A Raisin in the Sun - Who Are You?

A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry

Three Categories of Characters:

1) Make Things Happen:

• Ruth was in constant motion to make sure that she was doing the best she could for her family; she was the first one awake in the mornings and never stopped working throughout the play. She was the one who proactively kept the peace in the family and in turn kept them together.
• Mama also took positive action to do what was best for her family; she went out to buy the house for her family and worked to encourage her children to follow their dreams, to the extent that they became more idealistic than realistic and practical.

2) Watch Things Happen:

• Walter, through his selfish and bitter actions, watched his family fall apart trying to accommodate him and his dreams. He skipped work and drank his money away while his wife struggled to feel it was appropriate to keep their unborn child. He expected Mama's money as he accused Benethea of it. While he is given credit at the end of the play for telling Mr. Lindner that they will move into the house, it is really his family's support speaking.

3) Wonder What Happened:

• Benethea seems distant throughout the play as revealed through her spouting spells of injustices and African ideals. She is so wrapped in her own mind and fantasies that she becomes oblivious to the sacrifices that others are making around her because she views them as assimilating because they are not as vocal or radical as she is.