Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

Typical housewives of the 1950s were caring mothers, and obedient housewives. A 1950s mother put others before herself, even in times of despair. It was up to her to hold the family together. Ruth Younger the mom in the drama A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, is a very caring and hardworking mother who strives to keep her family above poverty. In times where African American families were discriminated, the Youngers faced hardships and were forced to live in Chicago's ghettos on the south side. The only thing keeping the Younger family above poverty is the hard work of Ruth, Mama, and Walter. Ruth Younger is burdened by a new baby and is a victim of poverty and hopelessness.

When Ruth returns from the doctor later in Act I, Beneatha snaps at Ruth’s fortune. Though she is starting to gain more self confidence in her life, Ruth is brought down again. As she finds out that she is pregnant, her ignorant sister-in-law stresses, “Where is he going to live, on the roof?” (58) Living in such tight conditions, Beneatha makes Ruth rethink everything. For most of the Younger family's life, they have had to constantly worry about what to do with their money and how to make the best of it. As a result, Ruth considers receiving an abortion to further benefit her
close knit family.
In Scene 2 in Act I, Walter has heard about the pregnancy and finds it hard to believe what she is considering. Talking to Mama, he claims, “You don’t know Ruth, Mama, if you think she would do that.” (75) Ruth declares, “Yes I would too, Walter. I gave her a
five-dollar down payment.” (75) Like Mama says, a mother will do anything for her family, Ruth is on the verge of giving up. As can be seen, Ruth almost loses all hope. Being the responsible and caring adult that she is, Ruth can only wish for change. She has done her part for the family, but continues to find more ways to help them. She has sacrificed a lot already, however she wants to be able to provide for one more person. Ruth comments to her struggling family, “I’ll strap my baby on my back if I have to scrub all the floors in America and wash all the sheets in America if I have to-But we got to move!” (140) Being such a hardworking mother anyway, Ruth sees that there is still more she can do.

Throughout the drama, the financial stress is taking a toll on her and Walter's marriage. Though he isn’t satisfied with the way his life is going, he shouldn’t be taking it out on her. With the check from Big Walter, he believes he should get the majority of it to pursue his dream of opening a liquor store. When everything fails and he loses the money, they have to rely on Mama’s dream to fix their problems.

For the majority of the play, Ruth is down on herself. She never expresses her opinion about their poverty. During the arguments between her and Walter, she ignores Walter’s insults and remains strong, even with the financial burden they endure. In Scene I Act I, Ruth states, “Well, Lord knows, we’ve put enough rent into this here rat trap to pay for four houses by now.” (44) Here, Ruth is fed up with the spaceless, dirty living conditions of their cramped apartment. Like everyone else in the family, Ruth longs to leave the house to seek a better life. She feels hopeless due to the fact that there is only so much money available and so many dreams for the family to worry about. She is willing to sacrifice anything, including the new baby, to keep the family from falling into a deeper state of poverty.