Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Raisin in the Sun

Greetings,

As you read, please be sure to post a comment at least three times. These comments should discuss an aspect of the play that you are particularly interested in. Write about a question you have, a problem that bothers you, a character who annoys you, what you admire about another character, how you relate to the story, what you think it (the story, a passage, a character) means, etc. This is a time for you to write about and explore parts of the story that most excite or perturb you.

Do...cite the text and use quotes, details, etc.
Do...feel free to agree or disagree with a reflection one of your peers makes.
Do...take risks and be creative with your thinking.

Again, as we read A Raisin in the Sun, you should post three times! Think of this as an online, extended literary discussion.

Cheers,
Mrs. Harding

100 comments:

  1. Personally the character of Walter bothers me a great deal. In my mind the way he is portrayed so far in the book is as a power hungry money hungry man who will do anything to get his life really "Started." I say that he is power hungry because many times he is shown saying how he hates having to work for the others. An example of this is shown on page 73. Here walter responds to Mama's comment about his having a job and a nice wife and fine boy. Walter says "A job. Mama, a job? I open and close car doors all day long. I drive a man around in his limousine and I say, 'Yes, Sir; no sir; very good, sir; shall i take the Drive, sir?' Mama, that ain't no kind of job...that ain't nothing at all." He clearly shows how he does not want to have to wait on people for the rest of his life just to get from day to day.
    Another thing that bothers me about him is how he is so rude to his wife and how he wants her to make him feel powerful and that he has pride. In the beginning of the play he argues with Ruth about how black men aren't shown enough respect. On page 34 Walter proves my point about him always having to feel powerful. "Thats just whats wrong with the colored woman in this world...Don't understand about building their men up and makin' em feel like they somebody. Like they can do something." Walter should not need his wife to make him feel superior, if he always needs someones assurance he is going to get no whee in life. Then after this rude comment comes one that I just can not believe Ruth did not say something back to. Walter said "We one group of men tied down to a race of women with small minds!" I just do not think that is acceptable! To say something like that to your wife?!? Maybe it was acceptable in that time but I was honestly appalled when I read it.
    The other thing that bothered me while reading was how it was so outrageous for Beneatha to want to be a doctor. Again, Walter, goes on one of his power trips. To be honest I think one of the reasons Walter does not want her to be a doctor is because she would be more successful than him. To Walter no woman should ever be more successful than her husband, or really any man. Women are not suppose to go out there and have jobs like that as Walter expresses on page 38 "who 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..." I just do not think this is fair. Personally I think women should have equal rights and opportunities as men! At the setting of the time of this book the 19th amendment was already in place. Therefore Beneatha has every right to be a doctor and I for one applaud her for getting out there and trying and reaching for a goal.

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  2. So far in the book, money seems to be a central idea. Everything revolves around it and so do all the characters. Beneatha wants to be a doctor and I agree with Maddy in that she should be given credit for her courage. However, money seems to rule whether or not she can be one. On page 36, Walter shows his input by saying “Have we figured out yet just exactly how much medical school is going to cost?” He is reminding her that her decision is costly and will affect the family. I don’t think that is his position to say so, even if he is her brother. Actually because he is her brother, I believe he should encourage her to go for her dreams.
    Second, money is controlling Ruth’s life too. She has just found out she is pregnant but instead of being happy, she’s worried about the money. Beneatha brings up the subject of another one to feed and provide for when she asks, “where is he going to live, on the roof?”(58). They need a larger and better house without rats or roaches. Now Mama gets put under the spotlight with the money because of what she’s going to do with it. She says she might buy a new, bigger house but it that really what she wants? Or is it just because they need it? I think she does want a nice house especially one with a garden but is afraid it will cause problems.
    Walter and Beneatha get into many fights because of the money. Walter is obsessed with money and wants to use it for an invest in a liquor store. On the other hand, Beneatha wants it all to be for what Mama wants. On page 36 when he accuses her of not helping out enough, it gets blown out of proportion.
    I think the fact that this is more money than any of them have seen before is making them scared. They don’t know what to do with it and don’t want to offend the rest of family with ideas. Tension is in the air until the check comes. However when it comes, Mama who was confident before is now scared to open it and believe it. I think this family is an example that money is all-powerful.
    -Kaitlyn

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  3. Out of all the characters in the play, Beneatha is the most aggravating. She has no respect for Walter (her older brother) and treats him like a child. Walter is being a man and providing a roof to live under, clothes to wear, and food to eat for his whole family, including Beneatha. i agree with Walter when he tells her to have some respect for him and thank him and his wife for all they've done for her.
    Beneatha wants to think of herself as independent, but she is really just spoiled and extremely fickle. Beneatha has dreams to become a doctor,but i believe that these aspirations of hers could vanish at any time. I believe Beneatha doesn't realize the time, work, AND money needed to put in to become a doctor. In the play, Beneatha thinks her mom will lend some of the life insurance money (pg 37)for her schooling, which Walter also wants to help accomplish his dreams as well. Plus, we don't even know if Beneatha has a job or not. She relies on Walter for food and clothes, and is relying on Mama to help her become a doctor.
    The most annoying personal traits of Beneatha are her disrespect and fickleness. On page 46, Beneatha clearly disobeys her mothers orders not to use the God's name in vain. She then goes as far as to say there is no God, which goes against all the principles Mama had raised her daughter with. Beneatha proves the fact that she changes her mind so easily when she is starting to take guitar lessons after quitting on play acting, horeseback riding, and photography. (48) This shows Beneatha is not reliable and should not be trusted to actually complete her "dream" of being a doctor. I am concerned that she will get the money to pay for her schooling, and become disinterested in medicine, which would put hundreds of dollars to waste. If this happened, the tension in the family would be very high, and Walter would be furious at his sister.

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  4. I disagree with Farooq that Beneatha is the most frustrating character in the novel. I think that title belongs to Walter. Sure, Beneatha changes what she really wants to do, but she's trying to find something that she'll do for the rest of her life. She may appear to not realize how much money her road to becoming a doctor will cost, but Walter takes money to the opposite extreme. ALL he cares about is making more and more money. It seems like almost all of his time at home he is either arguing with his wife, or asking Mama for money. I agree with Maddy when she says that Walter is power-hungry and money-hungry. Also, she said that W didn't want B to be a doctor because then she would be higher-class than him, and he didn't want a women, much less his sister, to be better than him at anything besides housework.
    Walter's dreams of owning that liquor store, in my opinion, is crazy. He only wants money for himself. He doesn't seem to care that his son is sleeping on a couch in a living room that also functions as a kitchen, or that his wife and his unborn child are living with rats and cockroaches with one bathroom shared with another family. I consider it extremely wrong that he was upset when Mama said she bought them a new house. He should be excited to turn the page from the ratty old apartment into a new chapter of life, living in their own house. I disagree with Farooq when he says that Beneatha has no respect for Walter and treats him like a child. Sure they argue, but siblings do that. I believe that he has no respect for her. He doesn’t seem to be proud of her for wanting to do something useful in life, that will help other people instead of getting them drunk. All he wants to know is how much its going to cost HIM.
    On page 74, Mama asks Walter why he talks about money so much. His outrageous response is “Because money is life!” Money should never be life. For Walter, his family should be his life. He should be proud of Beneatha for aspiring to be a doctor. He should be encouraging his mother to do whatever she thinks is right with the insurance money. He should be delighted that his wife is having another baby. He should be devastated that Ruth is considering abortion, and immediately try to stop her. Unfortunately for the family, he does none of these things.
    -Erin

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  5. I somewhat agree and disagree with Farooq about Beneatha. Farooq says that Beneatha wants to be independent but relies on her brother for everything and has no respect for him. I disagree with that because even though she may not have a job, she is trying to be something more than anyone else in the family has ever tried to be. She wants to be a doctor which is extremely hard especially considering that she is black and is a woman. That goal of hers requires lots of time and money so she may not be able to get a job as well as keep up with her schooling. Walter should be a supportive brother and encourage her to reach her dreams rather than yelling at her for wasting all their money on something that she may never accomplish or may change her mind about. She is more likely to change her mind if her family continues to harass her about her decisions rather than encourage her. Walter has no right to be scrutinizing Beneatha's job choice when he himself constantly complains about his own job. His job is not considered to be that great of a job and at least Beneatha will like her job in the future and make a good amount of money from it.
    Although I disagree with Farooq about Beneatha and the treatment of her to her brother and job choice, I agree with him about her treatment to her mother about God. Beneatha is extremely disrespectful to her mother when it comes to God. She has obviously been raised to respect God and believe in him based on her mother's behavior. She should keep her feelings to herself about such a controversial issue like God. It is not a question that can be proven and so Beneatha has no proven answer to wether or not he exists. Because of that her beliefs should be brought up by how she was raised. If they differ from how she ways raised, which they do, then she should not insult her mother in the disgracefully rude way that she did. Beneatha has both many good and bad qualities but then again most human beings do. She is not perfect nor completely imperfect. No one is, which is quite easily shown in this play.
    -Chandler

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  6. I must say that i disagree with Erin, and agree with Farooq. Beneatha is by far the most frustrating character. I think she is the most frustrating to me because it often find myself aggravated by her actions. She has aspirations to be a doctor. Little does she realize that this "future" of hers is extremely expensive and requires a lot of work, work that she seems to not to want to put in. i have yet to read of her doing anything school related, but i've seen her socializing with young men often enough. Also, it seems to me as though she has no respect for her own family. She constantly disrespects her mother and her brother. You see this when her mother asks her to stop using the lord's name in vain, not only does she not cease her actions, but she takes it one step farther and proclaims there is no god. She disrespect her brother often. And she has her obsession for her "African culture" that she regards as so important.
    Walter, in my opinion is less frustrating. im not saying that he isn't frustrating at all, but is less frustrating then Beneatha. At least he aspires to own his own business and make a profit. Unlike Beneatha, who lives of of her mom and doesn't appear to work at all. plus, though he wants to open a bar, he still wants to have a business that brings in money. While Beneatha wants to become a doctor, which requires much more money spent and much more time to attain. Plus, she might not even become a doctor one day. also, i think that taking the insurance money and investing it into a business is a reasonable alternative for purchasing a house. So i understand Walter's desire to start that business with the money.

