A RAISIN IN THE SUN

ACT III

1. In her conversation with Asagai, Beneatha remembers a time when she was younger when a kid named Rufus
was sledding and split open his face, but the ambulance came and patched him up and ultimately he ended up
only with a little line down the middle of his face. This is what made her want to be a doctor. How might Hansberry
be using what happened to Rufus as a metaphor for the Younger family’s experience? (Page 117)

That you may think everything is over because of the difficulties we face every day, but at the end of the day being
resilient and brave will help to survive and to continue living. We learn from our mistakes, but we over come them
and continue living and learning. Maybe this situation is going to make her overcome as a family and start again.

2. How does Asagai define “idealists” and “realists”, what’s his meaning, and how would you compare his general
reasoning with that of Beneatha? (Pages 118-120)
Asagai says "idealists" are people who have a positive vision of the future, people who can fight for what they
want and make their wishes come true, people who can see changes for everyone and dream with better things or
situations, who won´t get frustrated and don´t accept a no as an answer because there is always a possibility with
some faith. "Realists" are people who see the life is a certain negative way, people who think that everyday is just
the life to continue just living as usual, they think there is no way to improve, to accomplish any goals and they
accept their reality as something that will never change, they see life as a huge stone on their backs that they can
barely get and nothing to do about it.

3. What does Asagai ask Beneatha to do? Do you think she will ultimately accept his offer? (Pages 120-121)
Asagai asks Beneatha to marry him and to move to Africa with him but Beneatha won´t accept his proposal
because her dreams are bigger than her and she is the only one in the family that has been doing something
different to accomplish her goals and that is not the life she wants for herself.

4. What fault does Mama find with herself, and what has she decided to do? Do you think her children’s ambitions
and dreams are a result of what Mama and her husband inculcated in them? (Pages 122, 123)
She says she aimed too high and that means that Mama always wanted something different for her family, that is
what her husband and her always wanted and she wanted to live her husband´s dream to honor him for all the
effort he did when he was alive, so her children´s ambitions were inherited from one generation to another with
the positive point of view that everyone should fight for their own dreams. But being so naïve about some other
things is what makes me feel mad, because all that money, the money Walter used was not his money, and he
was making a decision that wasn´t his, because he used the money that was supposed to be used for her dreams
and career and future, I think he did it on purpose because he disagree with Beneatha´s activities.

5. What is Walter’s plan to make up for his mistake? What do you notice about his speech in practicing what he’ll
say to Lindner? Does it seem like that is really what he wants to do? (Pages 123-127)
He thinks accepting the money from Lindner will solve their problem. But at same time I can see how he feel
humiliation in his ideas because that is not what his taught them, because of their dignity he won´t make it. That
was a solution but at the end that means accepting they don´t belong to that place, that he was right to say they
are not the type of people should live close to them because of racism and that is not correct.

6. Why does Mama disapprove of his plan (what is he willing to sacrifice for money)? (Pages 125-127)
Walter has good feelings, he is a man educated with values. His values and the memories he has got wouldn't let
him ruin his family's pride. Mama has something called dignity and it is something that she has always defended
with her husband, so accepting the proposal of Walter and Linder´s money means accepting that the rest of the
world full of racismo and skin color ideas are right and they can´t accept because because of their education.