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- Ruth, worried about her troubled marriage and the family’s cramped living situation, shares Mama’s hope for a house, although she is willing to support her husband’s dream because, as she tells Mama, “He needs this chance.”
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Despite her pregnancy, Ruth does strenuous domestic work in white homes and plays a key part in keeping the entire Younger family functioning. She feeds Travis and keeps him in line, and she also mediates disputes between Walter and his sister Beneatha, who constantly bicker like children.
- Walter Younger
A detailed description and in-depth analysis of Walter...
- Beneatha Younger
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- Ruth Quotes
Important quotes by Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun....
- Walter Younger
Travis Younger. Walter Lee’s wife and Travis’ mother. About thirty years old, Ruth was once “exceptionally” pretty, although an air of “disappointment has already begun to hang in her face.” Her demeanor indicates that life has delivered “little that she expected,” and, as Walter says, she is “tired” of living in their cramped apartment.
Character Analysis. Ruth is in some ways like a typical housewife of the 1950s. She makes breakfast, cleans the house, supports her husband, and keeps her own desires to herself. Unlike the stereotypical 1950s housewives, though, she also goes out into the world and works her butt off.
- Setting
- Act One, Scene One
- Plot Points
- Famiy Ties
- "In My Mother's House There Is Still God"
A Raisin in the Suntakes place during the late 1950s. Act One is set in the crowded apartment of the Younger Family, an African-American family comprised of Mama (early 60s), her son Walter (mid-30s), her daughter-in-law Ruth (early 30s), her intellectual daughter Beneatha (early 20s), and her grandson Travis (age 10 or 11). In her stage directions...
The play begins with the Younger family's early morning ritual, a fatigued routine of waking up and preparing for the working day. Ruth wakes up her son, Travis. Then, she wakes up her groggy husband, Walter. He is obviously not thrilled to awaken and begin another dismal day working as a chauffeur. Tension boils between the husband and wife charac...
The Younger family has been waiting for an insurance check to arrive. The check promises to be ten-thousand dollars, made out to the matriarch of the family, Lena Young (usually known as "Mama"). Her husband passed away after a life of struggle and disappointment, and now the check in some ways symbolizes his last gift to his family. Walter wants t...
After Travis and Walter have left the apartment, Mama enters. Lena Younger is soft spoken most of the time, but not afraid to raise her voice. Hopeful for her family's future, she believes in traditional Christian values. She often does not understand how Walter is so fixated on money. Mama and Ruth have a delicate friendship based upon mutual resp...
Beneatha re-enters the scene. Ruth and Mama chide Beneatha because she has been "flitting" from one interest to the next: guitar lesson, drama class, horse-back riding. They also poke fun at Beneatha's resistance toward a rich young man (George) whom she has been dating. Beneatha wants to focus on becoming a doctor before she even considers marriag...
She is not aggressive; she just lets life “happen” to her. She is the “worn-out wife” with a tedious, routine lifestyle. Hansberry describes Ruth as being “about thirty” but “in a few years, she will be known among her people as a ‘settled woman.'” Ruth has only simple dreams and would be content to live out her life being moderately comfortable.
Ruth discovers that she is pregnant but fears that if she has the child, she will put more financial pressure on her family members. When Walter says nothing to Ruth’s admission that she is considering abortion, Mama puts a down payment on a house for the whole family.
Expert Answers. loreen sumner. | Certified Educator. Share Cite. In A Raisin in the Sun, Ruth Younger is an important character. She is the mother of Walter 's son. Travis will carry on the...
