Name:________________________________________________ Date: __________________ Period: ______
A Raisin in the Sun FINAL EXAM
Section 1: CHARACTER MATCHING (10 Points)
1. ______ Ruth
A. Thinks about moving to Africa
2. ______ Mama
B. Represents a neighborhood association of homeowners
3. ______ Walter Lee
C. Tells Walter Lee about the lost money
4. ______ Beneatha
D. Gives Mama a gardening hat
5. ______ Karl Lindner
E. Keeps a small plant as a token of hope
6. ______ Bobo
F. Enjoys going to the theater in New York
7. ______ Travis
G. Agrees to open a liquor store with Walter Lee
8. ______ Joseph Asagai
H. Thinks Beneatha’s straightened hair is “mutilated”
9. ______ George Murchison
I. Leads the house in cooking and cleaning
10. ______ Willy Harris
J. Drives around a wealthy white man for work
Section 2: QUOTE IDENTIFICATION (10 points)
Next to each quote, write the initials of the character that said the line. There is at least one quote from each of
the characters listed. Three of the characters have two quotes attributed to them.
RY = Ruth Younger
WL = Walter Lee Younger
KL = Karl Lindner
BY = Beneatha Younger
JA = Joseph Asagai
M = Mama
GM = George Murchison
11. _______ “I’m just tired of hearing about God all the time. What has he got to do with anything?”
12. _______ “Between a man and a woman there need be only one kind of feeling. I have that for you.”
13. _______ “Ain’t you bitter man? Ain’t you just about had it yet? Don’t you see no stars gleaming that you
can’t reach out and grab?”
14. _______ “It’s simple. You read books--to learn facts--to get grades--to pass the course--to get a degree.
That’s all--it has nothing to do with thoughts.”
15. _______ “I am sure you people must be aware of some of the incidents which have happened in various
parts of the city when colored people have moved into certain areas.”
16. _______ “Can’t you give people a Christian greeting before you start asking about money?”
17. _______ “I don’t know what it is--but he needs something--something I can’t give him anymore; He needs
this chance.”
18. _______ “I always thought it was one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the
sick, you know--and make them whole again.”
19. _______ “That is just what is wrong with the black woman in this world… Don’t understand about building
their men up and making ‘em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something.”
20. _______ “Ain’t nobody in my family never let anybody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we
wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor.”
Section 3: QUOTE IDENTIFICATION RESPONSES (10 Points, 12 Possible)
Choose three of the quotes from the previous page. Restate who said the quote and identify who they were
speaking to. Then explain what the quote means. Who or what is the quote speaking of? How is the quote
related to events in the play? How does the quote speak to the circumstances of the time, and/or the
character’s specific circumstances? What other ideas, real or symbolic, might the quote give insight to? Write
at least three sentences in which you explore the meaning of the quote.
A. Quote Item #: __________
Your Response: __________________________________________________________________________
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B. Quote Item #: __________
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C. Quote Item #: __________
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D. Quote Item #: __________
Your Response: __________________________________________________________________________
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Section 4: TRUE / FALSE (10 Points)
Next to each statement write True or False if the statement accurately reflects events from the play. Note: if
your mark is not clearly written it will be marked wrong.
21. ________ Mama and Ruth poke fun at Beneatha for taking guitar lessons and horseback riding lessons.
22. ________ It is revealed that Ruth lost a previous pregnancy due to a miscarriage.
23. ________ After they discover that the remaining money is lost Beneatha decides to settle on only being a
nurse.
24. ________ Walter frequently goes to a bar called The Green Cat.
25. ________ Mama gives Walter the money because she realizes that she has contributed to his depression
by not giving him a chance to head the household.
26. ________ Joseph’s nickname for Beneatha, Alaiyo, means “One Who Stirs the Pot When the Food Has
Already Been Served.”
27. ________ Walter and Ruth fighting over the scrambled eggs symbolizes their struggle to agree on how to
provide for their children.
