Review Questions on "A Raisin in the Sun"

A Raisin in The Sun
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
A Raisin in the Sun
Act I
1 How do the furnishings set the scene/mood of the play?
At the beginning of act one, Hansberry ha spent a lot of time describing the furnishing of Younger’s apartment. The furnishing of the apartment is not only tired and worn out, but it is also poverty-stricken. The furnishing has been used to set the scene of the act a very poor neighborhood that one has to live almost every family member that they have. Additionally, the family has had to patch over almost all their furniture, a symbol that has also been used to describe how they used to patch over their lives where almost all members are either tired or weary of their lives.
2 Why does Walter disapprove of Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor?
Walter and Beneatha do not get along for a couple of reasons. When Mama is about to get the insurance money, Walter believes the Beneatha will covet the money for medical school a plan he highly disapproves. This is because according to his opinion women need to do supporting jobs and not being doctors. Furthermore, Walter has plans of opening a liquor store with the money, so no way he would approve Beneatha’s decisions of medical school.
3 How does Mama’s plant function as a symbol?
The plant is a symbol that one day Mama will own a house with her own garden. Mama has been having this dream for a long time and she hopes that at one time, his family will move from the overcrowded apartment to her house that she has been dreaming of. Although she reaches the brink of giving up, she still has some hope to her dream and illustrates perseverance in nurturing it.
4 What does each character plan to do with the money? How does it help fulfill each of their dreams?
Mama wants to remove the family from the ghetto to a house with a yard and a playground for the children. Similarly, Ruth shares the same dream of building a happy family with a bigger and better space. Beneatha, on the other hand, wants to become a doctor and save her race from the ignorance they have had for so long. Walter, on the other hand, compares himself with the rich people who drive around with big cars and wants to give his family all that he was not given.
5 What was Big Walter’s dream?
Although we never ...