Talk about what goes around...A little over 50 years after A Raisin in the Sun was first produced, playwright Bruce Norris writes a sequel of sorts to Hansberry's play. Clybourne Park is the unfriendly neighborhood where Lena has put down a payment for a house. Norris's play looks at the effect of their coming on the white people living in the neighborhood...and then looks at the effect of a white couple moving into what is now a black neighborhood fifty years later. The play was a smash on Broadway and won both a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize. Proof for us that the waters that roil in Hansbery's play still bubble today.
Just a couple questions for tonight's reading.
1. What moment or line int he scene particularly grabbed you or struck you? And why?
2. Period Two: look at the scene between Walter and Ruth on 87-89. This gives us a new way of looking at the couple, given what we we've been seeing. What do you think happened to their marriage? Why is Walter so cruel to his wife? And why is Ruth so forgiving? Obvious questions probably, but worth acknowledging so we can move past the Walter is a mean husband reaction many have had.
2. Period Five: goodness, Lena bought a house! Their problems are over! Okay, I'm being sarcastic. How doesn't this potential move their problems? There are obvious reasons, of course, but consider too the less obvious problems associated with a move to Clybourne Park.
I understand that there will be overlap—there are only so many answers—but again, try to bring something new to your response: add to what your classmates say, look at what is implicit or not yet brought out by the other answers.
See you all tomorrow.
1. The line that stood out the most to me was at the very end of the scene. It's when Walter is talking to Mama after she tells the family that she bought the house. He says "You run our lives like you want to….. So you butchered up a dream of mine--you--who always talking 'bout your children's dreams…" (95) Both Mama’s kids seem to think of her as a tyrant. Beneatha said it earlier, and Walter is saying it here. Mama “runs [their] lives like [she] wants to.” Walter and Beneatha have big dreams for themselves. Walter with his liquor store and Beneatha with medical school. Beneatha is living her dream (somewhat), and Mama criticizes her for it. Mama questions her education and her desire to get an education. Mama immediately shoots down Walter’s liquor store, saying she “don’t want [selling alcohol] on [her] ledger this late in life” (42) Like Walter says, Mama butchers their dreams and mocks them. Also, Mama controls the opinions and beliefs of the family, and when Beneatha clashes with her on the issue of God, Mama slaps her, showing the family exactly who is in charge. Walter’s quote showed that Mama really is a tyrant, whether she intends to or not.
ReplyDelete2. The main issue I have with the buying of the house is that it seems incredibly irresponsible. Mama thinks that their problems will immediately be solved by this purchase, and I think she’s ignorant to see it like that. I felt that it was Mama denying what the problems in the family actually were. While buying a bigger house would make the family more comfortable, I think there would still be tension and resentment within the family. This new house is not going to fix their relationships with one another or bring them all together. From the outside it may seem like they are moving on up and that they are a happy family, but on the inside, we know they will still be wrought with financial and relationship troubles.
1. Even though this scene should come off very exciting and like the big climax, it doesn't. There still seems like there is tension. It definitely does not come off like all their problems are solved. It seems like this house will be perfect and provide the family happiness, but as the reader we know it's not perfect. But I also think this home represents a sense of hope for the family. I like this quote: Mama: "Yes, child, there's a whole lot of sunlight." This "sunlight represents the family's freedom and hope, but it still seems too perfect.
ReplyDelete2. Even though the family's home now is worn out and falling apart, it's still their home. The family will not only be moving to a new home, but they'll also be moving to a new community, home, and life. They won't be living with other family's who are also financially struggling. They will be living in a community where these white families don't struggle financially. The family is going to stick out in this all white community. I also think that assimilation has come up a lot in this play, and I think that when this family moves to this all white neighborhood, the family will just assimilate more to the white culture surrounding them. They will have a heavier white influence.
ReplyDelete1. The line that Walter says to Mama at the end really stuck out to me “What do you need me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for?” (95). This really stood out to me because Mama really does try to have everyone’s best interest at mind, yet someone ends up getting upset. Mama is the elder of the family and the one who really wants the family to be as close as possible. Mama did exactly what she wanted for her family and what she thought was right for the family and Walter is now getting all bent out of shape because he wanted the money to own a liquor store. To me, Walter is becoming very childish in the sense of he wanted his mother to spend her money (well, really his father’s life insurance) on a liquor store. This is against Mama’s wants for one, and also this liquor store seems to be Walter’s fleeting hobby. Next thing, he’ll want to open a different shop or really do anything to escape his predicament, and now he’s angry at Mama for not giving him her own money to fulfill his fleeting hobby like she does for Beneatha.
