I enjoyed reading this play greatly. In the beginning of the play much of Beneatha's family made fun of her for having pride in herself and her schooling, but in the end they all began to have pride in themselves and believed that they could have the life that they wanted. Although at one point Walter gave away a lot of money by accident, he still ended up trying to make his family proud and to give them everything that he could to make them happy and to move into a better home and better neighborhood, even though they were not welcome really into the neighborhood. When Walter is talking to his son Travis, the pride and belief in a good future comes out when he asks his son what he wants to be when he grows up and then gets upset when his son is not dreaming big enough. It is interesting that at one point Walter wants to invest in a liquor store so he doesn't have to work for anybody anymore and not have to work as hard as he had been, but once he made the mistake of giving the money away, his wife was willing to stand up and say that there are four grown adults in the house and that she will work even harder than she already does to be able to have a house. After listening to the arguments of the women and knowing that he is the only man in the house and that he has to show his son what a man does to be a good role model, he decides that he needs to be a different kind of man and not one that is always trying to get more money to spend but rather one that has something real to show for his money and life even though the money that was used was from his father’s death. On page 493 the character Asagai and Beneatha begin talking to one another and the conversation becomes extremely philosophical as to the reason why people bother to learn things and care about themselves and the world that they may or may not be able to change. He explains to her that sometimes it is not about one person changing the world, but about many people changing their own world and spreading what they have learned to the people who do not have access to it. That for me is the most important part of the story. When you think of yourself you lose what you think is most important, but when you think in terms of family, community and home, you will always be able to have something to offer and to help with.
2 comments:
I think this play has many symbols that exlain the love and confidence the mother shows for her family. First, the plant of mama is a symbol that represents the hope of mama, and the love and care she gives her family. Just like her family, she takes care of the plant every day, and even though there is no enough sun and water for her plant, she hopes that one day all these will be provided. This symbol is fulfilled when the family finally moves to a new house, under mama’s care and instructions. Another symbol is Beneatha’s hair. She intentionally cuts it to show the world that she no longer believes in the white essence of beauty. Rather, she believes that short hair, which is propagated by her culture, is indeed much better in portraying beauty.
Good insights. This play really shows how it was growing up for African Americans back in that time. The way the author describes the old apartment really makes me appreciate where I was raised.
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