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  7. Also, to add to my earlier post tonight, i still think that Walter is less frustrating than Beneatha. Thought he may not be happy about unborn son, i can see were his disdain comes from. It is very likely that Walter doesn't want another kid because he doesn't like the living conditions they are in and would rather make money to provide for a better childhood for his first child (Travis) rather than have a second kid that would use up more money. Also, unlike Erin, I see his business to be a reasonable idea. He isn't trying to make people drunk. i mean obviously someone will get drunk, because of the liquor he sells, but it wasn't Walter's choice. Also, a liquor store might be a reasonable business because many people like to have a drink after work so having a place which sells liquor could be a store that turns a good profit. So, all in all, I think that Walter's idea to use the money for his business was a reasonable idea.

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  8. I'm going to kind of go off Kaitlyn's comment and say that people trying to follow their dreams is a central idea, but that money is either rejecting or accepting their dream. Everyone in the Younger family has dreams that they feel can bring happiness and success to the entire family. The only problem is that they all need money to help initiate their work towards that dream when they may fail after taking a huge risk. Beneatha, for example, wants to be a doctor, which is very rare at the time for a colored female woman to be a doctor. However, she needs money to help get her into medical school when she's not sure she can even make it through to be a doctor. Walter wants to open up a liquor store, but he needs money to build the store and start the business. Mama even has a dream that the whole family has a house that they can all live in together, her problem is that she can't afford a house like that.
    That's where the life insurance check comes in. With the ten thousand dollars from that check, Mama will be able to use that money to help someone work towards their dream and hopefully in return, bring back more money for the family to have. This also starts a lot of conflict though because this means that a couple other members of the family will have everything they need to follow their dream, but will be denied the opportunity to actually do it. Walter is having such a bad temper recently because he knows he can start his liquor store, but Mama doesn't like the idea of someone in the family owning a liquor store so his option is probably out. He even proves this on (85) where he says "ain't you bitter, man? Ain't you just about had it? Don't you see no stars gleaming that you can't reach out and grab?" He means that he is so angry because he sees his dreams right in front him and he can't even reach out and grab them. Walter and Beneatha clash because Walter thinks Beneatha shouldn't be a doctor (38) but that she should either be a nurse or just get married and be quiet like most women. Even Mama and her two kids argue because they are trying to convince her that they should have the money for themselves, and Mama says she wouldn't have any use for the money if it wasn't for the family.
    Mama sort of solves the problem by using the money to buy a house for the whole family, so everyone can benefit from the money. The problem with that now is Walter is still bitter because he won't be able to open his liquor store he thinks so highly of. Beneatha still needs money to go to medical school. Also, the house Mama bought happens to be in a completely white community, which the family expects will bring trouble. But with Mama buying the house, Walter feels his dreams have been crushed as he said on (95) "You butchered up a dream of mine-you-who always talking 'bout your children's dreams." So while Walter should be happy he has a house, he is still complaining about how his dreams are gone.

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  9. I have to say I completely disagree with Farooq, and agree with Erin. Beneatha maybe a little wishy-washy, but aspiring to be a doctor is not a thing to laugh about. Also, the book states that she had made up her mind and that everyday when Walter asks her she says the same thing; “I want to be a doctor” . There is no doubt in my mind that Beneatha is a character with a strong personality; she is a courageous person who wants the best for herself in life. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I agree with Erin about the fact that Walter is the most aggravating character in the play. I disliked him from the very beginning, and immediately pitied Ruth for being married to this sort of man. Beneatha is going through school and trying to decide what she wants to do with her life like most college students. It's not fickle at all to be exploring your options. In fact if anyone is ‘fickle’ in the money department it's Walter. The book implies that several times he's tried to work out other financial deals that never ended well. On page 38 Walter claims that Beneatha is crazy to be a doctor, and that the money should be partially his because Mr. Younger was his father. He doesn’t even think that Mama should have it, or that any of the other relatives should have a piece of it either. Beneatha says, “That money belongs to Mama, Walter, and it’s for her to decide how she wants to use it. I don’t care if she wants to buy a house or a rocket ship or just nail it up somewhere and look at it. It’s hers. Not ours,-hers.” It appears to me that Beneatha cares more for her family’s wishes, than Walter.

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  10. To jump into the conflicting views above, I must completely agree with Erin during this post. When reading this play, Walter appeared to me as an ego-centric person who has no respect for his superiors. This can be quite easily seen on page 36 when Beneatha tells her brother, "That money belongs to Mama, Walter, and it's for her to decide how she wants to use it....It's not ours-HERS." I think that the fact that Beneatha and Walter are siblings and Beneatha knows that Walter would take the money from his mom just goes to show how selfish he is. Also, whenever the topic of money arises, Walter's there whining "liquor store, liquor store, liquor store.." He has a wife, a boy, and another child on the way, but he never once mentions using the money for their well-being. At least Beneatha wants to become educated so he can help society. All Walter is concerned with is starting a business and trying to "change my life" (33). (Note how Walter said HIS life when talking to his wife and not OUR lives.) This brings up another interesting issue, which is the atrocious way he treats his wife. His wife works, is tired, pregnant, tries to take care of him, but all he does is curse and disrespect her. On page 34, Ruth is trying to get her husband to eat for his welfare, and all he does is scream out, "DAMN MY EGGS." If I was Ruth, I would have left him before he could blink. I don't care if you are in a mid-life crisis, if you are ill, if work is tough, if your angry, etc, that is NO way to treat your wife. And granted if he did it one time, it could be overlooked, but he acts that way ALL the time. He's never happy or appreciative or supportive towards Ruth or anyone else. Walter is an ego-centric and rude husband. He has won the honor of having the most disgruntling character role I have EVER analyzed.
    On a more positive end of the spectrum, I really enjoy Beneatha's role! She is so spirited and lively. I love the fact that she has so much ambition, but also keeps her family's best interests at heart. This can be seen on page 36, where she tells Walter to stay away from Mama's money. She knows how irresponsible and selfish her brother is, and tries to remind him that it is not his money. Beneatha is very into trying to "express" (48) herself and identifying her culture. I am very appreciative of her role and how she shows wisdom way beyond her years. Beneatha is living in a time where being black is a disadvantage, but she is looking back into her heritage and sees something of which to be proud. What a great outlook during such a dim time period! She also isn't giving into the pressure of having to marry. She isn't worried about being a wife, but is more focused on getting an education and finding herself first. Beneatha is presented as having two male prospects: George, the rich man, and Asagai, the intellectual. She quite distinctly shows favoritism towards Asagai. I assume that this is because he treats her respectfully, is kind to her, and shares her cultural views. George, on the other hand, only has a physical relationship in mind, and I think Beneatha respects herself too much to be serious with him. In conclusion, I think Beneatha is a spirited young woman. The way she carries herself and her morality is a great aspect to her character. Her community should look to her as an example of how to take pride in themselves and their culture in a time where they were frowned upon. Thank you,
    -Brittney

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  11. I agree with Farooq on the opinion that Beneatha is currently the most aggravating character in the story. She grew up in a very poor family, but still got into college, which is amazing for the time period in which they lived. Her actions, however, have costed this family a great deal of money. She has spent her mother's money, not only on college tuition, but also on many different hobbies. Throughout her life, she experimented with many different hobbies, quitting each of them soon after she started. All of this costs money. I also don't believe that she cares for the welfare of her family at all, just her own success in life and how much money she has in the future. She is only using her mother and the rest of her family to achieve what she wants and when she gets it, she will leave them.
    I must disagree with Mady about whether Walter is a power hungry money hungry man. Walter is definitely very worried about money, but he really just cares about his family and he wants to ensure that his family will always have enough money to get by. His reaction when he found out about the new baby and when he realized his mother wasn't giving him the money for the liquor store was wrong, but this is only because he is worried that his family, the family that he is supposed to be supporting because he feels that is is his role as the male, will not be able to get by. I also agree with Chad that a business is a business. Walter is no longer interested in the morality of his job. He is now focused on providing for his family, especially with the new baby coming. Walter should, however, be more pleased with the way his mother spent the money. She bought a house so that they would finally be able to live in a place they they could call their own. Also the house will be large enough for the family, including the expected baby. Walter should also treat Ruth better. She has stuck with him through a lot, and with the way he treats her she could have left him. He is getting better in this though. He finally recognized that the way he was treating her is wrong so I believe that he will get better in this area.
    I think another reason that the family has such a hard time getting along is that they all have different dreams, each getting in the way of the other's. As long as Beneatha is achieving her dream of becoming a doctor, Walter is not able to reach his dream of having a respectable job and being able to support the family because Beneatha takes all of the money for her education. I think that if Beneatha returns to the family after becoming a doctor to give some support to the family in return for all of the support the family gave to her, then Walter will be able to move on and the family will prosper.

