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Eat your eggs
- Ruth resists the idea and tells Walter to “eat your eggs.” In response, Walter erupts, accusing his wife of hampering his dreams. Ruth “wearily” explains her indifference by telling Walter that he simply “never say nothing new.”
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Ruth’s dialogue with Walter reveals how the financial tension, and their different attitudes towards it, threaten their marriage. RUTH (Wearily): Honey, you never say nothing new. I listen to you every day, every night and every morning, and you never say nothing new.
- Beneatha
After Beneatha insults Walter by calling him an...
- Act I, Scene II
Ruth wants to discuss her pregnancy with him and becomes...
- Beneatha
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Walter reenters and, hearing the tail end of the argument between his wife and son, gives Travis a dollar to take to school, which greatly angers Ruth. Walter’s defiance of Ruth’s decision provokes further conflict between husband and wife.
Ruth appears to be annoyed with Walter, although she does not openly admit it. At first, Walter seems too preoccupied with thoughts about the insurance check to consider what might be troubling Ruth. Their conversation revolves around money and the lack thereof; even young Travis is concerned with money, as he asks, "Check coming tomorrow?"
Ruth wants to discuss her pregnancy with him and becomes upset when he will not listen. She shuts herself into their bedroom. Mama sits down with Walter who is upset by—and ashamed of—his poverty, his job as a chauffeur, and his lack of upward mobility.
Walter and Ruth continue to argue about their unhappy lives, a dialogue that Ruth cuts short by telling her husband, “Eat your eggs, they gonna be cold.” Beneatha gets up next and after discovering that the bathroom is occupied by someone from another family, engages in a verbal joust with Walter.
Ruth “softly” appeals to Walter to “stop fighting” her, and Walter slowly begins to cool down. With his insult to Ruth about African-American women, Walter attempts to blame his own failings and insecurities on the women who surround him.
Like Mama, Ruth works as a domestic maid and also does much of the cooking and cleaning in the Youngers’ home. Deeply dedicated to her family, Ruth tries to repair her failing marriage with Walter and worries about Travis’ childhood in the South Side ghetto.