2. Their marriage didn’t fall apart so much as crack quite a lot. All of the money problems really put weight on their marriage especially with Walter feeling so emasculated since he doesn’t really come off to be the primary breadwinner of the family as the man of the household like society wanted him to be at the time. I think that Walter is very bitter because of this and that he takes it out on his wife, because she’s supposed to be there for him unconditionally as is his mother (but he lives in his mother’s house and she can easily kick him out, so he probably doesn’t want to piss her off too much). I think that Ruth is so forgiving because she knows what’s going on with Walter and she really loves him and doesn’t like to see him this way so she forgives him because she “will do anything for her family” (75).
The same line that Jenny wrote about was the same line that stuck out for me but another line that stuck out to me was when Mama was talking to Walter at the end of the scene. When she said "We was going backwards 'stead of forwards - talking 'bout killing babies and wishing each other was dead...When it gets like that in life - you just got to do something different, push on out and do something bigger..." (94). This line stuck out to me because to me it seems like Mama is denying that those things had even happened and that in order to make those kinds of thoughts go away is to do some kind of positive act like buying a house. I feel like she is trying to justify her purchase by telling Walter that in order to break out of this depressing lifestyle, you need to bring some hope to it. I think Mama is struggling with the idea that her family isn't doing as well as she would have hoped and that they are starting to go downhill and she wants to save them. It's her family and she's invested so much into them to have them just fall apart all of the sudden with Ruth contemplating abortion. I think Mama is just trying to justify her rash choices at this point.
ReplyDeleteWell my answer above sort of answers this question already. But I think additionally the move is just going to add additional stress to their already stressed out lives. They're just going to have to be even more careful than they are now in a neighborhood of white people in the 50's. I think Mama is not thinking clearly and is not realizing just what this means. She means well, she wants the best neighborhood but I think she isn't being fair and I think she's trying to live out her broken dreams through the next generation of Youngers and unfortunately, her old dreams don't fit what they want and what they need.
The line that really hit me was when Walter and Ruth were fighting, and Walter says, "Who's fighting you? Who even cares about you?" (87). That is a cruel thing to say, and even though he realizes what he says and revokes it mentally, it has already been said, and poor Ruth just takes it. That line, to me, is the worst insult in this play so far. To say that he does not even care about his wife, is profound and horrible. He is drunk, and it was the heat of the moment, but it was said and it still haunts in the scene a few lines later. It is a powerful insult and I think it hurts Ruth. I do not think he meant it though.
ReplyDeleteTo continue what I said earlier, I think that Walter is realizing he has reached the denouement of his life, the decline. He is running out of dreams and realizing his entire life has summed up to opening and closing doors. It really ties into the American dream in that his realization has caused him to become fiercely determined and at some times angry over the obstacles blocking his dream, no matter what it is. Ruth is the voice of reason in his life and he does not want to accept what she says. to accept Ruth's reasoning is to give up for Walter, and he is not ready to give up yet. I think Ruth is so forgiving of Walter because she sees right through him, and understands his struggles and pains. Much like what Molly said, I think she knows what he says is not truly what he feels.
1. A moment that really struck me was when Walter was scrutinizing George. A striking difference is shown when Walter masculinity and power feels threatened by this rich up and coming young man. Walter says, "What the hell you learning over there? Filling up you heads...just to talk proper and read books and wear foggoty-looking white shoes"(85). When George walks out with Bennie, he says, "Good night, Prometheus!"(86) Prometheus has become a symbol representing humans striving for knowledge and the rick of over reaching and unintended consequences. Prometheus represents Walter so well at this moment, and George see right through him. The most frustrating thing for Walter? He doesn't understand the reference. I can say from experience, there is nothing that makes you feel more ignorant.
ReplyDelete2. I think Mama has the right frame of mind when she decides to buy this new home. She realizes, "We was goin' backwards 'stead of forwards"(94). Something needed to change, and this house brings them one step closer to the image they want their lives to look like. Each and every one of these family members want the nice house, but they didn't take into account that the nice houses are in the white neighborhoods. The feeling I get from reading this is: well, this is what you wanted in the firt place. Do I think that this will solve their problems? No. Will is increase stress? Definitely. But it had to happen because otherwise this family would be going no where.