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  13. I somewhat agree and disagree with Farooq's comment about Beneatha. I do think that she could show a little more respect and understanding to Walter because he is her older brother, but she does have the right to go to medical school. She is trying to make something of herself so that if she does become a doctor she can help support her family. Yet, Walter doesn't support her dream and tells her to be quiet and get married or be a nurse. (38) I think he goes to the extreme by being so unsupportive. Looking from his point of view I can understand that he is very frustrated and feels useless when it comes to the family's happiness and financial situation. Still looking from Walter's view-he wakes up in the morning and sees his wife who is very tired. But she is not tired because she was restless or anything, it is because she is tired of ironing, cooking, watching her son sleep on a couch, and evacuating cockroaches from their home. Walter realizes that he hasn't given enough to the family and wants to jump at the first chance of money he can find. Sid Lee wrote, "Rich or poor, it's good to have money." Walter really believes that a liquor store will be the Younger family's savior. Nonetheless, Walter has to be more supportive and I feel that Beneatha was right when she said that Walter must stay away from Mama's money. (36)

    Secondly, Beneatha is just being a young woman and wants to assert her independence. She has a right to go see what the world has to give and what she can bring to the world. She is symbolic for independent woman who embrace their talents and lineage. Beneatha can be a little too assertive at times. Especially when she doubted God's existence and power. That was insolent and rude especially since her mother was in her presence. The hard times and financial eagerness has made the formerly content Younger family waver.
    -Nicole

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  14. I agree with both Katilyn and Zack with the idea of money being the central theme so far of the story. If we examine the main conflicts in the story so far, which have been Walter vs. Beneatha vs. Mama and the Younger Family in general vs. society, it is easy to see that money causes both problems. First of all, the conflict of Walter vs. Beneatha vs. Ruth is solely caused by the check of $10,000 coming for the death of Mama's husband Mr. Younger, and what to do with all that money. While this may not seem like enough to change a family in such a drastic way, in the 1930s that was equivalent from anywhere between $90,000 to $400,000. This is why everyone has such different ideas of how to spend the money. Beneatha believes that the money should be used to help her through medical school. Walter wants the money so he can open a liquor store with a business partner. Ruth just wants to do whatever Mama wants to do, as Mama is the one who will receive the check. And poor Mama is stuck with trying to make a decision on what she will do with the money. This basically begins to bring the worst out in everyone and creates lots of tension within the home.
    The second conflict so far has been the Youngers vs. society. The Youngers currently live in the Southside of Chicago, which is known as a bad part of the town and a colored part in those times. However, the Youngers have many aspirations that they are trying to persue to get out of their squalid condition of living so that future generations will be able to have a better life. There are many factors of society getting in their way, but they all seem to relate to money. These include Walter's job pay, Beneatha's color and gender which prevent her from getting a good job, the tough living in a very poor section of the city, and the difficulty for Mama in finding an affordable house to live in. In conclusion, money can severly impact people's lives and can change their attitudes towards one another, as it has done in this book so far.

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  15. On this argument of who deserves the title of being the most aggravating character, I believe it belongs to both Beneatha and Walter. First, I'm afraid I have to agree with Farooq on the fact that I do not believe that she is truly passionate about being a doctor. She says that she is trying to find her "identity" many times in this play and I believe her. I think she wants to find something that she loves to do so she can try to succeed in it, but she has not found it yet. On pages 47 and 48 Mama and Beneatha discuss why she has to "flit so from one thing to another all the time" as Mama put it. I believe the idea of being a doctor for Beneatha is just another thing to test out to see if she likes, but whenever she talks about it she almost seems distracted and not motivated bringing the idea that she does not truly love it. And so if this is true it would be a great waste of money to put her through school, which I do not think Beneatha has realized. She also says that she does not think God is real and she uses his name in sin even after her mother tells her not to. This was very disrespectful, especially since it is her mother’s house she is living in and taking the food from. This whole scenario is irritating and childish.
    On the other hand, Walter is just as aggravating. He says that he needs the liquor store because he wants to change and take hold of his life on page 32; however, I think this is just a way for him to show that he's the "man" of the house, which he is not. His temper and selfishness lead him to be almost as childish as Travis (and he was chasing rats for goodness sakes). I think since he is the eldest male of the house he thinks he should have a more prominent role in the money take-in. He wants to do something, be something, but by doing this he is just hurting the family.
    I believe in both cases, they just want to be able to say that they have accomplished something. However, they are just being selfish and forgetting about the well being of the whole family instead of just themselves. On pages 78 and 79 when Beneatha is dancing and Walter is pretending to be the head warrior of a tribe it is presented as if they are just being funny, but in the inside I think they wanted to be those characters. I think this is a struggle for many African American men and women at the time. Many had dreams and wanted to give their family a wonderful life, but in most cases, like Beneatha and Walter, they are blinded by these dreams.

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  16. On this blog war here, I side with Taylor. I think that Walter and Beneatha can both be very annoying at times. I agree with Erin and Brittney on their analysis of Walter. He is very immature and doesn’t think about his family. Walter is also very disrespectful to Mama. He isn’t happy at all that she bought a house and tells her that too (93). It isn’t his job to tell her that especially because she was trying to help the family. All he cares about is himself and his liquor store. However the liquor store would be his way to get out of his other job. On page 103, Mama comments that Walter wasn’t meant to wait on anybody. Walter feels like he is committed to being a servant the rest of his life and that’s no job (73). Investing in something would make him higher up in his eyes at least. I think Walter is just dissatisfied with his life and is trying to change it. On page 74, when he says money is life, I think he really believes that. That is one of his flaws and what makes him so aggravating. Walter can’t think about anything else but money and now we now why. So I agree with Maddy when she said he is money hungry. Also I don’t think Walter needs to treat Ruth how he does. She doesn’t deserve any of that and is trying to help. I think when he hears that Ruth is planning to get rid of the baby, he changes a little. He doesn’t want that and thinks of the family but doesn’t do anything yet.
    Now onto Beneatha. She has courage as I have already said to be a doctor. But Farooq, Zach, and Taylor have a point that she can’t commit. Beneatha has tried many things for example now guitar (47), but none have worked out. How do we know being a doctor isn’t one of those trials? Also, Beneatha doesn’t think before she gives her opinion. When Ruth is telling about the baby, she blurts out her thoughts. Then when talking to Asagai (63) she tells him she can’t just be serious with him yet. However I think in that case as well as others, it was right of her to say her point. Just as Walter is disrespectful to Ruth, Beneatha is disrespectful to Mama. On the subject of God (51) Beneatha says way too much. Not only is she disrespectful to Mama but also to Walter but that’s no surprise. On the other hand, Beneatha is caring of the family and determined to let Mama get the money (37). She thinks of others before herself most of the time.
    -Kaitlyn

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  17. Maybe I can find an agreement in this most aggrivating character. In my opinion Walter is money hungry and power hungry as Maddy has said. When Walter is talking to Beneatha, he asks about how much college is going to be worth. After that he is worried about where is the money is going. And when Ruth says that Mama deserves the money, he goes off on a rampage on how he makes sacrifices for the family and puts the clothes on Travis's back. Which after he doessn't get the money, he doesn't go to work for three days because he is mad he didnt get the money. It wasn't his money in the first place. Which should show him if he wants that money then he should go out and work for it. I believe he is pertrayed to also be laxy. In alll honesty Walter doesn't try and believes things just come to people. But in all actuallity you have to work for most stuff in life. What also bothers me is that Walter gives money to Beneatha, and then relizes he doesn't have any more. Well he goes to Ruth after he complains about he is told to eat his eggs and get out. All he does is care about himself and he basically says it on page 34, "See-- I'm trying to talk to you 'bout myself--and all you can say is eat them eggs and go to work." Which when I interpret that line, it says: I am trying to talk to you about me and only me, so please let me continue on about myself.
    On the other hand though, I have to agree with Farooq. Beneatha has been acting more along the lines of a spoiled brat. Her disrespect and lack of work ethic can get annoying. As Farooq mentioned: she just believes that Mama is going to give her the money. Which is pretty selfish, just thinking she is going to get the money and that she deserves it, which is something that shouldn't happen. Disrespect came into the picture when Beneatha used God's name in vain. Also when she was asking about Ruth's pregnancy. I think that Ruth needs to follow house rules and also not get into other peoples buisness. In conclusion, I believe that Walter is just like Beneatha. They both don't understand the value of family and money.
    -Ashley

