A Raisin in the Sun

Act I

READING CHECK

1. Where is A Raisin in the Sun set?

2. When is the check supposed to arrive?

3. What job does Travis want to get?

4. What does “graft” mean?

5. Who are Beneatha’s parents?

6. What is the source of the money that Ruth, Walter, and Beneatha discuss?

7. Who faints at the end of the first scene?

QUIZ

1. Why won’t Ruth wake Travis up earlier?

A) Walter and his friends stay up late talking in the room where Travis sleeps.

B) Travis hasn’t been feeling well, and Ruth is worried about him.

C) Travis has been grieving his grandfather, and Ruth feels sympathetic toward him.

D) Ruth wants to wake him earlier, but it would mess up their morning routine.

2. Why does Walter give Travis an extra fifty cents?

A) It is pocket change to him.

B) He doesn’t want Travis to know that their family struggles for money.

C) He wants Travis to pick up some milk after school.

D) He does it to spite Ruth.

3. Why does Walter get frustrated with Ruth when he brings up his idea to open a liquor store?

A) He doesn’t think that she understands how the system works when it comes to bribes.

B) He is fed up with their living situation and secretly wants a divorce.

C) He has already had a long morning and just wants her to agree with him.

D) He thinks women should support their husbands’ goals, but Ruth seems unsupportive.

4. Why does Ruth think that Mama should support Walter’s hopes to open a liquor store?

A) She believes that it is his right as the new patriarch.

B) She believes that it is to his fate to own a business.

C) She believes that he needs a chance at fulfillment.

D) She believes that it will be good for their family.

5. Why doesn’t Mama want to invest in Walter Jr.’s liquor store?

A) She doesn’t think that it will be profitable.

B) She is morally opposed to investing in liquor.

C) She is going to give all the money to Beneatha instead.

D) She thinks that Walter Sr. would not have wanted that.

6. Why does Mama slap Beneatha?

A) Beneatha says that she doesn’t believe in God.

B) Beneatha doesn’t plan on getting married.

C) Beneatha spends too much money on her activities.

D) Beneatha wants to go to medical school.

7. What does Mama’s plant symbolize to her?

A) her husband

B) her dream of having a garden

C) her children’s happiness

D) nothing

8. According to Asagai, what was Beneatha looking for when he first met her?

A) her parents

B) her identity

C) her dream

D) her home

9. What about Asagai’s gift stands out to Beneatha?

A) The robes are from Africa.

B) The robes are her favorite color.

C) The robes are expensive.

D) The robes were sent by his sister.

10. What would Mama have done with the money if not for the rest of her family?

A) She would have given it to the church or put it in a savings account.

B) She would have used it to buy Walter Sr. a nicer tombstone.

C) She would have used it to finally go on vacation.

D) She would have used it to leave Chicago for good.

11. Where does Ruth go when she leaves the house?

A) to work

B) to see a doctor about her pregnancy

C) to see someone about an abortion

D) to find Walter

12. Why do Walter and Beneatha scare Mama? (short answer)

13. What does Asagai call Beneatha? (short answer)

Act II

READING CHECK

1. What does Walter join Beneatha in doing when he enters the first scene of Act II?

2. What did Mama buy with the insurance money?

3. Why does Walter’s boss call?

4. What does Walter do that Ruth uses as an example to show that he has changed?

5. Who comes from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association?

6. Who informs Walter that Willy has left with his money?

QUIZ

1. Why does Beneatha say that George is ashamed of his heritage?

A) He doesn’t want to talk about the past.

B) He doesn’t want her to wear the Nigerian dress.

C) He doesn’t want to dance with her.

D) He doesn’t want to stay home from the theatre.

2. In the context of the play, what is an “assimilationist”?

A) someone who rejects the dominant culture

B) someone who embraces their culture

C) someone who assumes the ideas of the dominant culture

D) someone who refuses to be oppressed

3. Why does Mama tell Travis about the house first?

A) She hopes that he will inherit it one day.

B) She is mad at Ruth and Walter.

C) She wants him to tell everyone else.

D) She has done what he asked her to do.

4. Why is Ruth less excited when she learns that the house is in Clybourne Park?

A) It is too far away from work for her.

B) She wanted Mama to invest in Walter’s business.

C) It is in a white neighborhood.

D) She hoped to get a portion of the money.

5. Why does Walter think it is hypocritical for Mama to talk about her children’s dreams and then buy a house?

A) He hoped that she would change her mind about investing in liquor.

B) His dream has been to own a business.

C) He hadn’t been consulted about his thoughts on the house.

D) He feels that she isn’t thinking about what Walter Sr. would have wanted.

6. How much did Mama use for the down payment on the house?

A) $35,000

B) $3,000

C) $5,000

D) $3,500

7. Why does Karl Lindner come to visit the Youngers?

A) to welcome them to the neighborhood

B) to discourage them from moving

C) to spy on them

D) to answer any questions they have

8. What is the significance of Mama’s gardening set?

A) It is reminiscent of the garden she always wanted.

B) It represents their family working together.

C) It reminds her of her dream to own a house with her husband.

D) It is the set she sold in the past to provide for her family.

9. What happens to the money that Mama gave Walter and Beneatha?

A) Walter lost it by investing it all in a business with Willy.