28. ________ Walter Lee calls Karl Lindner to the house to negotiate for more money for the sale of the
house.
29. ________ Ruth considers getting an abortion because she is worried about the emotional and financial
stress a baby would put on the family.
30. ________ Travis uses his bus fare money to buy caps for his toy gun instead.
Section 5: MULTIPLE CHOICE (10 Points)
Circle the letter that best answers the question. There is only one answer for each question.
d. She doesn’t think they can get a liquor
31. What is the name of the neighborhood where
license.
Mama buys her house?
a. North Lawndale
36. Who gives Travis bus fare for school?
b. Lincoln Park
a. Mama
c. Clybourne Park
b. Beneatha
d. Englewood
c. Walter Lee
d. Ruth
32. What does Joseph Asagai bring Beneatha from
Nigeria?
37. How much money does Mama inherit from
a. A drum
Walter Sr.’s life insurance?
b. A dress
a. $10,000
c. A gourd
b. $100,000
d. A mask
c. $30,000
d. $3,500
33. Which of the following best describe Beneatha’s
feelings about George Murchison?
38. Which of the following best describes Ruth and
a. She is infatuated with his wealth.
Walter Lee’s marriage?
b. She is impressed with his intellectual
a. They are madly in love and offer each other
abilities and refined taste.
unconditional support.
c. She enjoys his company, but is not attracted
b. Emotional and financial strain has made
to him physically.
them distant and skeptical of each other.
d. She is disappointed by the lack of pride he
c. Concern for Travis’s well being is the only
has in his heritage.
reason that they stay together.
d. Though their marriage is stable, they are
34. What does Beneatha’s dating both Joseph and
mostly now bored with one another.
George symbolize?
a. The dilemma of assimilating to the dominant
39. What did Walter Lee plan to use the remaining
culture or taking pride in your own.
money for to help his liquor store business?
b. The problem of marrying for money or
a. To put in the deposit on a storefront.
marrying for love.
b. To buy multiple cases of liquor.
c. The struggle of women to pursue a career
c. To place advertisements in the newspaper.
they love and care for their children.
d. To bribe city officials for a liquor license.
d. The expectations women face to stay
celibate until they are married.
40. Why, ultimately, do the Youngers decide not to
sell their house back to the neighborhood?
35. Why doesn’t Mama want to invest in a liquor
a. They can’t find a better house in a black
store?
neighborhood.
a. She doesn’t think it will be a successful
b. They believe the neighbors will like them
business.
once they meet.
b. She doesn’t want to engage in a sinful act.
c. They do not want to sacrifice their dignity to
c. She doesn’t believe that Walter could
please white residents.
manage it.
d. They plan to start a movement in the
neighborhood to end racism instead.
Section 6: CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (10 Points)
Use the following lines to write a three-paragraph response to the following prompt about the play A Raisin in
the Sun.
Throughout the play, we see each of the characters struggle with barriers and threats to attaining their dream.
These challenges come from family members, friends, strangers, and even from each character’s own
emotional, social, and financial circumstances. These challenges include, but are not limited to, issues of class,
gender, and race, but may also speak to any person’s struggle to realize the American Dream.
Choose one character whose struggle you are most sympathetic too and write about their dreams, the
challenges they face, and how these challenges show a common struggle people face in achieving the
American Dream (this could be common to all, common to African Americans, common to man or woman, etc.)
Arrange the essay using the following format:
Paragraph 1: Introduce the character; how they are connected to the other characters in the play; what their
dreams, or ambitions, are; and, what ultimately happens to them in the story.
Paragraph 2: Use evidence from the text to explain what challenges or barriers they face in achieving their
dream. Find at least two quotes where the character explains, or hints to, the barriers they need
to overcome to reach their goal and explain these quotes.
Paragraph 3: Analyze the character’s struggle and connect it to the common struggle of realizing the
American Dream. How is their struggle related to larger issues of finding success in America?
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