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  18. On the topic of the most annoying character, I agree with Farooq and disagree with all those who said Walter. The common idea is that in bad relationships it is always the man's fault, but we always seem to forget the small faction who are put down by both society and their family. I once knew a guy who was terrified of my 8 lb terrier. Do any of you understand the point? I'm trying to say that just because one person may seem bigger and stronger doesn't necessarily mean that they have the ability to hurt the smaller person more than they can hurt them. One example is that on pg 34, Walter begins to open up to his wife and tell her how he truly feels but one time after the other he is shut down by his wife untill he snaps and then everyone in the room is thinking, "OMG! hell yelled what a terrible husband he is!" but I say he's just a man pushed to the edge. Like a dog kicked around too many times it will eventually begin to bite back. Walter is a man with dreams, dreams that he feels are in reach but no one is trying to help him reach. For example, In an attempt to pull his family from the dregs of society he asks his mother for some help in investing in a liquor store. Now, it may seem risky but no one ever got anywhere without taking some chances. Unfortunatly, his mother held out the money she recieved all in good intent for the family, but in doing this, she assumed the position of family leader pushing Walter down to a level of obscurity. In a drunken fit on pg 78, Walter expresses how he wishes to be a leader in his house by refering to himself as "Flaming Spear" an African warrior and then giving a speech to his "people". No one every really gave him the chance to be the man he could really be. I mean think about it, a man driving other important men around seeing how important their lives were, it must have mad Walter's life seem miniscule in comparison. Don't get me wrong Walter is no saint but no body ever is. Walter is just a man who has dreams of being on top, but withought the support of his family he is pushed into a life of bitterness.
    Then their is Beneatha. Beneatha is girl who has good intent and is still trying to find herself. She claims that she is independant but in truth she is still too young. She openley disrespects her brother who works a tired life just to keep her and the rest of her family alive. She also disrespected her own mother by saying that there was no god. Beneatha has dreams of becoming a doctor but I am doubtful of how long she can hold on to them untill the next interesting thing comes along. One example is that once, she decided that she would be a horseback rider and then bought a $500 sadle. Sadly, after a week, her passion ended and the sadle ended up gathering dust in the family closet. Both Beneatha and Walter have done wrong things but I feel that Walter has more of an excuse.

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  19. Personally, i have to agree with the ladies(and zack) on this based on the reasons stated before, but also what we read in class today. We discovered that instead of putting some of the sixty-five hundred dollars that Walter had recieved from Mama in the bank to later go to Beneatha's Medical school money, he decided to invest all of his money in the liquor store. We then discovered from one of Walter's friends, Bobo, that their business associate Willy had taken the money and ran.
    This shows that Waler doesn't think and that he is a spontaneous person and a selfish person because he not only spent all of his family's money on this business scam, he also possibly wasted his sister's money who actually wanted to make an honest living instead of making huge business risks like Walter.This is frustrating for the whole family to a degree that he could've ruined their lives. The only way they are going to get money like that quickly is by selling the house they bought in Clybourne Park, but i think that Mama will refuse to do so to prove a point to the "welcoming" comittee.
    Beneatha, to me, symbolizes a more modern type of african american for that time period that would be the type of youth that walks with Martin Luther King Jr. later in her life because she has real plans for herself and wants to succeed, but also wants to know about her heritage. This could be frustrating because she becomes arrogant at points and very fickle as faroog said but i wouldn't say she is spoiled because who is there to spoil her. It will be interesting to see how the family's aggravation with Walter plays out in the story later on.

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  20. I agree with Farooq that Benetha is the most annoying character. Walter seems like the man who would be the man to pay back Benetha. Walter is trying to become successful and has reachable goals that can bring prosperity to the family. Benetha wants to become a doctor. Back in that time period women were starting to become more involed in the work froce but they were still thought of as the people who care for the children. Also there was major segeragation agianst black people so the chance of Benetha getting a job even as a nurse is very slim.
    Walter tried his every hardest to get his family more money, which seems to be the central theme in the story. He fails at doing so, and he used his sisters money. Yes that is a set back and that is aggravating but I think Walter is the only one to face up to his actions and set things right.
    Benetha dates mulptiple men at once. She is dating a man that really loves her and a man that is rich. You can tell she doesn't like the rich guy yet she doesn't break up with him. Which leads me to believe that she really wants to be rich and have money. A doctor makes alot of mioney and doctors have been for centruies. So her wanting to be a doctor is her saying "my family is broke get me out of here." The man who truely loves her Asagai is almost forgotten after he leaves. Benetha to the family is the most irratating overall. Walter may do bad things but he has the abilty to fix them.

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  21. I had earlier posted that I thought that Beneatha was the most aggravating character. As we continued to read the story, however, I realized that Walter is most definitely worse than she is. The event that changed my mind is of course when his friend Bobo came over to their house and told him how they had been cheated out of their investment money by their other business partner Willy. After learning of this, Walter comes out and admits that he used all of the money given to him, even the money that he was supposed to put towards Beneatha's education, for the liquor store. He lost not only his money, but also his sisters. This action goes against the will of his mother, who kindly gave him the money, even though she didn't want to, because she saw how important it was to him. Walter should have been sure of this investment and instead he just gave the money to a "friend" and laid it all on the line, hoping that something good would come out of it and he could be considered the head of the family. When Mama hears this she finally has had enough with Walter so she snaps and starts to yell at him and hit him. She tells him that he wasted in a day what his father, her husband, earned through hard work in a lifetime.
    Moving on to something a little less talked about. In the most recent chapter read in class, the so called "welcoming committee of Clyborne Park" came to visit the family. The man basically told them that it was not a wise idea to move into that neighborhood because it is all white and he is afraid that some of the residents would be upset. His reason for this is that the people living their have a desire to share the same background and history as the rest of their neighbors. This could be true, but I personally do not think that is sounds like something that would be true in the time in which the book is set. Do the residents really want to share the same history, or are they just racist? I don't believe that the man came to their house to protect them, but to protect the peace and sanctity of his neighborhood. Would a family of negroes disturb this peace? The man that came to their house tried to talk them into not moving into the house that they had purchased and even offered to give them more than what they had paid for it. Mama becomes very worried when she hears this because she is worried about the safety of her family and because it really just crushes all of the dreams she has had lately. The dreams of living in a nice, peaceful house that they could call their own and not worry about anybody taking it away from them. With this news, she realizes that they are going to face problems in this new neighborhood and that her family is not as safe as she thought, especially now that they lost the money that she had entrusted with Walter.
    They do not seem to currently be in a very pleasant situation. Lets see how they get out of this one, because that is what protagonists do, right?
    ~Zach

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  22. I completely agree with Javi's statement. Walter had to trust Willy Harris with every bit of his family’s money without even thinking of the consequences. He didn't even put any bit of it away in the bank for Beneatha's college funds. Only an insincere jerk could do something like that to his own mother and family. All he could see was the chance for him and only him to get rich through a liquor store. Even if it had worked out he still had the chance of losing every bit of his money to business transactions. I personally just don't understand what was going through his mind as he did this. His mother had even said, "Monday morning I want you to take this money and take three thousand dollars and put it in a savings account for Beneatha's medical schooling." It doesn't get any plainer then that. It's such a shame that he had to ruin her dreams like that because all she wanted to do was to help to cure people and after Walter loses the money she gets depressed and doesn't even want to chase the dream that she has.
    On the other side of things Beneatha does have some moments when she does not think about her family before herself. This however is how almost all people are because it is hard to put other people first all of the time. This just goes to show that she is just a normal person who wants to succeed in life and to help others succeed too. Also she wants people to know about their heritage and where they started out. Overall I think that Beneatha is a better person but hopefully Walter will grow into a better man later in the book.

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  23. okay, im sorry karl, I don’t mean to offend you or anything, but i have to re-argue my point. the example he took from page 34, with Walter "beginning to open up to his wife and tell her how he truly feels but one time after the other he is shut down by his wife until he snaps," that is not what i see at all. I see Walter talking about himself AGAIN. Ruth even says it "Honey, you never say nothing new. I listen to you every day, every night, and every morning, but you never say nothing new." She'd gotten tired of listening to him talk about how awful his life is and how much he wants to change it. Walters statement that "we one group of men tied to a race of women with small minds" still enrages me. No one should ever be able to get away with saying as sexist of a comment as that, much less to their own wife. Also, like Brittney said, Walter acts like he needs Ruth to build him up. "make [him] feel like [he] can do something." You shouldn't need other people to say you can achieve something, just yourself.
    I strongly agree with both Javi and Zach in that because of what we read today, Walter seems like a much worse person than we thought before. To put all of his AND BENEATHA’S money into the hands of someone he obviously didn’t know very well was a very risky move—and it did not go his way. Now Beneatha has no money for medical school, and the family has no business to make more money to pay for the house that the neighborhood doesn’t even want to give them.
    Okay, im pretty sure estar is Ernie, because I looked back on the ASP blog to make sure. Ernie’s statement, which he blogged AFTER we read about Walter’s loss of ALL of the money, basically states that because of the sexism and racism of the time, there is almost no way that Beneatha could be a nurse, much less a doctor. He says that walter is going to somehow set things right with Willy and get all of the money back. Lastly, he said that Beneatha was dating two guys at once. About the last point, I don’t think Mama would LET bennie date two guys. She is only dating George, and Asagai is just her borderline “friend.” I know im going out of order here, but how on earth is Walter going to find Willy, much less get the money back?!? That would be extremely difficult.
    Transitioning to the second half of Zach’s comment about the whole Clybourne Park affair, I agree that it wasn’t that they were trying to preserve their community’s common background. Honestly, they didn’t want colored people invading their white neighborhood. The man just wanted it to seem as nice as possible, but still getting the point across that they were not wanted there. This is very wrong, and I was glad that the family did not stand for it.
    ~Erin

