Hope and Aspiration
BENEATHA (Dropping to her knees)
Well – I do – all right? – thank everybody! And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all! (Pursuing him on her knees across the floor) FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME! (1.1.123) |
Beneatha sarcastically apologizes for having dreams. To Walter, her dream seems kind of far-fetched. However, Beneatha is determined and she stands up to her brother for her right to want to become a doctor. Quote #2RUTH
Mama, something is happening between Walter and me. I don’t know what it is – but he needs something – something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena. (1.1.187) |
Walter is incredibly dissatisfied with his life, and he's taking it out on everybody around him. Poor Ruth feels the brunt of her husband's unhappiness. She seems to be afraid of what will happen between them if Walter doesn't get the chance to attain his dream. Quote #3MAMA
…Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, "Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams – but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worth while." (1.1.206) |
Lena's life's dreams are not for herself but for her family's future generations. Big Walter's mention in the play serves as a reminder of the sacrifices parents make for their children. Quote #10BENEATHA
That was what one person could do for another, fix him up – sew up the problem, make him all right again. That was the most marvelous thing in the world…I wanted to do that. I always thought it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know – and make them whole again. This was truly being God…I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. It used to matter. I used to care. I mean about people and how their bodies hurt…(3.1.14) |
In this lovely little monologue, Beneatha tells us why she dreams of being a doctor –
Well – I do – all right? – thank everybody! And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all! (Pursuing him on her knees across the floor) FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME! (1.1.123) |
Beneatha sarcastically apologizes for having dreams. To Walter, her dream seems kind of far-fetched. However, Beneatha is determined and she stands up to her brother for her right to want to become a doctor. Quote #2RUTH
Mama, something is happening between Walter and me. I don’t know what it is – but he needs something – something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena. (1.1.187) |
Walter is incredibly dissatisfied with his life, and he's taking it out on everybody around him. Poor Ruth feels the brunt of her husband's unhappiness. She seems to be afraid of what will happen between them if Walter doesn't get the chance to attain his dream. Quote #3MAMA
…Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, "Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams – but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worth while." (1.1.206) |
Lena's life's dreams are not for herself but for her family's future generations. Big Walter's mention in the play serves as a reminder of the sacrifices parents make for their children. Quote #10BENEATHA
That was what one person could do for another, fix him up – sew up the problem, make him all right again. That was the most marvelous thing in the world…I wanted to do that. I always thought it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know – and make them whole again. This was truly being God…I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. It used to matter. I used to care. I mean about people and how their bodies hurt…(3.1.14) |
In this lovely little monologue, Beneatha tells us why she dreams of being a doctor –