travis and the new baby. To realize her dreams she should not put everyone else’s wants and needs in front of hers all of the time. She should express her feelings more often so that her family will listen and help her to reach her goals. The play supports this view by showing how Ruth often neglects her feelings and pays great attention to her family’s feelings, wants, and needs.

Beneatha, being somewhat of an outcast, understands that she does not have to follow the status quo of her society by becoming a housewife, so she decides to work hard in order to become a doctor. Beneatha wants to fulfill this dream because she realizes that she enjoys helping people, as she explains to Asagai after the money is stolen, “That was what one person could do for another, fix him up — sew up the problem, make him right again” (III.i.900). Beneatha wishes to help people by taking care of them and ridding them of their problems. She does not want to become the typical, by standing woman that is not able to help if there is a dilemma. Even after Willy runs off with all of the money, Asagai offers Beneatha a way to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. Beneatha reveals this wonderful opportunity to Mama as they exit their apartment, “To go to Africa, Mama -- be a doctor in Africa”

Beneatha is a well educated woman because she believes in herself when no one else does. “I mean it! I’m just tired of hearing about God all the time. What has he got to do with anything?

       Ruth, Walter's wife, was pregnant when her husband was in a great despair. Although Walter lost the money and also her dream, Ruth forgave him and encouraged him to start everything over. Ruth, whose dream was to be wealthy and to have a fine family, calmly accepted the fact that her dream was only a dream. To her, it was a consolation that her husband had come back to reality after his unsuccessful dream.

She goes on dates with George but finds him boring and is offended that he finds her dreams of being a doctor stupid. She is a strong independent woman who is at the brink of being a full thrown feminist and is not at any time giving into the pressures of society to marry the richest man she can find. George is an African-American who shows no interest in his African roots, he does not like talking about Africa or talking to those who advocate it. George has completely assimilated into the American culture to gain the respect of the white people being one of the African-American families who cracked on the pressures of society assimilate. George’s wealth was not something that swayed Beneatha, his wealth sure could assist her in pursuing a medical career but she did not want to be tied by any boundaries. Asagai was different from George because he did not want to marry Beneatha to tie her down, he wants to marry her to set her free.

Ruth was emotionally abandoned she wanted someone to return the love she had been giving out. The mere idea of her having to go the rest of her life in that state frightened her. If she was emotionally supported by her husband she would have been happier. This shows that her mental state shows abandonment of women.

In A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha is an African American woman in the 1950’s who is determined to put her education first and one day become a doctor. Ruth tries to convince Beneatha to marry George because he is a rich man; however, Beneatha responds that “[she’s] going to be a doctor. [She’s] not worried about who [she’s] going to marry yet-if [she] ever gets married” (Hansberry, 1959, p. 936). After this discussion, Beneatha’s discipline and mindset is revealed. Beneatha clearly shows that she is more committed to her education than any other aspect of her life.

George Murchison’s role in Beneatha’s life triggers societal expectations that are directly shown by her family, due to the fact that Murchison is a successful black man and he is respected in their community due to his wealth. Beneatha always feels

Ruth’s unselfish dreams affect her positively because they push her to work and to not accept the life she has now. In an argument with her mother in law, Lena, Ruth proclaims, “Lena—I’ll work…I’ll work twenty hours a day in all the kitchens in Chicago…I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to and scrub all the floors in America and wash all the sheets in America if I have to—but we got to MOVE! We got to get OUT OF HERE!!” (140) Ruth is inspired and driven to work by the idea of a better life, she will “wash all the sheets in America,” to escape the reality of her living situation. When Lena uses her alimony money to buy a house for the family Ruth joyously responds to the news, “So you went and did it! … PRAISE GOD! Please, honey—let me be glad…you be glad, too. Oh, Walter…a home…a home.”

Nobody in the play is as influential on Beneatha as the people she dates. George is the first person she goes one a date with. He comes from a very wealthy African-American family he looks and dresses preppy. Her family loves him, but she is not serious about him. Beneatha says,”...I couldn’t ever

In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” written by Lorraine Hansberry, she is able to take us to place to see what it was like for an African American family to survive in the mid-twentieth century. The play details how the main characters are going through an evolving social and economic position, as well as the evolving gender roles. Hansberry uses the characterization of Beneatha, Ruth, and Walter in order to show the expectations and assigned gender roles for the characters in the story. In short, Beneatha is depicted as a woman who is challenging gender norms and expectations upheld by her family, whereas Ruth is seen as an example of a submissive housewife fulfilling her expected duties. Using “A Raisin in the Sun,” as well as “Marxists

Beneatha is an independent woman with great ambition. She always stands up for her beliefs and ideas no matter how contradict others. Beneatha is a fox, she is clever and, a quick thinker, she stays true to herself. When talking about her future Beneatha states, “Listen, I’m going to be a doctor. I’m not worried about who I’m going to marry yet--if I ever get married… I couldn’t be bothered with that. I am going to be a doctor, and everybody around here better understand that” (Hansberry, page 32). Beneatha is already sure of herself and what she wants to be in life. This encounter between her family is a defining moment for her character it shows how serious she is about her future. She also is not afraid to speak about her beliefs no matter the consequence. For example, ”God is just one idea I don’t accept. It’s not important. I am not going out and be immoral or commit crimes