Beneatha Character Analysis

Concerning the Characterization of the characters, it is obvious that the majority of the characters are women. The characters of "Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha represent three generations and kinds of attitude" (stewart11). Beneatha 's characterization is somehow related to her name. Her name comes from the word 'beneath '. Her family treatment to her matches with her name so much. As her name gives one an indirect characterization that she is considered to be lower than the other adults. She is partly based on herself. She holds the modern views. She dreams to become a doctor; there is no women doctors at her time. She is a strong character. She does not fear to talk about her perspective of life. She tells them that she isn’t concerned about

Some critics see that Beneatha is different from her creator, Lorraine Hansberry. Beneatha fights against the rest of her family and she lives in poverty. She was afraid to move into an all-white neighborhood. On the contrary, Lorraine Hansberry did move into an all-white neighborhood and experienced difficulties along with her family. Hansberry did not live the lifestyle that Beneatha did; she did not live in utter poverty. Hansberry had family support for her desires; While Beneatha wants to live in a world where she can pursue her dreams. Though her brother Walter thinks she is ridiculous, Beneatha insists on being a doctor. Beneatha has two main struggles to overcome; she was black and she was a woman (James 42).

Mama is a sensitive and proud black woman who strives to improve her family. She is an old-fashioned character with conservative views. She is an optimistic and caring character. Ruth is somehow like Mama. She is a soft character. "Ruth is easily embarrassed and tries too hard to please others" (James 44). She is not an aggressive character; she just lets life happen to her. She is the worn-out wife with a routine lifestyle. Ruth is the name of a famous woman in the bible. Her only simple dream is to live in peace and see all her family members happy (James

Asagai is Proud of being African and he hopes to return to Nigeria to make positive changes there. He tries to teach her about her heritage. He is absolutely different from George Murchison, her other suitor, who is a proud African-American guy. He has succeeded in life by being absorbed in the whites ' world. Asagai persuades Beneatha to cut her straightened hair to have a more African look. He opens her eyes to the necessity of having her own existence and identity. Finally, Beneatha intends to accept his proposal of marriage and move with him to