1. When Walter has come home drunk and is talking to George, who is waiting for Beneatha, Walter is very rude and outright stupid. When George has finally had enough he addresses Walter as bluntly as possible with the line: "You're all wacked up with bitterness, man" (85). I though this was powerful because Walter is a little "wacked up" but I'm not so sure it's bitterness that makes him act this way. The play seems to show that Walter is slowly realizing his life wasn't the way he thought it would be. I feel that his bitterness and drinking come from the guilt he feels of not leading a better life. In this scene where he insults the college boys and girls I feel his anger for himself more than towards the college kids. Those kids are living his dream. The dream that he never had and therefore takes his anger out on them. Walter is "wacked up" but only because he never could live his own dream. He has never been his own person.
ReplyDelete2. I think the hardest part of moving will be the children. Sure they move into a nice house and love the space but when they go outside all they will receive is hate. They can share their bathrooms, run outside, and play with other children in the neighborhood they live in now without fear. This move to an all white neighborhood will just bring fear; one more thing to deal with in their already hectic lives. If Travis wants to play outside what will Ruth see when she looks out the window in a white neighborhood? Probably something worse than him playing with rats. This move would only bring stress to the family.
1. I really enjoyed the opening scene where Beneatha and Walter were dancing to the African music. It was the first real where everyone seemed happy and was quite funny. The only sad part is that Walter is drunk, not happy. This scene also really brought out the complete ignorance that Beneatha has about Africa and other cultures even though she is apparently an "educated woman." I also thought that the entire exchange between her and Ruth about her new natural hair was quite funny. I particularly enjoyed when Ruth said, "will somebody please tell me what assimila-who-ever means!" (81). I really enjoyed the comical aspect of this scene.
ReplyDelete2. I think buying that house was an incredibly naive and silly decision. Lena seems to think that the house will bring happiness and unite her family back together. How on earth could a house do that? She is almost groveling to find a way to piece together her family again. Also, getting a house in an almost completely white neighborhood can't be much better. It is already so hard to move to a new neighborhood and meet new people but now it is even worse. Racism will now also become more apparent to Travis. This is just a really sad situation that the family is in. I also think that Lena made this decision because she wanted to give Ruth a reason to keep the baby. I really don't think that moving will solve any problems for this family. If anything, this will increase the families problems because there will be tension both in and out of the house now.
2.
1. A line that really stood out to me was, "Why? You want to know why? 'Cause we all tied up in a race of people that don't know how to do nothing but moan, pray and have babies!" (87) because to me it summed up a great portion, if not all, of the play. It talks about the racial issues that face this family. The harshness of what it means to be black in this time period. It reflects the religious issues that we saw earlier between Beneatha and Lena. What it means to grow up depending in faith alone and how this helped Lena. It represents the taboo of abortion and how it affects different people. It also shows the value of life in a financial world. But, in my opinion, it shows how tired Walter feels of living in this world. He is tired of what he was raised to be and fears that he will always be like that. He feels trapped and no one gives him the opportunity to escape.
ReplyDelete2. I think that Lena bought the house because she was desperate to keep her family together and thought that a house would distract them from their problems. This backfire completely. Walter feels betrayed and crushed. This check destroyed his desperate need to attempt to make a better life for his family. It could also be that his masculinity was hurts since it was mama who bought the house and not him. This came at an awful timing since things seem to be getting better between him and Ruth. Lena's act was not selfish but it was not well thought out.
1. I think Walter's struggle is really captured when he says, "You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was alright for? So you butchered up a dream of mine-you-who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." Walter feels completely worthless. He, as the man of the house, wants to be able to support his family, but just can't. Here is Mama putting all of the family's earning into a future for the little boy, which although I agree with, makes Walter feel disposable. His family doesn't need him because they simply can't rely on him for their future. Walter is struggling with the truth of his inability to provide.
ReplyDelete2. Again, I think a lot of the struggle of their relationship is stemming from Walter's insecurities. They made all these great plans for their life and then things got in the way, like children. When Travis came, they couldn't go through with their plans and that could be a reason why they are still with Mama. I think Walter is mean to Ruth, but she understands that he hasn't been able to live out any of his dreams and a big reason for that is the fact that she got pregnant. First with Travis, and now with the new baby. He has lost hope and she is trying to revive that in him.