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  24. I do not even know where to start on how aggravated and frustrated I am with Walter. Due to his bad attitude and his complaining throughout the beginning of the book mama decides there needs to be a change. When she buys the house Walter is, once again, not satisfied but proceeds to complain and be depressed. But Mama, being the compassionate, loving mother that she is, agrees to give the rest of the money to Walter so long as he will put $3000 aside for Beneatha's schooling. She TRUSTED him. On page 107 she shows this trust when she explains to him after giving him the left over money "I ain't never stop trusting you" By giving him that money and the freedoms which come along with it she basically put him in power. I mean she even said it herself she gave him everything she has (pg107)"It ain't much but its all i got in the world and I'm putting it in your hands" She made him (pg107) "the head of the family." She only wanted him to do ONE thing, one lousy thing. He had all the freedoms in the world just so long as he put that $3000 away for Beneatha and couldn't even do that much for her. Personally I'm disappointed in Walter.
    I completely agree with Javi's statement that Walter just doesn't think through his actions. Okay, so yes, I also get what Karl is saying about him being a man with dreams and all but does that mean he should be allowed to risk the success of others when he has no right doing so by using the money which was rightfully given to them. I think Walter is one of those types of people who puts all of his eggs in one basket, and in my opinion I saw this coming. I knew at some point someone was going to come by and knock those eggs out. So then whats he got? Thats right, nothing...
    I just think it is a shame because Ruth saw this coming as well, she did not like when walter went out and talked with those men and with WIlly Harris. She even says on page 87 about how if he went talking with those people it was not going to be good. I think the situation with the now stolen or lost money however you want to put it is really going to bring a new light into the story. I mean how is anyone in the family going to be able to trust one another again. In my opinion, Walter blew it for everyone.

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  25. I agree that Walter is the worst character in the book, because he is a hypocrite. He talks about how he works so hard and acts all high and mighty about how well he can handle money. All you can say about Walter is that he works. The largest pension he ever recieved wasn't even from his work, but from his father's death given to him by his Mama. He tries to work hard, but in the middle of the book he refused to go to work, because he was "sick" which proves the point that he doesn't work hard. Also he is a hypocrite when he talks about his "uncanny ability" to handle money like on page 33 when he wanted to buy the liquor store. He also demonstrates his abilty to handle money when he gives all of the money they own to Willy Harris who runs off with it. Any good, well-educated business man would know not to put all your money into one investment, or flighty Willy Harris who desperatly needs the money. Walter proves he is the worst character through his hypocrisy and stupidity.
    On the other hand, Beneatha is just as bad, becuase throughout the book she demonstrates that she is uncertain and flighty. In the book, her family memebers describe that she picks a different hobby every year at the expense of her family's money. Her hobbies present a financial obstacle that the family must overcome. She wants to be a doctor and it costs a lot to go to medical school. So if she decides to drop out like everything else due to her flightiness the family could lose a lot of potential money they could have kept. Then I agree with Cody that she is selfish and puts herself before others. Most people do that, but her selfishness is more profound. This is demonstrated when Asagai calls her "One for whom bread is not enough." Beneatha is just as selfish and uncertain as Walter is a hypocrite and stupid.
    Both characters have their faults, but each character has an important quality that makes them who they are. They both are proud of who they are and what they believe in. Walter has manly pride that is shown when he talks about working hard. A man's work defines him, and Walter demonstrates this concept very well. He is proud of what he does even though it might be an idiotic decision. Then Beneatha has womanly pride. Beneath shows that she is proud of being a woman by working to reach her goal to be a doctor when everyone says that it is man's work. She believes that all women are just as good ,maybe even better, than men at certain trades. Finally they both have cultural pride. They show this when they are so eager to learn about Africa and where they come from. Beneatha radiates with cultural pride when she wears the dress Asagai gives her, and when she describes how she wants everyone to know of her heritage.
    Walter and Beneatha are equal when it comes to their faults and perfections. In the end though each character is human and like everyone else each character has a long lesson to learn that will change their flaws to perfections.

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  26. I completely and totally agree with Amy, Maddy, and and Erin. Walter is a hyportical man who thinks to highly of himself and does not consider the rest of his family's feelings. He not only makes many stupid mistakes but he doesn't think before he acts. For instance, near the end of the book, Walter was supposed to set money aside for Beneatha going to college, but he didn't. He just completely ignored the fact that Beneatha's future also rested upon this small fortune. He did not even stop to think about the effects that this loss in money would have to both Beneatha and the rest of the family's futures. Now, since Walter was selfish and only cared about his own dreams, he lost all the money in a fraud investment. His friend ran off with the money and now because of his foolhardy decisions, no one can profit from the leftover money. Beneatha has absolutely no way to pay for medical school now and may have to forfeit her dream of being a doctor because her family can't afford it anymore.
    As a whole, each character has their flaws, but Walter's are much greater than anyone elses. Beneatha has her flaw of thinking she is better than everyone because she is actually going to make something really good out of her life, and she has a tendency to flit from one hobby to the next. Mama may have to high expectations for her children in some ways and should stop blaming them for things. Ruth should try to listen to Walter's feelings more without interrupting him all the time and telling him that he is always wrong. Walter has the most flaws though of all the characters. He is both selfish and hypocritical, rude and egotistical, and money obsessed. He makes a comment on one page in the book about how money is life, and if you don't have money then you are nothing. He thinks that money means everything, even more than love and family. Those ideas that come from him are very disappointing for the rest of the family to hear because it sounds like he cares more about money than his own wife, son, sister, or mother. All in all, Every character is flawed because thats what makes them human, but Walter has more imperfections than a majority of the people.
    -Chandler

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  27. I find it interesting first of all the massive controversy between which is better, Walter or Beneatha. I also noted that there has been attempts at a compromise, by stating that Beneatha and Walter are quite alike. I have to disagree with this. Walter and Beneatha are not necessarily more annoying than the other. What simply occurs quite a bit during the play is that each of these characters finds ways to, if you will, "augment the annoying characteristic of the other" through the arguments that occur throughout, which bring out the bad sides to each of the characters. The two compliment each other, or rather, "diss" each other, but they are not alike. Rather, they are opposites, but neither is above or below the other. Walter is a man who does not think of the consequences of what he does. For example, when he gives away the money to Willy Harris. However, that doesn't necessarily make him a bad person. He just made an -extremely- stupid mistake. Beneatha has her problems to. She isn't as supportive of a family member as many would like her to be. But, it doesn't mean either is a bad person. Walter is a very kind man when he takes Ruth out to the movies, for example. And Beneatha is a good person around Asagai at the beginning of Act 3, for example. But that's just my opinion.
    -Mark

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  28. I had first posted for Walter, and then against him. In this last scene of the book, however, Walter changes again. In the beginning he is saying that he has called the man is going to try to make the man from the "welcoming committee" feel bad for him and the family. At this point, Beneaatha calls him a toothless rat and even says that he is no brother of hers. He then breaks down and runs into his room. Lindner comes to the house and out of nowhere Walter comes back in and totally redeems himself. He shows that they are a proud family and that they would not let a person like him destroy their dreams for the sake of the white people in his neighborhood. He starts off trying to make the man feel bad for them and then he suddenly says that they will be moving into the house because his father earned the house for them brick by brick. Mama is now very proud of her son and is exited to see that her family has finally come together as one. She is so proud of her son she says that he has finally come into manhood.
    Other than the change in Walter this chapter, there isn't really a character that bothers me. Some may be annoyed with Beneatha and how quickly she gave up with the lack of money, but I think that that would be perfectly normal at a time like that. By the end, she realizes that she can get around this and, like the rest of the family, she is extremely happy to be moving. I believe that part of her happiness comes from Asagai's marriage proposal, even though Mama tells her that she is too young to marry. In conclusion, the family truly connected, came together, and finally became happy with their lives.
    ~Zach

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  29. I am split in this discussion of most annoying character. I don't really see a certain character that stands out as the most frustrating. However I must say that I am leaning more on walter's side. Walter may seem grumpy and irritated, but really he feels like his family fights his every decision. He needs to know that his family trusts what he intends to do. When Mama gives him money to invest in a liquor store, he is relieved to know that someone can express faith for him. Yes, the money was swindled out of his possesion, and he never saw it again. That was not Walter's fault. Again, on the other hand, he put Benetha's tuition money at stake and it was stolen. This was irrisponsible of him and I disagree with this action. However, as we learn later in the story, Benetha was not interested in medical school. What disturbs me about Benetha are her fickle and pestimistic qualities. She seems to often change her mind about things. Suppose Walter had invested the money in her medical schooling. After the money would have been spent, she would say, "I don't really want to be a doctor." Also, Benetha aims well, but she has this idea stuck in her head of "realism". She basically thinks that everyone and thing is ordinary and that life is just a boring cycle. She thinks that no matter how hard she tries, she can't be high above the average; yet only because she sees the world as a "real" place. To me, that is a depressing thought. To think that in the real world, only a select few people get to be extraordinary, and that the rest of the people are just fill-ins for daily lives. In conclusion, I think that Walter has to carry a heavy burden of his dreams that drag him down, and every time he expects them to come into action, he is dissapointed. However, I pity Benetha because she refuses to dream and see possibilities of a better life, only because she is afraid of realizing there may not be one.

