She never yields to Walter and, in some cases, even goads him into a confrontation. Walter's resentment and anger erupts in Act I, Scene 1: 'Who in the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy 'bout messing 'round with sick people - then go be a nurse like other women - or just get married and be quiet.'īeneatha's defiance toward Walter is symbolic of her defiance toward all barriers of stereotype. When Walter complains that Beneatha's medical schooling will cost more than the family can afford, he bases his argument on the fact that since Beneatha is a woman, she should not even want to become a doctor. Much of the conflict between Beneatha and Walter revolves around Walter's chauvinistic view of Beneatha. Ruth, about thirty, is more vocal about her feelings to her own husband than Mama was still, Ruth is not as enlightened about a woman's 'place' as is Beneatha, who is about twenty and pursuing a career that, in 1959, was largely a male-dominated profession.

Mama (Lena Younger), in her early sixties, speaks 'matter-of-factly' about her husband's prior womanizing. Three generations of women reside in the Younger household, each possessing a different political perspective of herself as a woman. The issue of feminism is one such example. Hansberry's avant-garde concerns, her prophetic political vision, and her ability to perceive the future importance of events that few people in 1959 were even aware of are used as lesser motifs or minor themes throughout the play. Several other motifs are also successfully intertwined into this drama.

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