A Raisin In The Sun Act 1 Journal
A Raisin in the Sun: Act One Journal
Aaron Garfinkle
12 August 2014
English 9
In act one of Raisin in the Sun, we learn many of the dreams that the characters in the play have, that all have one thing in common, the need of money. These dreams combined with the fact that the family has recently come into possession of ten-thousand dollars provides a fantastic opportunity for author Lorraine Hansberry to foreshadow that greed will tear this family apart. Each character is vastly different from one another, and these differences cause tension and fighting between them. One example of this is the character Beneatha, who is going to medical school, and desires the money to help pay for it. Beneatha is a character who also wants independence from her overbearing, …show more content…
This desire of freedom leads Beneatha to eventually snap and declare to her religious mother that there is no God. Lena, the mother, unwilling to accept this idea that she sees as outlandish, forces Beneatha to unwillingly say that there is a God. This contrast created by playwright Lorraine allows the characters to have unique and realistic interactions that work much better because of the differing personalities. Another interesting thing that develops during act one is the relationship between Walter and Ruth, which we see as a stressed relationship, as we can see from when Walter gives money to his son Travis in order to spite his wife. "(Without even looking at his son, still staring at his wife) In fact, here's another fifty cents . . . Buy yourself some fruit today-or take a taxicab to school or something (31). Walter says this because he wants to have power over his wife, and show her that he is the boss of the family.
Aaron Garfinkle
12 August 2014
English 9
In act one of Raisin in the Sun, we learn many of the dreams that the characters in the play have, that all have one thing in common, the need of money. These dreams combined with the fact that the family has recently come into possession of ten-thousand dollars provides a fantastic opportunity for author Lorraine Hansberry to foreshadow that greed will tear this family apart. Each character is vastly different from one another, and these differences cause tension and fighting between them. One example of this is the character Beneatha, who is going to medical school, and desires the money to help pay for it. Beneatha is a character who also wants independence from her overbearing, …show more content…
This desire of freedom leads Beneatha to eventually snap and declare to her religious mother that there is no God. Lena, the mother, unwilling to accept this idea that she sees as outlandish, forces Beneatha to unwillingly say that there is a God. This contrast created by playwright Lorraine allows the characters to have unique and realistic interactions that work much better because of the differing personalities. Another interesting thing that develops during act one is the relationship between Walter and Ruth, which we see as a stressed relationship, as we can see from when Walter gives money to his son Travis in order to spite his wife. "(Without even looking at his son, still staring at his wife) In fact, here's another fifty cents . . . Buy yourself some fruit today-or take a taxicab to school or something (31). Walter says this because he wants to have power over his wife, and show her that he is the boss of the family.