    -Matt A

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  30. I admit, Walter made some stupid mistakes but I believe he is without a doubt the most admirable character in the play. After Walter had lost the money that was given to him by his own mother, i was certain the family would split up and go their separate ways. Walter was no longer a man because he had lost the money given to him by his mother, trust from his family, and his pride. His wife was ecstatic at the thought of moving into the new house, but he crushed her hopes. Benatha's money for medical school is gone, meaning she will probably not want to be a doctor, and finally mama is the most furious with Walter because it was her husband's life that gave them the money. All of this tension and hatred was due to Walter, but one crucial scene in the novel proves my thesis for Walter being the most admirable.
    The scene where Walter calls Mr Lindner to take his offer, but then declines it proves Walter is a true man. Walter did have an obsession with money and it blinded him from his family. However, when Mr. Lindner arrived at the Younger's home, and Mama told Travis to stay in the room (pg 147, and good call on Mama's part) and also told Walter to explain to Travis what he was doing, helped Walter realize that family is most important. When Walter put his family before money (which is what he should have done in the first place) great things came out of it. Mama's act of keeping Travis in the room made Walter realize that he was working for his son and family. Walter gained confidence while talking to Mr. Lindner and he proved that the Younger's are a proud, hard-working family and will never let money get in the way of them. Walter regained his position as man of the house along with regaining his family's pride and trust. Mama states on page 148, " I believe you don't understand, my son said that we was going to move and there aint nothing left for me to say." This quote shows that Mama has full approval of what her son had just did. I admire and respect Walter for his resilience and ability to recover from terrible mistakes. He saved his family because he knew his family was more important than anything else.

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  31. I earlier argued on behalf of Walter because I thought he was a man who wanted to save his family but then I realized he wanted to save himself. It was really greed and desire that was driving him forward not his family. He simply was trying to pull himself out of the dirt and didn't really have the best intrest of his faimly at heart. When he gave away all the money he was given, even the money for Beneatha's education I was simply appalled. I truly felt that when he talked about how no one supported his dreams I felt sorry for him and decided to argue in his defence as a broken man but I had no idea that having his dream would cost someone else's dream. When I read his lines on pg 129 I felt almost a little angry and sad reading the lines of a man who had just lost everything not only for himself, but his family as well. I felt that he had gambled with his families life and he lost. I put myself in his situation and felt no sympathy for him or myself. Mabey, when he stood on the table and called himself flaming spear he was doing it out of longing selfish pride. Mabey he truly trusted his friend Willy, and had no idea such a close friend would betray him like that. I just still can't forgive him for being so reckless, all out of the desire to reach the top of the ladder. Mabey even when he told Travis that he could go to any college he wanted he just had the intrest of making his legacy last through his children. Walter giving away was the gambit of a desperate man and I don't think anyone could forgive a man for taking such a huge chance then losing it.

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  32. On the topic of Walter vs. Beneatha, I think the both characters have good and bad traits to each of them, but the more important fact is that both change dramatically throughtout the play and become dynamic characters. Beneatha starts out as a girl who is trying to find out what she wants to be and who she wants to be with. She is struggling to find money to pay for medical school and whether or not she wants to persue this career. She is also having boyfriend issues, as she sees her current boyfriend George Murchinson as selfish and shallow and is also developing feelings for her African classmate Asagai. She is put under much pressure and this is why she can be seen as rude and immature in the beginning of the story. Walter faces the same kinds of problems, both occupational and romantic, in his daily life. He has been a chaffeur for most of his career and aspires to one day run a successful liquor store with two business partners, but lacks the money to start it. Also, he and Ruth begin to have a bad spot in their relationship, as she claims it isn't romantic enough anymore. Anyway because of the stress that both characters are put under, they clash in many different topics and this is what brings out the worst in both of them.
    However, at the end of the story both characters have transformed into mature, independent, and intelligent people who can make decisions well. This is shown by Walter's decision in Act 3 to move into the new house, and shows he is capable of being a good leader of the family when Mama dies. Also, Beneatha's way of handling Asagai's proposal in Act 3 is very mature and gives her time to think about it, as opposed to making a quick and impulsive decision which she might have done earlier in the story. All in all, I believe that Walter and Beneatha almsot reexperience their coming of age, as both seem to develop a new and improved personality.

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  33. While not really supporting or degrading him, I want to just discuss how Walter really takes upon some new faces by the end of the play. He appears as the most complex character to me. In the beginning of the play, he seems kind of half-hearted. He first was just playfully bantering with Ruth, like what might be considered a normal day. Then he almost suddenly takes the role of the generous one when he gives Travis some money for school and a bus ride. However, right after Travis walks out and Beneatha walks in, he starts being the hard, bitter one, and takes upon the role of Greed incarnate. He starts yelling at Beneatha for being a little persistent and aiming to be something a little greater, namely a doctor, while using lots of money. When he comes back later, he just talks about the insurance money; he doesn’t even listen as is wife and mother try to tell him that he’s going to have another child. All he can think about is money and his future investment in the liquor store. Later, when he finally gets the money, he is told to put a small fraction of it toward Beneatha’s education. However, his greedy self keeps all the money and doesn’t put any of it for Beneatha, even when it seemed he had a spark of generosity. When everything is down and against him, he even further takes the role of Greed when he tries to call over Lindner to gain some money by not moving to the new neighborhood. At this point, just about everyone hates him; the only exception is really Travis because he doesn’t know what is happening. At the last moment though, he appears to have a huge change of heart. He completely turns down the deal with Lindner and, even though they are broke, decides to move to the new house. He becomes truly a more generous figure. He gives up the chance to gain back a lot of the money lost in order to not only keep his family together, but also give them a new look on him. With this action, I almost have a much higher respect for him. He really kills the Greed in him. However, because of his actions at the beginning, I cannot say I fully like him. Overall, I can only say that he is a truly complex character.
    -Bob

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  34. I must obnoxiously agree with my earlier post. I don't think that Walter is an honorable man. In the beginning he was always moody, whining, and trying to manipulate the use of his father's life insurance money. If we thought that this was bad, how can what he did once he even got the money possibly compare to this?! Walter, after being entrusted with $65,000, decided he would put this money, which included Beneatha's school money, in a fickle business with his friends. In class, Mrs. Harding mentioned that this was kind of a form of gambling, and she was completely right! If you feel that you have good chances, then gambling your own money is fine, but gambling someone else's money brings the issue to a whole different level. It wasn't HIS to give away! That was money for education! And it was "made of his father's flesh!" (128) If we take a step back and look at the situation again, the whole thing is very sketchy. It's Walter and two friend, none of whom are business men, who plan to start a LIQUOR store business. He never even apologizes to his family. When his mother asks if he wasted all of it, he screams "Yessss! All of it... It's all gone..." (129) That is no apology in my book.
    Almost worse than him wasting Beneatha's school money, is how Walter attempts to fix his mistake. Instead of saying that he is sorry or working hard to try to earn some money back, he tries to cut a deal. He calls Lindner and tells him to bring the paper work to sell their house back. That seems absolutely ridiculous! Beyond the fact that asking for money is considered a shameful act by his family, it's not his house to give back, it's Mama's. When Ruth asks Walter if he's going to take the neighborhood money for the house, he replies, "I ain't just talking 'bout it baby- I'm telling you that's what's going to happen." (142) He is going to fix this by selling something that isn't his to earn money back without consulting the person to whom the money belongs. Doesn't this sound kind of familiar? Like when he spent all of Beneatha's school money without talking to her first?! How many times must Walter make the same mistake before he learns from it? One final thing. The straw that absolutely broke the camel's back for me was in the end when Walter told Beneatha that she needed to marry George, because he had money, instead of Asagai. DUDE! You already ruined her chance at getting the profession she wanted. Who are YOU to tell her who she can marry. I will conclude this post of mine about Walter by saying that he is too ambitious for his own good and is blind to everyone other than himself. The way he acts is shameful. He's just lucky that I wasn't Mama or Beneatha, because I would've taken him OUT before the closing curtain of this play!

