Review acts 1-3 of a raisin in the sun. choose a character from the play and examine how that character changes from the beginning to the end of the play. identify and explain any symbols that are used in the play that readers understand how the character changes. use lines from the play to support your ideas.

A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959.

The character that I chose to talk about is Ruth Younger. Ruth is an afro-american woman in her thirties, married to Walter and mother of a little boy named Travis. She is a typical 50’s housewife and takes care of the one bedroom apartment that she lives in with her family and her husband’s family and because they are poor, Ruth also works as a housekeeper for rich families. She faces a lot of responsibilities at a young age and that was made pretty clear in the play:

“We can see that she was a pretty girl, even exceptionally so, but nowit is apparent that life has been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face. In a few years, before thirty-five even, she will be known among her people as a “settled woman.” Act I page 27  

Ruth curses quite often and seem to be rude in many occasions, which could be the result of a poor education or a consequence of the though life she has. She show herself as a bitter woman in many parts of the story, but at the same time we can notice that she tries her best to be a good mother and a good wife. She seemed to be satisfied with her life style although there was no luxury and then she got preganant:

“RUTH (Dispiritedly) - Well, I guess from all the happy faces— everybody knows.” Act II page 59

Ruth considered an abortion, since her family was going through a financial crisis and it would be very difficult to raise another child. Then her husband then his father and his mother received an unexpected paycheck from the insurance company. She decided to buy a new house in a fancy neighbourhood and at first her family didn’t agree much with this idea, since they would be the only black family living there, but then Ruth embraced the changes and saw an opportunity to have a better life.

“RUTH - All I can say is—if this is my time in life—MY TIME —to say good-bye—(And she builds with momentum as she starts to circle the room with an exuberant, almost tearfully happy release)—to these godd*mned cracking walls!—(She pounds the walls)—and these marching roaches!—(She wipes at an imaginary army of marching roaches)—and this cramped little closet which ain’t now or never was no kitchen! … then I say it loud and good, HALLELUJAH! AND GOOD-BYE MISERY … I DONT NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACE AGAIN!” Act II page 95    

In the end, Ruth decides to keep her baby and becomes more hopeful due to the positive changes in her life such as moving to a nice house in a good neighbourhood. She was aware that she still had to work hard in order to support her family, but she was happy anyway and she also thought that a fresh start would be good for everyone.

We can see from Act I to Act III that Ruth gets more hopeful and positive as time goes by. She embraces the changes and keep a mindset where she truly believes that she will finally gets what she deserves: a real home, happiness, a better life. She never stopped being a hard working mom and a devoted wife, she just looked at life with more hope and joy. She seemed to be less bitter on Act III and she also cursed less.

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