1. One of the parts that struck me the most was an exchange between Ruth and Walter. Ruth says, “Oh, Walter—ain’t you with nobody!” Walter replies, “No! ‘Cause ain’t nobody with me! Not even my own mother!”(85) This scene really shows how the household is just made up of Ruth, Mama, and three little kids. First Beneatha claims that she now hates all assimilated Negros because of one short conversation with Asagai. Her attitude reminds me greatly of those on the Political Forum on Firstclass. These kids hear something someone said on the news, or they hear something from their parents, or they hear something from a friend, and they are suddenly not only experts on the subject, but also implanted with the strong urge to let everyone know how cultured they are. Then Travis comes in far too late (from doing what, I don’t even want to know). Finally, Walter has is little tantrum. I understand where everyone is coming from. I think that more attention could be paid to Walter, and Beneatha has a right to experiment with different ideas, and Travis should be able to go out and have fun in his own way, but none of them are helping the situation. Walter needs to calm down and realize what he’s doing to his wife. Beneatha needs to realize that there’s a time and a place for her to dress up in Nigerian robes and exclaim her “beliefs” to the indifferent world. Walter needs to realize that there is no room for the way he’s acting. I don’t dislike any of them, but I definitely think that this has been our most unfavorable view of all of them. This doesn’t include Ruth. I am as of yet undecided on Mama’s quick decision to buy the house. Oh, also, that line bares a striking resemblance to a line from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The character that said it was also being childish and cowardly.
ReplyDelete2. Walter has not had a good life. None of them really have. Walter, as the man, must feel like it’s his job to provide for his family. He can’t. He’s watched that dream fade over the years. All of the anger, disappointment, and frustration is directed right at Ruth, Mama, and Beneatha. I think he sees it as their job do whatever it takes to help him succeed so he can take care of them. None of them look to him for support or guidance. He feels useless, and he feels like he’s treated like a child (eat your eggs). Therefore, he acts like a child, in part to get attention. Ruth responds to the difficult life by retreating. She’s beaten and tired. She doesn’t know how to handle their situation or Walter’s response to the situation. But, it’s clear that they still care about each other. Walter calms down in the end (before being set off again by Mama’s news). He and Ruth talk to each other for a few seconds and acknowledge what’s going on. Ruth knows he’s not a bad guy, so she tolerates all of his crap. Walter cools down and sees that his wife isn’t really the bad guy. Their marriage is just the result of bad circumstances.
1. The part after Walter snapped at Ruth and said "Who even cares about you?" really stuck out to me. Instead of fighting back with Walter, Ruth is sweet to him. They start to actually talk, which it seems like they have not done in a while. I really realized just how strong Ruth is in this moment. She is clearly very hurt by what Walter said, but she knows better than to make it something more than Walter being a jerk. Ruth is really trying to keep their relationship. I think she reveals this when she says "helplessly": "What else can I give you, Walter Lee Younger?" (88). I saw this as Ruth's plea for a change to Walter, while at the same time accepting the reality.
ReplyDelete2. I agree with Anna; I don't see buying the house as that crazy. I do think it could help the family forget about their situation a little, and enjoy each other. I know that sounds very optimistic, and I don't think the idea was all too good. The main problem I saw was what Mama did to Walter. Yes, it was her money. But she went behind his back to took away his chance to fullfil his dream. I don't think Walter is going to easily let this go. Also I think there would have been better things to do with the money, I just don't find the house completely atrocious.
1. One quote that really stuck out to me was what George says about Beneatha's heritage, "Let's face it, baby, your heritage is nothing but a bunch of raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts!" (81). He spits in the face of Beneatha's hopes for understanding her heritage and then takes her to a show. George patronizes Beneatha and gets away with it because of his money and class. After the argument Ruth pushes Beneatha into her room to get ready for her date and then she and George leave as if nothing happened. George and Beneatha are not alike at all, but she will still go on dates with him because of his money and some of the pressure from Ruth and Lena to marry rich. George is able to go around the house and insult every person in the room but nobody calls him out on it.
