Ruth In A Raisin In The Sun

In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, take place in the late 1950s in Chicago Illinois the younger experiences the struggles of living during the Jim Crow era. African American families have always struggled to find their place within a white society. Throughout the play the audience sees the differences between the three generations through Mama, Walter and Beneatha. Ruth, Walter’s wife, acts as a stabilizing force in the family who acts as a peacemaker and caretaker within the family.

During Act I the audience is introduced to Ruth, she is the wife of Walter Younger, who is trying to hold her family together while also dealing with her own internal conflicts. In Scene I Walter begins to beg Ruth to talk to his mother and ask

This becomes even more clear when Mama is talking to Walter about the baby and she says: “‘I think Ruth is thinking ’bout getting rid of that child’” (Hansberry 1062). Ruth does not see her current situation fit enough to bring a baby into. Ruth is a strong individual in the family but she also struggles to know what to do with her current situation. After we are introduced to Ruth during Act II the reader continues to see that Ruth stays true to her character by trying to make her family seem put together to outsiders. George is a friend of Beneatha’s from college, who is taking her on a date. When he comes to pick her up Walter and Beneatha continue to aggravate each other. While the siblings are acting like children Ruth is trying carry on a normal adult conversation with George “‘Have a seat, George’ … ‘What time is the show?’ … ‘You go to New York a lot?’” (Hansberry 1065). This is a great example of how Ruth is trying to keep her family looking civil while they are not acting in that manner. During Scene II Walter misses multiple days of work and his employers’ call his home to figure out why he is missing. Ruth answers the phone and covers for him even though she didn’t have a clue why he had been missing: “‘Walter, you ain’t been to work for three days! Where have you been, Wlater Lee Younger? You’re goin to lose you job…with you mother working like a dog every day –’” (Hansberry 1072). When she confronts Walter about him missing work this is her attempt to keep her husband from falling off the wagon. Ruth is continually fighting to keep her family together and everyone seems to be fighting against