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  35. In relation to my statement above, I just wanted to state that I respectfully disagree with everything Farooq said in his latest post. Walter... the most ADMIRABLE character???? I think not! Something tells me that Walter only declined the money to prove himself a strong man in front of his son. When the goods and bads of his character are all balanced out, I fear that the scale will greatly tip towards an antagonistic role. I just had to restate how I hopped on team Beneatha during this post. Thank you.
    -Brittney

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  36. (First, I know it looks like I posted three times in a row, but today I'm posting during D period and I was the last one to post last night.) As my final post, I would like to briefly discuss the character of Ruth. In our class discussion, two class periods ago, we briefly analyzed her role. Throughout the novel, Ruth takes a back seat. She is constantly mistreated by her husband and is under a lot of stress, but she never speaks out about it. On page 34, Walter screams out, "DAMN MY EGGS." Ruth was just trying to get him to eat before he goes off to work. She didn't deserve that remark at all. In the very first post of this blog, Maddy absolutely nailed Walter's insolence during his comment during the same breakfast discussion when he said, "We one group of men tied down to a race of women with small minds." Ruth responds in no way to this sexist remark. How horrible! It seems as if she is used to this treatment and just takes it. Ruth works all day in someone's kitchen and never shows disrespect towards anyone. When Lindner came by the first time, Walter was drunk and acting crazy, and Ruth was incredibly embarrassed. At one point, she couldn't think of anything else to do other than shake her head and say "Oh, Walter." I find it unsettling that this woman was so submissive. The first time that she actually shows passion about something is when she says, "If this is the time in my life- My time - to say goodbye - to these goddamned cracking walls.. HALLELUJAH! AND GOOD-BYE MISERY.. I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACE AGAIN." This might have been Ruth's one dream. I think that she was searching for a new life and a new hope. This move to a different setting was like a new start for her. I'm not sure if I like or dislike her role, but one thing is certain. Ruth was always looking out for her family, and was there ready to embrace a new life. Thank you
    -Brittney

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  37. In my English class (per.2 ) during our in class discussion today the topic about "Who's future goals were the most reasonable, Walter's or Beneatha's?"
    I thought that Walter's goals were more reasonable, his goal to have a liquor store seemed more reasonable than Beneatha’s goal to be a doctor. I see it this way because, first of all, back in the time this book was written doctors didn’t have such an easy road to success and money as they do today. While a liquor store back then would turn a larger profit than it may today. Also, since this is in a time period were people were discriminated, Beneatha is likely to get less pay than a normal doctor would. This would be this way because of two reasons: a) she is a woman and most doctors then were men and b) she is black and a black doctor also would get less pay because she was likely to only get work in a poorer neighborhood. With less pay she wouldn’t be able to pay for her education that she would need. Unlike Walter, who would get a decent amount of money even if is store was in a poorer area. I assume this because it has been shown again and again in real life that people can always seem to find money to buy liquor.
    Another important factor that will probably effect the ability for Beneatha’s goal is that she is very fickle and has a past of dropping what she is doing for something that seems more interesting to her. Also it seemed like her desire was fueled by the money. Once the money was gone she no longer wanted to be a doctor and had to be encouraged by Asagai to keep up her goal. (pg 134-135) What happens if this goal becomes like all her other prior desires that she quit? She will have wasted all her money on her education. Also, going back two sentences, she even switches her goal again the second Asagai prposes having Beneatha come to Africa and be a doctor there, and right away she changes her goal. So my question to everyone else is do you think that Beneatha really will follow through on her goal?

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  38. Like Taylor and Kaitlyn I think that both Walter and Beneatha are equally annoying characters. I think they are the only main characters that are annoying because I think Lindner is the only other antagonist, but he has a minimal role. First off, Walter made a bad decision to give the money to Willie Harris. He did it for the good of the family as he said on p. 109 that he would use the money he earned from the store to ensure that Travis would do what he wanted and go to school where he wanted, and Ruth and him would have nice cars. However, it wasn't his place to gamble with Beneatha's money. Which brings me to how Beneatha claimed she was going to be a doctor but it was extremely difficult for colored women to be doctors at the time and she had to pass and finish med. school. That could be risky in itself to pay for her med. school with the chance of not finishing because she has a habit of not finishing her activities such as horseback riding (47). Walter also can be weak at times, like when he found out Ruth was pregnant and couldn't even tell her to keep the baby, and then he went out and went drunk and messed with other people's lives. But it's kind of bad how Beneatha is dating George only for his money and is seeing Asagai behind his back. So both characters are annoying in their own way. Beneatha does small things while Walter makes the big mistakes but I think they both mean well.
    I also agree with Mark that Beneatha and Walter bring out the worst in each other at times. For example, Walter went and tried to invest in a liquor store but lost the money. Ironically it was Beneatha's money that he lost, so it makes the reader want to sympathize her because now she can't go to college, and it makes you dislike Walter because of his actions. Also when they were both trying to convince Mama to give them the insurance money, it caused them to argue a lot with each other because they each thought they deserved the money. And Beneatha seeing two men bothers Walter because he thinks it's wrong of her to do that and that she should marry the man she is actually dating, not the man who she is just "good friends" with. So I think that Beneatha and Walter are compared to each other so much because all of the character's conflicts affects the other person greatly.

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  39. Each character in ARITS is multi-dimensional and complex. It is unfair to judge the characters based on how they handled one dilemma, how to use the life insurance money. According to previous blog posts, a clear pattern has emerged involving the “most aggravating character”. Instead of a just conversation based on facts within the novel a “Battle of the Sexes” has broken out, where girls are accusing Walter of wrongdoing, and boys are accusing Beneatha of being self centered. From my point of view, you are all wrong, how can make an argument purely based on pre-existing prejudices and stereotypes? Does everyone have coodies again?!?!
    First, the central point behind the girls’ argument over Walter being “the most aggravating character” is that he lost the family’s $6500. The blame is being wrongfully put on Walter. If Mama would have taken the initiative and deposited Beneatha’s $3000 in the bank, Walter may not have invested the money in Willy and had he done so, he would have only lost about 33% of the life insurance money, minimizing the damage. Also how can you consider Walter the “most aggravating character” when Willy was in fact responsible for the loss of money? It would be the equivalent of blaming the victims of a Ponzi scheme for having trusted another.
    Second, the boys’ argument about Beneatha being “the most aggravating character” is nothing short of hypocrisy. If given an identical situation to what Beneatha was going through, a chance to rise above the ghetto, all the boys would seize the opportunity and go to medical school just like Beneatha. She is not being self centered. Instead the exact opposite, she is trying to earn a good income to support her family, an opportunity that no one else in her family has ever had.

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  40. Another major theme that occurred in the story is trust that shouldn’t have been given. At the beginning of the story, we see a family that is falling apart at the seams. All of the family lives in one crammed city apartment with barely enough to eat and they are working their butts off just to put food on the table. Walter and Beneatha are both trying to pursue their dreams but need money to continue, something which they do not have. As a result, they perpetually argue about whose dream is more important and what any money that the family gets should be directed towards. Walter and Ruth are having a dry spot in their relationship. Mama is trying to recover from her husband’s death and is stressed about what will be done with the money. And Travis plays in the middle of the streets, with nowhere else better to play. This is why the check for Mr. Younger’s death becomes so important and will supposedly be a panacea for all of the family’s problems. As soon as this check comes and it doesn’t solve all problems, they resort to trusting one another to try and patch up their relationships. However, this trust really doesn’t end well in most cases, as the trustee is not able to follow through with what the truster told him or her to do. The most obvious example of this is Mama trusting Walter with the money, and Willy Harris ending up taking all of it from Walter. Some other examples include Mama trusting Beneatha to become a doctor (for all we know, she might not be with her eccentric attitude), Ruth trusting Walter to go to work (he skips for several days), and Walter trusting Mama that she will consult everyone before she buys anything with the $10,000 (she buys the house without him knowing).Despite all these breaches of trust, the family unity does seem to prosper as a result of the bad consequences. This is because they experience so much adversity that it actually brings out the best in the family members. An example of this is everyone handling the situation with Lindner with the same attitude and decision. In conclusion, the breaches of trust between the Younger family members indirectly strengthen them as a whole by the end of the story.

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  41. I would like to talk about how money affects dreams which we started to discuss in class but not everyone got to add their comments. In my opinion I believe dreams do not rely on money, not matter what the dream. However I would say that it can be used as somewhat of a shortcut or a way to skip a few steps in the journey. In the book, I believe Walter's dream was, not to own the liquor store, but to have a job in which brings home a great deal of money for his family. Mama even says in part of the book to Travis that chauffeuring is not an appropriate job for a man and men need a job that is hard-working (and brings home the bacon). I think that Walter feels the same way and is ashamed of his job and wants to be respected as the man of the house. Therefore, when the idea of this new money coming in I think he thinks that is a way to quickly achieve his dream. BUT I do not think that the liquor store was the right choice. A liquor store, yes, that is a great idea, but he did not have a lot of information on the store and how it was going to be started. When there was this much money on the line I think that these few things are necessary to be sure when making the right choice for him and, most importantly, his family.
    This brings me to another point of how money can blind people of what is truly important in someone's life. I think a lot of the story’s purpose and meaning is to make people look at what happiness truly means to you and what is truly important to you. This money blinds each member of that household from the fact that before and after the entire deal with the money they were happy, and yes there is always going to be a bit of a sibling rivalry, but the point is that much of happiness is just the fact of having people around you that love you and you love them just as much.