ReplyDelete2. I understand why Lena bought the house, but I don't see it as the solution to the rest of the families' problems. Like Zoe and Anna I do not see the idea of buying the house as preposterous, but I can see bigger problems in the future. Now that they have used the money on the house they don't have any more resources for the new child or for Travis. Also like Zoe said, Walter's dreams are crushed. His mother makes all the decisions for the family and he can't do anything to change that. He needed that money for his liquor store. It was his last hope for redemption in his household. He wants the respect that is becoming more and more unattainable with each passing year. The medical bills for the baby and Beneatha's medical school bills will come in second. They could have used the money for a cause that could have helped the family out as a whole, but the house is a small start in getting their lives on track.
1. One of the lines that I found to be the most meaningful in this section would have to be, "Mama, there ain't no colored people living in Clybourne Park." The fact that Mama made the decision to move to a predominantly white area fascinates me. It seems like she is putting the family in an area in which they will be equally uncomfortable just in a different way. Race holds so much tension in the lives of the characters in this play that Mama's decision makes very little sense. I can understand her desire and her reasoning regarding the cost of houses in different areas, but all the same her choice is more than a little questionable considering the racial tension.
ReplyDelete2. As I have already talked about in my first response, Mama's choice to move to Clybourne Park is questionable. As Aldo said, it seems like a desperate scramble for something that could potentially put the family back together. While I understand some of the thought process that lead up to the decision in the end it seems to be a decision she made in the heat of the moment after the stress of the day. Besides the obvious "white people" problem that is the base of the issue with her choice of house, the rushed and nervous nature of her decision cause even more problems.
1. The moments following the phrase “You want some hot milk?” (87) struck me. Even when Ruth and Walter’s argument reaches its low point, when Walter utters a line “too bitter even for himself”, Ruth is caring about Walter’s well being. The completely random question opens the tender and caring side of their relationship, seemingly thrown into the abyss, and through all of Walter’s faults Ruth still wants to give him something. This turns Walter around and makes him care as well. Their tumultuous life is quelled for just a moment, and reveals the love that brought them together. The play was calm, if only for a page, and that made it stick out to me.
ReplyDelete2. The house, though it fixes a few problems, still retains and even creates new problems for the Youngers. To me, buying the house is like buying a diamond ring for a dysfunctional relationship. It might make things easy for the moment, but it doesn’t help at all for the future. Lena’s constant mention of Ruth’s unborn child really bothered me, as it hinted that one of Lena’s primary motives in buying the house was so that Ruth could keep the baby. The taxes that need to be paid will create another financial blow to the Youngers, Walter is still pissed about not having his own dream realized, the family will have to directly confront the white world, and Ruth is still pregnant. The list of problems has barely shortened. But, it made me happy that the money wasn’t used for Walter’s ludicrous liquor store venture, and also because they finally had a place that they could say they owned.
1. The line that stood out to me was when Walter says to Ruth "Who's fighting you? Who even cares about you?" This stuck out to me because of how intense and biting Walter is in this moment. Ruth is pregnant, struggling to keep her marriage together, taking care of Travis and the family as well as plenty of other struggles. She is putting so much on the line and Walter, in his drunken and honest state, tears her down. No matter how hurt she is, how much she may hate him in that moment, she has to stay with him, stay his committed wife.
ReplyDelete2. I touched on this in my first response. I think this shows the true nature of their marriage. Before they seem so normal, in a weird way. I think that no matter what there is an underlying animosity in Walter against ruth. He resents her. She, with Travis, symbolize his failures. He cannot take care of them how he wants to and their presence reinforces that every single day. Ruth has no choice but to stay with him. Between the times, Mama, Travis and the baby, she has to stay in this loveless empty mariage.
RUTH: “…you want some hot milk?” When I read this I was really angry. I do not think of Walter as simply a mean husband, but in this moment he really should have made an effort to go towards Ruth and comfort her rather than push her away and be rude. It seems to me that Walter has moments, especially when Ruth and Mama agree on something, in which he thinks he is the one who suffers the most in this household. Relating to the quote, I think in this moment he does not realize that Ruth is going through just as much of a hard time as he is.
