The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is about a family that lives in a cramped apartment in Chicago. One of the characters, Ruth Younger, finds out that she is pregnant. A child is a lot of responsibility and are very costly. The Younger family is stressed as it is, bringing a new baby into the mix may not be wise. Ruth struggles with these issues over the course of the play. At the beginning of the play, the relationship between Ruth and her children is fairly tense.
The Younger family is struggling to make ends meet, Ruth put down a deposit at an abortion clinic, and on top of it all Walter is just increasing the conflict within the household. In relation to Travis, Ruth doesn’t really know what to do with Travis. She doesn’t know how to act as a parent, a caregiver, if she cannot even care for this baby. Halfway through the play, their relationship has slightly progressed. Ruth is in the middle of making one of the hardest decision of her life, she can’t decide whether or not to follow through with the abortion.
However, since she has realized that things with Walter are worse than she thought, Ruth is leaning more towards “finishing what she started” Alternatively, Ruth has become more authoritative towards Travis, scolding him and punishing him when necessary. Ruth is finally starting to recover and is acting like a more hands-on parent. Ultimately, at the end of the play Ruth has found a better balance between being an authoritative and caring parent. The relationship of a mother and her children is always subject to change when the mother is distressed, especially when tackling a huge decision, like having an abortion.
At the start of the play, the Younger household is very tense. Everyone is stressed about their money, their lives, and their dreams. When Travis comes into the kitchen one morning and he asks his mother for money. “This is the morning we supposed to bring fifty cents to school. ‘ ‘Well I ain’t got no fifty cents this morning” (Hansberry, 28). Ruth is exasperated not only she is trying to be a parent for Travis, but she also has to worry about Walter, who later gives Travis the money and an extra fifty cents. Ruth cannot both be providing for her son Travis while she also has to support her second “child” Walter.
Walter is unreliable and irresponsible. He is more of a child, that Ruth is responsible to care for, than anything else. Afterwards, Walter even asks Ruth for more money because he gave who asked her for more money immediately after giving his to Travis. Being a parent is already hard work, but to have to be the parent of someone who already is a parent, someone who should be capable of taking care of themselves, is more than enough work. It is also important to note that Ruth can’t give Travis fifty cents for school, even something so trivial is hard for this family to accommodate for.
When money is tight at home, it has the biggest impact on the children. It only makes it harder to try to provide for a child, maybe two, especially when Ruth does not get any help from Walter. The main issue is that the instability present in the household gives Ruth doubt and insecurities about being able to raise a child there. Furthermore, the Younger family still does not have the physical, nor the emotional capacity at the moment to take care of a new baby. The entire family of five has already confined themselves into a two-bedroom apartment.
The issue of a lack of space is clearly evident in Beneatha’s unthinking, yet scathing, remark about Ruth’s unborn child. “Where is he going to live, on the roof? (There is a silence following the remark as three women make sense of it)” (Hansberry, 58). Although Beneatha never meant any harm by her words, the harsh truth in them rings out in the silence that follows. All three women obviously know that Beneatha was right, this family just does not have the space for this new baby. There is barely enough as it is.
It is also important to note the use of italics on the word “roof” because it puts so much emphasis on the fact that there is just no viable living space for a new baby. People are already sharing rooms. This specific emphasis gets right to the root of the problem that Ruth is faced with, which is how is can a new life be nurtured in an environment that cannot sustain it? This forces Ruth to evaluate all of her choices. Ruth is realizing that bringing a new child into their current living situation might not be the best idea. This unfortunate truth pushes Ruth to consider abortion as a viable option.
In the middle of the play, Ruth is now wrestling with the decision of getting an abortion. Ruth is grappling with the fact that she most likely won’t be able to support this child because how can she support a new life when this family’s current situation is so volatile? At this current point, Ruth is leaning more towards getting the abortion. This information can be inferred from Ruth’s conversation with a drunk Walter when she confesses to him. “I-I’m sorry about his new baby, Walter. I guess maybe I better go on and do what I started… ” (Hansberry, 87).
Ruth is unsure about how to proceed with this pregnancy, and is getting no help from Walter. Ruth can feel Walter’s distance. She understands that he is not focused on her, and that she is alone in her decision. Ruth feels lost, she’s stuttering and is still indecisive, only now realizing that maybe she should “do what she started. ” Ruth is motivated by her dream of having one big happy family that is just bursting with life, which is why she feels so lost. By getting this abortion, she will be completely going against her instincts. She it entirely out of her element, out of control.
Consequently, Ruth is grasping for the control that she has lost in her relationship with Travis. Ruth exhibits this control both when she is talking to her family about Travis and when in the moments when she is scolding him. “I let him go out earlier and he ain’t come back yet. Boy, is he going to get it! ” (Hansberry, 89). Ruth’s parenting style in this act of the play is very different in comparison to the beginning of the play. Previously, when Travis was in trouble Ruth had frozen and just grabbed Travis. Presently, Ruth is authoritative, strict, and in control. She displays the traits of a arent that is skilled in handling children. Although Ruth is angry it stems from her protective nature. She is just worried about Travis and wants to make sure that he is safe. However, it seems as though Ruth is mainly doing this to compensate for the part of her that will not be able to be a parent for the new baby. Ruth is trying to find balance when she is in turmoil. In Ruth’s mind, if she can be a better parent to Travis then maybe it will not matter that she cannot be a parent at all for this child. At the end of the play, Ruth has decided that she will not have the abortion.
She is fully committed to having this baby and moving into a larger house in Clybourne Park. When faced with the fact that the Younger family might not have the money move there anymore, Ruth admits that she will “strap my baby on my back if I have to scrub all the floors in America” (Hansberry, 140). Although Ruth said this about her strong-will to move into the house at Clybourne Park, the fact that she mentioned having her baby being alive, let alone bringing them to work with her, shows that she is committed to have this baby.
She did not think twice about whether or not the baby would be there in the future. She knows that this is what she wants. Ruth is incredibly determined to have this baby and move into a home where that baby can live comfortably. She will do anything that it takes, even hard labor, to make sure that her and her family are finally free of that cramped and confining apartment. The author even mentioned in the stage directions that the words were “pouring out with urgency and desperation” (Hansberry, 140).
This only goes to further prove Ruth’s conviction to having this baby and moving out to Clybourne Park. The diction of “pouring” connotes a feeling of intensity. Ruth just cannot help but to let these words come out of her. She needs it. Now that Ruth is fully committed to having this baby she needs to live an house that can support it. It is her dream. She is so close to accomplishing her dreams that she cannot back down now. While Ruth has always been stubborn, her newfound determination will allow her to provide for her family.
This is what has allowed Ruth to step up and become a better parent. Before Ruth was filled with self-doubt and worries, but now she is steadfast on being able to provide this new life for her children. Ruth knows that she will be able to a great parent for this child. She know that she will be to overcome any issues that come her way. Throughout the play, Ruth was faced with army of issues. Where was the baby going to live? How were they going to take care of the baby? Is there enough money to take care of an infant? Is getting an abortion the right choice?
While she struggled under the pressure of these questions, Ruth took control in the form of stricter parenting over her son, Travis. In the end, Ruth had not faltered, but flourished. While Ruth’s relationship with her children had wavered at the start of the play, at the end it had settled and strengthened. Ruth has developed into her role as a provider and a parent. Although the relationship was shaky when Ruth was contemplating the abortion, it had only got stronger at the end. This play shows how relationships can be put under duress, but they do not crack under pressure. Instead, they harden.