B) Walter lost it by gambling.

C) Walter spent it to pay their bills since he hasn’t been going to work.

D) Walter used it to buy Ruth gifts to repair their marriage.

10. What does Walter realize with regard to the money after Bobo shows up?

A) that his decisions have ruined not only his dream but Beneatha’s

B) that he never needed it to be a man

C) that he is a poor businessman

D) that his life will always be like this

11. Why does Mama walk away from her children at the end of Act II?

A) She doesn’t believe in their dreams.

B) She is shocked that Walter lost the money from his father’s life insurance in one day.

C) She is about to disown Walter for investing in the liquor.

D) She has decided to live in the house herself.

12. Why does Walter want to meet with George and his father? (short answer)

13. What does Mama tell Beneatha to do about George? (short answer)

14. What is Lindner’s offer to the Youngers? (short answer)

Act III

READING CHECK

1. Who comes to visit at the beginning of Act III?

2. Who invited Karl Lindner over?

3. What is life divided between, according to Walter?

4. How does the family find out that the movers have arrived?

5. What does Walter say is the reason that they are moving into their house?

6. What does Mama say when Beneatha says that Asagai has asked her to marry him?

QUIZ

1. What is Asagai reminded of with regard to moving?

A) Beneatha

B) his childhood

C) his dream of being a doctor

D) Africa

2. Why does Beneatha want to be a doctor?

A) She is interested in science.

B) She wants to fix people.

C) She is inspired by other women in science.

D) She wants to be more like Asagai.

3. Why does Asagai say that Beneatha is grateful for Walter Jr.’s money mishap?

A) because she never wanted to go to medical school

B) because now she has an excuse to marry George

C) because now she doesn’t have to work hard

D) because now she can give up on social progress

4. What does Asagai ask Beneatha to do?

A) go to medical school

B) come to Africa with him

C) leave him alone if she isn’t going to work hard for change

D) find a new teacher

5. Why does Mama say, “You needs to slow down and see life a little more like it is’” (129)?

A) She feels she has done her part as a mother and needs to relax.

B) She wants to be more realistic about her dreams for herself and her family.

C) She needs to defer to Walter as the head of the house.

D) She thinks it is time for a new generation to make decisions.

6. What does Ruth offer to do so that they can afford to move?

A) sell her jewelry

B) keep Walter in line

C) work twenty hours a day

D) help Beneatha afford medical school

7. Why did Walter call Karl Lindner and ask him to come over?

A) He will convince him to pay more for the house, even if it means sacrificing his dignity.

B) He plans to tell him that they will take his deal to sell the house.

C) He wants Karl to see that they are still moving.

D) He wants to humiliate Karl to set an example for the rest of the neighborhood.

8. What makes Walter break down?

A) the idea of being so deferential to Lindner

B) his mother’s shame after he lost the money she gave him

C) the fact that Ruth kept her pregnancy a secret from him

D) Travis’s disappointment in him

9. Why does Mama have Travis stand with Walter while he talks to Lindner?

A) because she wants to Travis to learn about doing business

B) because he is the second oldest man in the house

C) because she wants to inspire Walter to set an example for his son

D) because she disagrees with Ruth’s parenting after she tries to send him out

10. What does Lindner do after Walter refuses his offer?

A) He leaves.

B) He serves the Youngers with a lawsuit.

C) He welcomes them to the neighborhood.

D) He tries to appeal to Mama.

11. Why does Mama bring her plant with her at the end of the play?

A) It is a symbol of her dream of having a house to live in.

B) It is a reminder of their old apartment.

C) It is an important part of her history.

D) It is her most prized possession.

12. According to Mama, what is the time “to love somebody the most”? (short answer)

13. What does Walter tell Lindner about their decision? (short answer)

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1. Use Quiz Question 3 (Act I) to introduce discussion on the concept of Black masculinity in A Raisin in the Sun. Explore Walter’s comment that Black women “don’t understand about building their men and making ‘em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something” (16). Explore the expectations placed upon Walter Jr. and discuss how he treats the Black women in his life, including Ruth, Beneatha, and Mama. Also, how does his masculinity affect his role as a father?

2. Use Quiz Question 7 (Act I) to introduce the theme of dreams and dreams deferred. Discuss Mama’s dream of owning a house; then review each additional character’s dreams. How is the theme of dreams woven throughout the play? In what ways are the characters’ dreams similar, an in what ways different? How are the dreams deferred and realized?

3. Use Quiz Question 2 (Act II) to discuss the symbolism of the two men between whom Beneatha is torn. What ideas and values do each of the men represent? Describe the tension between the two; what is the likeliest source? How might Beneatha’s life with George as a partner differ from a life with Asagai as a partner?

4. Use Quiz Question 10 (Act II) to discuss Walter’s character development and the theme of dreams and dreams deferred. How has Walter contended with his role as “man of the house” that Mama gave him? What is he learning in this role? What is the impact of the lost money on each character, and how does Walter react to their concerns?

5. Use Quiz Question 9 (Act III) to discuss Travis’s role in the play. How does he impact Walter’s character development? Why does Mama include him in big decisions about the house?

6. Use Quiz Question 11 (Act III) to discuss the symbolism of the plant throughout the play. How is it representative of Mama’s spirit? What does it represent to Mama? To the audience?