ReplyDeleteI think their marriage has been drawn apart, by the fact that they don’t have any privacy, they are not financially stable, and Walter wants to be greater, he wants to be the man who provides and is looked up to for it. That is a large part of the reason that Water is so mean to Ruth, is that he wants to feel like he is the one who makes the best decisions for the family and who has control. However, Ruth is the only one, at the moment, who is able to communicate peacefully with mama, the head of the household. Ruth is the one who has serious conversations with mama about the check, not Walter. Walter does not have the power and the money and has distanced from it (Mama) too. On the other hand I think Ruth is forgiving, because she longs for the relationship they used to have and she is in desperate need of affection at this point in her life. Ruth is a tired woman, who acts older than she really is, because she cannot afford to enjoy herself and be her age; she cannot go out with Walter on weekends. In these times she cannot even communicate with him, because of his stupid liquor store dream. Ruth is also forgiving, because if she acted towards Walter as he does towards her, I think the family would actually fall apart.
I think this reading tonight had many lines and parts that stuck out at me, many topics for discussion that hold the themes of the play. The scene that really stuck out at me though was actually the scene where Walter comes in drunk while George and Ruth are sitting on the couch. Walter comes straight in and points out his "faggoty-looking white shoes". Ruth tries to cover this and hush Walter up. This stuck out to me because this play is in many ways about identity, and this scene really shows that. On one side, you have Ruth trying to prove to George they are sophisticated people when in actuality this poverty, I guess this way of living that Walter represents here is, in reality, them. And then on another side, you have George trying to cover up his identity with his fancy clothes and "faggoty-looking white shoes". Walter is drunk, but people always say that when you are drunk the truth comes out, and Walter really goes straight into the gritty stuff and points out George's little facade and how stupid and fake it is. And then, even before this scene, you have Beneatha who comes out in her African robes with her hair all cut off. George and Ruth are taken aback, and while I am not exactly sure about Ruth it is clear that George doesn't like it. Beneatha is also struggling with her identity and trying to find it, and with their reactions, George and Ruth's identities, or what they want them to be, really show.
ReplyDeleteJohn you say this is an easy or obvious question, but honestly I do not know. I think that the two started off their life together with the same goals, and when those goals didn't happen right away and time passed by, I think their views on how to reach those goals really changed, and maybe even their goals changed. I think Walter is so cruel to his wife because, as he says, he is afraid to talk to her softly. He knows that so far he has failed, and yelling at her kind of occupies him, or allows him to avoid talking with her about the fact that he truly has failed so far. He talks about how crapy their life has been and how they haven't gotten anywhere, but he blames it on just about everyone else, and he does this because he knows that it is his fault, and so he yells at her so he doesn't have to acknowledge it. I think being a man is one of the most important things to Walter, and he sees his failure in providing for his family as him simply not being a man, and it is hard for him to address as it would be hard for anyone. And I think Ruth realizes all of this as well, because no matter how far they may have drifted from one another or let something come between them, she is still his wife and she knows him. She is also living these struggles just the same as him, so she gets it.
1) "You run our lives like you want to….. So you butchered up a dream of mine--you--who always talking 'bout your children's dreams…" (95). This line was the hardest hitting in the reading we read tonight. Mama has decided to spend the money without consulting her family, and has ruined Walter's dreams of fame. Mama believes she has invested in the family's future, but clearly her family disagrees. Beneatha has called her a tyrant and now Walter is saying that she "butchered his dream", when all Mama is doing is building a future for Travis. The family is incredibly polarized at the moment. Each member is moving in different directions at a time where unity is essential. They need to turn things around, or we'll be watching the unraveling of the Younger family.
ReplyDelete2) The money is gone, and it wasn't used to make more money for the family. Walter and Beneatha both had big plans to progressively use the money to pursue their dreams and now in the blink of an eye, the money is gone. Obviously, moving to a white neighborhood comes with problems of it's own but that isn't the main focus of the family's worries. This check was seen as more than 10,000 dollars. It represented the opportunity to improve their lives, and the potential for growth. The family watched that opportunity wash down the drain as Walter will keep driving cars without a feasible way out. The move is a step up, but it is a dream crushed.
