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Updated: 11 Jun 2010:

Short Answer Study Guide Questions for A Raisin in the Sun

Act I, Scene One

  1. Why did Walter ask Ruth what was wrong with her?

  2. Why was Ruth upset when Walter gave Travis the money?

  3. Who are Willy and Bobo?

  4. Walter said, "Damn my eggs . . . damn all the eggs that ever was!" Why?

  5. Describe Beneatha.

  6. Explain why was Mama getting a check for $10,000?

  7. Why did Beneatha say she wouldn't marry George?

  8. What was Beneatha's attitude towards God and how did her mother respond?

  9. What happened to Ruth at the end of Act I Scene One?


Act I, Scene Two

  1. Who is Joseph Asagai?

  2. What did Ruth find out at the doctor's office?

  3. Why is Asagai's present to Beneatha appropriate?

  4. Why is Asagai's nickname for Beneatha (Alaiyo) appropriate?

  5. What does Mama say is "dangerous"?

  6. Where did Ruth actually go instead of the doctor's office?

  7. Why did Mama call Walter a disgrace to his father's memory?


Act II, Scene One

  1. What was Beneatha's family doing when George came in?

  2. What are "assimilationist Negroes"?

  3. What did Mama do with her money?

  4. What was Walter's reaction to Mama's purchase? Ruth's reaction?

 

 


Act II, Scene Two

  1. Why does Beneatha say that George is a "fool"?

  2. What important news does Miss Johnson bring?

  3. Why does Beneatha joke that African Americans must overcome the "KKK and Wilhemina Johnson"?

  4. How did Ruth find out Walter hadn't been to work for three days?

  5. Where had Walter been going instead of to work?

  6. What did Mama do for Walter?


Act II, Scene Three

  1. Why did Karl Lindner visit the Youngers' house?

  2. Describe Walter's reaction to Lindner?

  3. What presents did Mama get?

  4. What news did Bobo bring to Walter?


Act III

  1. Why didn't Beneatha want to be a doctor anymore?

  2. How did Asagai define "idealists" and "realists"?

  3. Why does Asagai say someday someone in his country may "slit my then useless neck."

  4. What does Asagai ask Beneatha to do?

  5. What fault does Mama find with herself?

  6. What solution does Walter say is going to happen when he puts on a "show for the Man"?

  7. What does Mama tell Beneatha about love?

  8. Did the Youngers stay or move?

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study Questions

1. What are the dreams of the main characters—Mama, Ruth, Beneatha, and Walter—and how are they deferred? [Answer]



2. What does Mama's plant represent, and how does the symbol evolve over the course of the play? [Answer]



3. How does the description of the Youngers' apartment contribute to the mood of the play? [Answer]



Suggested Essay Topics

4. How does the idea of assimilationism become important?



5. Discuss the title of the play. How does it relate to the dreams of each of the characters?



6. Think about the role of money in the play. How does it affect different characters?



7. How do power and authority change hands over the course of the play?



8. Discuss how minor characters such as George Murchison, Willy Harris, and Mr. Lindner represent the ideas against which the main characters react.



9. What sort of statement does Hansberry seem to be making about race? Does she make more than one statement? If so, do these statements conflict with each other?