Supporting Evidence
Beneatha can be seen in Act I, Scene ii as being dissatisfied or embarrassed with her life at the Younger apartment. What is one example of how she shows her embarrassment or dissatisfaction?
A. Warning Mama about the proper way to discuss Africa with Asagai
B. Moving the insect spray gun so Asagai can sit down
C. When she asks where Ruth’s baby will sleep
When Mama finally receives the check she is…
Upset that her husband is gone and she is left with just a check.
“The future…Just waiting for me–a big, looming blank space–full of nothing.”
George
In the following quote, the tone of Beneatha’s thanking of Walter could best be described as:
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! (Hansberry 497)
Sarcastic
What does the word anguish mean in the following quote:
WALTER: Man say: I got to change my life, I’m choking to death, baby! And his woman say—(in utter anguish as he brings his fists down on his thighs)—Your eggs is getting cold! (Hansberry 494-495) as he brings his fists down on his thighs)—Your eggs is getting cold! (Hansberry 494-495)
Distress or pain
What is one example from the play that supports the claim that Walter is dissatisfied with his life?
A. “Mama -- sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool, quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back and talking ‘bout things...sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars...sometimes I see guys don’t look much older than me --”
B. "He said they can’t hardly wait. He said the one thing they don’t have, that they just dying to have out there is a fine family of fine colored people...”
C. “Do you hear the beating of the wings of the birds flying low over the mountains and the low places of our land?”
The line “I just want to learn to play the guitar. Is there anything wrong with that?” shows this character’s desire for self-expression.
Beneatha
“…[Walter] needs something—something I can’t give him anymore.”
Ruth
Mama’s plant is a symbol in this play. What larger idea does the plant represent?
Mama’s desire for a better life for her family
What does the word mutilate mean in the following quote:
“ASAGAI: You wear it well...very well..mutilated hair and all” (Hansberry 513).
Destroyed
What is one example of how George shows his true thoughts about women and their role in society?
A. He tells Beneatha that she shouldn't focus on school B. He says that Beneatha just needs to focus on her looks
C. He tells Beneatha to stop talking so much because he doesn't care about her thoughts
What word best describes the kind of woman George Murchison would be most happy dating?
Shallow
“I don’t flit! I—I experiment with different forms of expression.”
Beneatha
All of the following are conflicts in the play EXCEPT:
a. Walter and Beneatha disagree on how the money should be spent.
b. Walter wants to leave when he gets frustrated and Mama tries to stop him.
c. Asagai and Murchison argue over Beneatha.
c. Asagai and Murchison argue over Beneatha.
Which of the following words is the best synonym for exuberance in the following quote:
"WALTER enters with a large package. His happiness is deep in him; he cannot keep still with his new-found exuberance. He is singing and wiggling and snapping his fingers. He puts his package in a corner and puts a phonograph record, which he has brought in with him on the record player” (Hansberry 549).
Enthusiasm
After their fight, what does Beneatha realize about George that makes her ask him to leave?
He does not understand her
At the end of Act II, Mr. Lindner visits the family while they are in good spirits on moving day. Ruth, Walter, and Beneatha are dancing around and in good spirits when Mr. Lindner describes the Clybourne Park Improvement Association’s offer for the Youngers. Why might the author have chosen to include Mr. Lindner’s visit in this part of the play?
To suggest that the family’s American Dream is a constant struggle.
Who said: “You read books to learn facts…. It’s got nothing to do with thoughts.”
George Murchison
The Clybourne Park “Welcoming Committee” offering to pay the Youngers to stay out of Clybourne Park is an example of what literary device?
"One for which bread - food - is not enough."
What is one example that best supports the idea, “Losing something that a loved one worked hard to give you is hard to come to terms with?”
A. MAMA. I seen him grow thin and old before he was forty...and you- you gave it away in a day.
B. MAMA. Monday morning I want you to take this money and take three thousand dollars and put it in a savings account for Beneatha's schooling. The rest you put in a checking account-with your name on it.
The author introduces Beneatha’s two boyfriends, George Murchison and Joseph Asagai. What is the purpose of these two characters?
In other words, what does each boyfriend represent?
Her boyfriend George represents blacks trying to assimilate to the white affluent culture while her boyfriend Joseph represents the passion of their African roots.
Who said: “I ain’t never stop trusting you. Like I ain’t never stop loving you.”
Mama
Sunlight (something the apartment and Mama’s plant receive so little of) is an important symbol. What larger ideas does the sunlight represent?
Life and hope
What does the word furtively mean in the following quote:
“RUTH (studying her mother-in-law furtively and concentrating on her ironing, anxious to encourage without seeming to): Well, Lord knows, we’ve put enough rent into this here rat trap to pay for four houses by now...”
Secretly