1. The most sticking moment so far in this scene was at the beginning, when Benethea and Walter were dancing around to African music. In particular, I found Walter's actions to be quite striking. I understand that a lot of Walter's actions in this scene were caused by the fact that he was drunk, but I think that this is all the more reason that we should be able to extrapolate an underlying truth about Walter in this moment. At first, Walter is taken aback by the scene in front of him. He mocks Benethea for her outbreak of tribal ritual. In Walter's eyes, she is merely being her stupid little self, obsessed with the irrelevant world of Africa. He doesn't see any point in this other world whatsoever. Slowly though, he gets into the music. He feels the drums and he is taken away to another place, far away from his little apartment in Chicago. What we see is that in this place, this imaginary land of lions and "black brothers", is that Walter has become a new man. He has become a leader of people, talking as a warrior. He seems closer than ever before to the spirit of both nature and mankind. Where before he was an absolute wreck, drunk and depressed by the prospects of a world that he deemed to be incapable of realizing greatness, he now seems like a king, in harmony with his surroundings. In this brief moment, Walter has forgotten about the world that he lives in, the world that has come to be, as we have said in class, his prison. We see the comparison between these two worlds, the world that Walter has come to accept and the world that he has rejected... which raises the question, why did Walter choose the world that he did? Why did he choose to become part of a society where everyone is packed in too close to breathe, mindlessly racing to work? This is one of the main themes of the play, why and how Walter has come to be in this life of money and business. I don't think that the book is advocating that Walter should loose all sense of civilization and become a tribal leader, but the book does seem to make the point that Walter needs to take a step back from his life, to ask himself if he would possibly be happier living a life closer to the one described in his drunken dream.
ReplyDelete2. I think that Walter is remorseful of the fact that he and his wife have come to be so far apart. He acknowledges the fact that they do not think alike. I think that for this reason, it becomes a lot harder to simply call Walter a bad person. Rather, it makes Walter seem like the victim, the victim of a world where the only way to succeed, seemingly, is to make money. Walter has become cruel because of both the pressure that he has put himself under and the fact that no one understands him. His emotion has come to a boiling point. I think that at one point Walter was a good husband, but a life time of "living for a dream" (just like Jay Gatsby) has caught up to him.
1. There were a couple moments in the play that really struck out to me, such as when Ruth asked Walter is he wanted hot milk. But the one I will write about if close to the end. “Walter: It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? So you butchered up a dream of mine—you –who always talking ‘bout your children’s dreams . . . “ I think the reason this moment in the play really struck out to me was because this was the moment of truth where Lena chose Travis and in a sense, the rest of the family over Walter’s dream, which “she butchered”. She is investing in the future, instead of Walter. And Walter has had this dream snatched away from him, and he knows that with this path gone, he can’t really provide for his family like he wanted to, like he dreamed. He is dejected.
ReplyDelete2. I’m not sure if this is an obvious question. Especially with so many parts. But, I feel that maybe the reason that they are arguing with such venom is that their views have grown apart. There are so many different factors in this. Ruth, Walter knows and concedes to, is the only one who Mama will really listen to. And, he doesn’t want to be the person on the outside, he wants to be the one the family depends on, easily seen with the fact that he wants to open up a liquor store in order to make more money and provide for his family. Sometimes, I also wonder why Ruth is so forgiving. I think maybe it is because, like this very set of responses is trying to prove, that Walter really ISN’T that bad of a person. Like Sohail said, we see the two of them calm down after such a heated argument.
1. One quote I thought was really surprising and a reaction that I was not expecting was, "What you need me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." In class we have talked about how Mama is very much like a tyrant in the house, she is not used to people second guessing her, or standing up to her, so when walter says this too her I was surprised. The way he approaches the situation too, he has a legitimate response that sounds thought through and like a real conversation, this is one of the first times we see him not acting like a child, he is mature. This comment to mama also deals with one of the things we have been talking about, which is life = money. Lena just bought a house, she used the money to buy them a new life, new problems and a new dream. this also ties into the fact that I was extremely surprised the Lena bought the house, I really want to get in to her head and find out what she as thinking, why she thought that was the best use of money and what gave her that idea int eh first place, especially in that neighborhood. This, the first time we see someone stand up to mama, I think is sobering for her, but at the same time, she is still "high" from buying the house.
ReplyDelete2. I think this house has the possibility of making things even more difficult for them. The obvious example of this, there is no more money left, it is not there to take care of them, or for security, it has gone into Lena's dream. Maybe aless obvious problem is the judgement that is going to come along with living in this neighborhood. So far, we have not seen obvious racism, other than was is implied, the only people who really judge the family are the family members. They all have opinions about how the others are living their lives and the decisions they have made and all of a sudden there are going to be others looking in on their family ad judging them. I think That this is also going to be hard because they are going to have to be on their best behavior all of the time, and they are going to have to be the model family, which we have seen has not worked. I think there are a lot of things that are going to be hard for the family moving into he house, both mentally and physically.
