A Raisin in the Sun Study Guide
Exam date: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH
Section 1: Know the following characters and enough about each character to complete a quote identification.
Character:
Description: (Look at Act I Quiz)
Mama Younger
Ruth Younger
George Murchison
Joseph Asagai
Walter Younger
Beneatha Younger
Travis Younger
Karl Linder
Quote:
Quotes to know & match with the appropriate character who said the quote from above.
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“It’s all a matter of ideas, and God is just one idea I don’t accept…I am not going out and commit crimes or be
immoral because I don’t believe in God.
“Perhaps I will be a great [person]…I will hold on to the substance of truth and find my way always with the tight
course…”
“What’s the matter with [Mama]? Don’t she want to be rich?”
“Most of the trouble in this world…exists because people just don’t sit down and talk to each other…That we
don’t try hard enough in this world to understand the other fellow’s problem.”
“Something eating you up like a crazy man…You get all nervous acting and kind of wild in the eyes-“.
“Look honey, we’re going to the theatre – we’re not going to be in it…so go change, huh?”
“Sometimes it’s like I can see the future stretched out in front of me…Hanging over there at the edge of my
days. Just waiting for me – a big, looming blank space…”
“Then I say it loud and good, Hallelujah! And goodbye misery…I don’t never want to see your ugly face again!”
Section II: Define the following Literary Terms:
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2.
3.
4.
Allusion
Dramatic Irony
Foreshadowing
Irony
Section III: The following are concepts you need to know from the play:
A. The poem that prefaces the play and the poem that we analyzed (TPDASTT as a group) in class…
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What is the title of this poem?
How does Hansberry us Hughes’ poem within the play?
How does the poem relate to “A Raisin in the Sun”?
1. Which two days of the week do the events in the play occur?
2. What do the following characters do for a living?
a. Ruth: ________________________________________________________________________________
b. Walter: ______________________________________________________________________________
c. Mama: _______________________________________________________________________________
3. Would you describe Beneatha as an optimist or a pessimist during most of the play?
4. In Act I, Ruth became upset when Walter gave Travis $1, why did she become upset?
5.
In Act I, during breakfast, what was the argument about between Walter and Ruth.
6. What does Asagai mean when he calls Beneatha “Alaiyo”?
7. When we meet Asagai for the first time, what does he say about Beneatha’s hair?
8. Out of all the characters that we meet, which one never appears on stage or in the film, he is just talked about,
but was a cause of a major conflict within the play?
9. Why do Ruth and Mama approve of George Murchison, even though he clearly is not the best suitor for
Beneatha?
10. How are George and Walter different?
11. What do Ruth, Beneatha, and Walter give Mama before the family moves?
12. Who steals the money that Walter had for the liquor store?
13. How are Walter’s dreams deferred throughout the play?
14. Think about the bigger picture…what is Walter’s dream, ambition, aspiration?
15. How does Walter and Ruth’s relationship change throughout the play?
16. At the end of the play, what does Walter mean by “old time stuff”?
17. Define afro-centrism and who exemplifies this throughout the play?
18. How does Hansberry critique gender roles with Beneatha ‘s character?
19. What might Beneatha’s hair symbolize in the play?
a. First assimilation, then African American Pride
b. First African American pride, then assimilation
c. Only pride
d. Only assimilation
20. What does Mama’s poor little plant symbolize?
21. What does the new house represent for the Younger family?
22. Look over your theme activity and be able to identify several themes from the play.
23. How do setting, symbolism, and conflict help develop the themes?
24. Who is the last character on stage at the end of the play?