The Play I Didn 't Help

Like school and grades was very important in her family. “ Her motto was, ‘ If it doesn’t involve your going to school or church, I could care less about it and my answer is no whatever it is.’” Ruth top priority was church and school. “ She insisted on absolute privacy, excellent school grades, she trusted no outsiders of either race.” pg 27 Ruth was very strict when it came to rules but it was only to educate and protect the children she loves so very much

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.

     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.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the play and the film in this scene involves dialogue. Much of the dialogue is rephrased and not said as the author has written it in the play. And also, some of the dialogue from the original text is deleted, however, new dialogue is added. And also, unlike the film, a lot of the actions the author has described in the play did not happen in the film. Such as, on page 91 as Ruth says “Praise God!” the author describes that she raises both arms classically, and as she tells Walter Lee to be glad, the author describes she has laid her hands on his shoulders, but he shakes himself free of her roughly, without turning to face her, these actions did not happen in the film.

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.

Throughout the whole novel, Ruth is a tough and brave woman, yet she has a big

There was only one good thing that Ruth took away from her father; She needed to be strict with her children about their education, but still loving at the same time. This parenting style became a part of Ruth, and shaped her identity of how to act as a mother and a member of society. Tateh was a terrible and hypocritical father, but he did help shape Ruth’s identity by showing her all of his flaws.

As a result of her restrictive upbringing, Ruth believed in freedom and encouraged her children to use the paths of education and hard work in order to achieve it. Her inclination toward a strong work ethic most likely stemmed from her background as a poor Jewish immigrant. Ruth’s family had to struggle and start from the bottom. Education provided a way for them to, “climb out of poverty,” (29); it provided the opportunity for them to determine their own path. When Ruth first came to New York, she had to work long, tiresome, and even dangerous jobs. By working hard, she was able to make a life for herself. Ruth was never lazy, and as such, she would not permit any sort of physical, mental, or spiritual laziness from her children. Ruth insisted on quality education and earnest, hard work so that her children would be able to escape the stresses of poverty

Ruth led a life broken in two. Her later life consists of the large family she creates with the two men she marries, and her awkwardness of living between two racial cultures. She kept her earlier life a secret from her children, for she did not wish to revisit her past by explaining her precedent years. Once he uncovered Ruth 's earlier life, James could define his identity by the truth of Ruth 's pain, through the relations she left behind and then by the experiences James endured within the family she created. As her son, James could not truly understand himself until he uncovered the truth within the halves of his mother 's life, thus completing the mold of his own

Although she is happy with mama’s decision to buy a house, Ruth is more concerned with receiving the affection of her husband and keeping him happy than the consequences or the moral implications his decisions will have. Ruth maintains the apartment they live in and most of the time, goes along with whatever Walter says. This is where Ruth and Mama differ; Mama wants Walter to be happy but not at the cost of doing something morally wrong, Ruth will do whatever it takes to make Walter happy. We see this when Ruth is contemplating having an abortion in order not to complicate living arrangements in the apartment and to allow Walter the financial means to pursue his goals. She also intends to keep it from Walter so spare him the burden of having to make a decision like that. When Mama find out about the abortion, she is appalled and says, “…we a people who give children life, not who destroys them.” Mama also succeeds in expressing her rich values and nurturing nature in Act III, Scene Three, when it is discovered that Walter has lost the remainder of the insurance money when his liquor store investment partner disappears with the money. Beneatha goes into a rage and openly expresses her hatred and contempt for her brother, and says, “He’s no brother of mine.”(Hansbury 3.3)

Of all the interactions between Ruth and her husband that stick out to her the most, the one that tops all is the murder of her father. The fact that Macon “took away his medicine” stands out to Ruth and that is what forms her opinion of him. Macon’s horrifying impact on Ruth’s life defines his character as an antagonist in her life and the broader story. Contrasting Macon’s impact on Ruth is Pilate. Despite Pilate’s mysterious past, her positive interactions with Ruth define her greatly respected character. As soon as Pilate meets Ruth, she helps her become pregnant. Throughout that process, Pilate causes Ruth to feel “like a chemist doing some big important scientific experiment,” allowing Ruth to feel as if she is making a positive impact on the world for the first time (125). Not only does this interaction cause Pilate’s character to be shown very positively, it also displays how Ruth being able to influence Milkman before he was even born caused her to think more highly of

Secondly, during the play Ruth is shown as a housewife who takes care of their son Travis, and is always cooking and cleaning for Walter. A prime example of Ruth is just being a lady who serves her man is when Walter is having George over and he tells her “ Why don’t you offer this man some refreshment. They don’t know how to entertain people in this house, man” (Hansberry 1488). Since Walter works all day driving around, he feels empowered to belittle his wife, and view her as a servant. Thus setting the expectation that women are just supporting roles to their husbands, and are meant to cater to the needs of the husband. Moreover, Ruth is relied on to get Walter and Travis ready for work and school. “Will someone listen to me today!” (Hansberry 1481). Ruth is therefore the caregiver for the family; she is heavily depended on to support her family, while her husband complains about getting the money to open up a liquor store with his friends or about driving his “white” boss around everywhere and being jealous because he isn't successful.

Ruth Younger was one of the few things that kept Walter sane and their apartment intact, she kept up the apartment and remains emotionally strong throughout the play, “goodbye misery! I don’t ever want to see your ugly face again”. A character from “Death of a Salesmen” that is almost identical to Ruth is Linda Loman. Linda nurtured a hurting family all those times when Willy’s misguided attempts at success miserably failed. She too held together her family with her emotional strength, without her Willy would have broken long before he did in the play. Linda was the one that kept a cool head in heavy situations, when everyone was freaking out she was the one to bring them down to earth. These two women played a huge role in keeping their family together; they knew when the tough times came they were the ones who needed to stay strong.

First, Ruth, is one of the women in the house who changes Walter’s decisions in the story. Her relationship towards him is poor. Ruth nags at the beginning, saying “Eat your eggs Walter” (Hansberry 34). This angers him because she repeats it multiple times throughout, not understanding him, showing their strained relationship. Ruth is also shown to not be on Walter’s side on multiple occasions. For example, when Walter finds out that Mama spent the money on a new house, he does not like it. Ruth however is not feeling the same way as him, and tells him “Walter honey, be glad” (Hansberry 92). Ruth tells Walter to be glad, because their views are different. Ruth thinks this was beneficial to the family, yet Walter does not. This hurts Walter throughout the story as he feels alone with no one on his side. Walter know this when he says “Cause ain’t nobody with Me! Not even my own mother!” (Hansberry 85). Since he is alone, and believes no one cares about him, he tries to fix his own mistake when he decides he will get more money saying, “That White man is going to walk in that door all to write checks for more money than we ever had.” (Hansberry 143). Ruth does not like Walter’s idea, but he does not care as no one is on his side, which disappoints Ruth.

I really liked this play along with the other ones we have read in class. However, this plays seems to stand out to me because it takes a feminist point of view. It is always good to go inside the role of a woman and see how they feel and act upon their own thoughts. Good literature helps us to learn about how other people think and act. Moreover, when we can relate the characters actions to our lives or the world around us the meaning is more personal and beneficial. For some reason, I feel like many women out there really do feel like Nora. They are trapped in economic circumstances because it is the safe way to go. Many times woman do not truly love their husbands and are rather there just to live a safe and comfortable life.