1. The part that really grabbed my attention, is when Ruth offers Walter some "hot milk". It really stuck out to me, because it showed just how smart and caring Ruth is to her husband, and how little he is to her. Here she is going through probably the hardest thing in her life, and Walter is off getting drunk and ignoring her. Like seriously, what a douche. That's maybe the worst thing he could do at that moment, besides like running away to another country. When she most needs him, he's not there to help. It's so obvious why as well, its because Walter thinks the world revolves around him, and nobody else matters as much. Walter thinks he is the one hurting the most, after his liquor shop debacle, but he is hurting so little in perspective to Ruth. I know we said this in class, but I have to say it. Walter is so selfish. I know we established in class that being selfish isn't a bad thing, but I think it is in this case. When you get married, you vow to help out and be faithful to your partner forever, not just when its best for you. I say this is the bad kind of selfish, because at this point its like he's only paying attention to half of his body, he's not even being selfish towards himself, he's being selfish to half of himself. Anyways I kind of got off topic, but this scene just really stood out to me.
ReplyDelete2. I think that this does kind of help them out. While it does not solve the current problems, it stands for a better future;hope. The house is important because it provides something for their family to work for, its a goal for their life. It is their second chance, and as soon as they realize it I think that their life will get better. It may have a few problems, such as being in an all white neighborhood, but that could also give the new child new, better opportunities that he/she wouldn't have had before. I think that the house isn't the answer to their problems, just the path to solving their problems.
1. The line that struck me was the sweet and sad question, “is there a whole lot of sunlight?” It’s striking that this is a quality that Ruth so badly wants in a house, sunlight. They’re moving out of the dark place that they are in and progressing towards a brighter future.
ReplyDelete2. Walter has been beaten down repeatedly, his dream continuously denied to him by his family, turning him into a resentful, bitter man. The hope that drove their relationship has been lost, the hope of a better life. Ruth has reluctantly accepted their position, something that Walter refuses to do. This rift has grown between them, their polar attitudes towards their situation causing the state of their relationship that we see. Walter cannot stand Ruth’s acceptance of their situation, and so strikes out in anger.
1) The scene where Walter yells at Mama for asking for his approval really stuck with me. I think that Mama just wants everyone to be happy but it is hard for her. In the end, she wants everyone to be okay with what she does but Walter does not see that. Because she bought the house, therefor not investing the money in him, he feels that she no longer cares what he thinks. He sees it as her putting all of her faith in Travis and giving up on all the others.
ReplyDelete2) I really don't think that the broken marriage can be blamed on either Ruth or Walter completely. I think that Walter has such trouble connecting with Ruth because he is ashamed. He feels that he should bring more financial support in for their family and, since he can not, he is ashamed to really talk with Ruth. I think that Ruth is so forgiving because that is all she can do for him right now.
Mama continues to amaze me. Her and Ruth are so much the same person. In the previous scene we see Ruth faced with the decision of aborting her child to save her family but in this scene Mama had to make a different serious decision to keep the family afloat. Her nonchalantness stuck me as a little strange at first but thats just mama. She knew exactly what she had to do and went out and did the best and fastest way she could. Her authority is obvious, but in a sense it may be justified, the money was addressed to her, not Walter Jr., not Beneatha, not Ruth, or Travis. but Mama chose to spend her money on the safest guarantee of security for her family, a house. That may be generational too, because obviously Walter doesn't agree.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most bothersome initial problems is Walters coldness, and it may be personal, but how can he be so selfish as to not even recognize his mothers attempt to salvage what is left of the family. He is so hung up with playing the role of the male provider that he doesn't see things the way they are, he can't see that his dreams cannot come true without money, and Mama's money isn't his. Moving costs a lot of money too, and especially in a white neighborhood they wont have neighbors like the Johnsons to borrow things from. The kids will be made fun of by the white children. Then Beneatha has to money to finish education, she's going to have to start pulling her weight. Her childhood flitting is over, and she's probably going to end up cleaning the houses next door.