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  42. I must agree with Kaitlyn's view on Walter and Beneatha. Walter and Beneatha can both be quite irritating. Walter has the tendency to be impulsive and, as I believe Zack said in the class discussion, all he sees is this one in a lifetime opportunity to help his family and like Javi said, he probably never had a real education, making him ignorant. So underneath he is not malicious he is just impetuous. Even though his foolishness can be explained by his lack of education, it should not be completely used as an excuse. His impulsiveness can be very irritating especially when he put his father's money in someone else's hands and lost it. Even though the money really belonged to Mama, she not only put the money but her trust in her son's hands.
    Secondly, Beneatha is capricious and a little hypocritical. She is hypocritical because in the beginning she lectures Walter on how the money is Mama's but when Walter loses the money she acts like her life is going to stop. Honestly I think that they can both be annoying and their father's money made all of them crazy. Asagai made the most sense out of everyone in the play. He had asked Beneatha if she had earned the money and would they have had it if her father hadn't died, she replied no. So he seems like the one who really has captured what the Younger family is not realizing. I think I like Asagai and Mama the best out of all the characters in the play, but Beneatha and Walter are the characters who seem to bother me the most

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  43. *Make up for missing Lit. Discussion*
    I would like to get off the subject of the most aggravating character and move on to something else. I find that I disagree with Taylor on the opinion that money does not rely on dreams. It really depends on the dream. There are some things that do have to be given to you in life. If you were born into a family with absolutely no money and you have a dream to become the leading neuroscientist in the country, then you are most likely out of luck. A person in this situation would most likely leave school at an early age to provide for their family. The job that this person would be in would not be a very prestigious job at all and this person would find it to be very hard to advance. Without a full high school education, it would be very hard to find a college willing to accept this person. This person would have a very hard time in college and would most likely not make it. There are things that just take too much time, and if you don't going for it at an early age, you will never make it. This is what being born into a family with money provides. A person born into a family with no money could eventually make it to their goal, with a lot of extremely hard work, but at what cost? Would they have to leave their family behind and use the money he or she makes for his or her own life? Most things can be accomplished without any dependence on money, but there are some things that will require money.
    I do agree, however, with the second point that Taylor makes. It is most definitely true that money can blind people and hide from them what is truly important in life. At the beginning of the book, when each character enters the scene, they each start off by asking about the check and when it is coming. They do end up being happy in the end, but throughout the entire book, this money causes problems to their family that almost entirely wrecked their relationships with each other. And going back to the previous though, when they finally got control of the money, they were able to reach their goal of living in a place that they could call their own.

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  44. I think that this Beneatha vs Walter debate is never going to end so here is a different question. Today in my class (3 per.) we brought up the question of whether Beneatha should stay and help her family or go to Africa. Also should she even be allowed to go to Africa? I think Beneatha can do what she wants to. She sounds like she wants to go so I think she has every right to. Some people were saying she needs to stay in America and help her family who is in need of money. However she isn’t helping out at home at all as Walter states on page 37. Even if she goes to Africa and doesn’t make any money, that is the same as her staying home. Plus there is the possibility that she could make some money and send it home, but we just don’t know.
    Also her dream is to become a doctor or it was until Walter yanked that chance away. Now Asagai is giving her that opportunity back, to go help people and to be with him (136). She should go for that chance and take the risk. However, her risk is different than Walter’s. When he goes for his dream, he is risking the whole family and all of their money. He fails and it drastically affects everyone, especially Beneatha. Beneatha, though, is only risking herself by choosing to go with Asagai. There is no money involved as much as we know. Asagai will marry her and take her home with him. He will be responsible for her. Marrying Asagai or whoever is also a decision I think she should make and not anyone else such as Walter who tries (150). She might not make any money and decide not to be a doctor. Well, she wasn’t making money in the first place and now no one will have to save up for her to go to medical school. Beneatha does change her mind on what she wants to do quite often as Mama says (47) and now she can try her newest idea. I think that like she told Asagai when they first met (62) she is still looking for her identity. However she seems pretty committed to being a doctor as shown throughout the book (36, 50,150).
    So in conclusion I believe Beneatha can decide for herself if she wants to take a chance and go for her dream by going to Asagai to Africa or stay home and help her family. No one should tell her what to do, whatever she chooses she will deal with. Beneatha is a young woman who is allowed to decide on her own future.
    -Kaitlyn

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  45. -jackson
    Beneatha has absoloutely no right to go galloping of too Africa acting like some kind of savior. She has a responsibility to help her family and to support them when they become unable to work. If she leaves them to suffer in the U.S. this hefty task will fall upon Travis. She might still become a doctor in Africa and fufill her dreams but guess what honey? Your dreams are now illogical and selfish, you prepare to leave the family that fought hard to raise you and allow you to go to college. These hard-workers have lived in squalor while you go to college and learn all day. They have fought hard for you and u are about to leave them to chase crazy dreams with this foolish idealist. Grow up,even if your family cant afford to send you to grad school. This dream of being a doctor will bring them no $ wether you stay here or run off tom Africa. Here, you are a female black doctor who will get no buisness. In Africa, you will be an undertrained, non-funded, and unquipped doctor facing the ailments of hordes of people. Yes, you might do some good, but they wont be able to pay you for this. What Beneatha needs to do is grow up, get a real job, and realize the fact that most dreams wither and die.

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  47. Like usual, I have to disagree with Jackson. Personally I feel that Beneatha would be more help to her family overseas, than with them. She has a very different personality than that of the other characters in the book. (And of people in this time period) I think that being a doctor is something that she has finally found she can set her mind to and achieve. And, it’s not like we’ve all haven’t tried things in life we ended up quitting. I know I have tried playing the piano about 4 times, and finally decided that idealistically I’d love to be able to play the piano, but I don’t want to do the work to get there. In the case of Beneatha being a doctor, it seems she has set her mind and is sure she wants to do this. As stated on page 133, “That was what one person could do for another, fix him up-sew up the problem, make him all right again. That was the most marvelous thing in the world. ..I wanted to do that…”It seems to me that Beneatha has thought about this for a long time. She has already had some training, how much we’re not sure, but if she wants to be a doctor, that’s her choice. Saying that she has not right to chase her dreams is un-American. Sure, she owes it to her family to help out some, but that doesn’t mean she can’t go to Africa. These plans don’t happen overnight. Maybe she could stay and work to help out her family for a year, and when all things are settled in the new house, she and Asagai can move to Africa. Beneatha has no chance of finding her true happiness in the states, especially wanting to be a black women doctor.

    Jackson also brings up the fact that if Beneatha leaves, the hefty task of helping to support the family will fall upon Travis. First of all, Beneatha never worked at all (that we know of) and therefore she is not of any help to the family. She is only another mouth to feed. And second of all why would the task fall upon Travis? Yes, one day when he is a grown man the task might fall upon him, but why now? The situation has not changed since the beginning of the book, except for the fact that they have gotten a house. Beneatha never had any responsibility in the first place, so what responsibility could she possibly place upon Travis?
    -aaaaaaaaaaaaariana

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  48. I also have to disagree with Jackson,who is being narrow minded and short sighted. Beneatha finally has reached a point of realization that she will get nowhere without education and a job. She is being realistic and mature and far from selfish. If she is truly in love with Asagai, Africa is the right location. She fully has the right to live there. I agree with Ariana that Beneatha would never find true happiness in the states. She needs to leave for her own well being.
    Jackson has gotten it all wrong. We and the characters in the book are Americans who are created equal. Whether foreigner or American we each have rights and must co-exist. Jackson needs to stop with his prejudices and stereotypes against Africian people and their culture. If you want to call yourself an American, start acting like one.

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  49. As far as the most aggravating character in the book goes, I think it's funny that so many people feel so strongly about one person or the other. Walter and Beneatha are both so much alike in character. They are both selfish and stubborn, and they both just like to be right. The only real difference between the two is their ideas. Walter is sexist, and doesn't want a woman to be more successful than he is (especially his little sister). He is also concerned about how bad his life is, and how he should do so much better. He blames his race for this tragic life, and he decides that he wants to open a liquor store to prove to the world that a black man can be successful. He expects his wife and mother to support him in everything he thinks, too. He is rude and condescending to Ruth and Beneatha, and it isn't right. Not to mention that he gambled and lost Beneatha's money. That was totally wrong, but I do think that it was unintentional, and he was just ignorant and overconfident. I agree with everything that Maddy said about him in the first post. However, I also agree with what Farooq said about Beneatha. She is selfish, proud, and fickle. I think it's awesome that a black woman at the time wants to be a doctor, but I feel like half the reason she's doing it is to prove that she can. That just seems like the kind of thing she would do to me. Walter told her that she can't, and she just likes to prove him wrong. Even if I'm wrong in this theory, though, she can't be trusted with such a huge dream. She's shown in the past that she can't stick to anything, and she showed this again when she gives up on not only her dream, but all of mankind after Walter loses her money for school. Then she wants to leave her family to pursue her dream that Asagai re-inspired and marry him. Once again, she's being selfish. My point is that they are both incredibly similar and annoying. Selfish, stubborn, and even somewhat defiant. Neither one is worse than the other.

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  50. Beneatha's choice to leave home and practice medicine in Africa is inopportune in the current situation. I think that she is a strong-willed young woman who is trying to figure out where she belongs, but picks the wrong times to do so. I do no think that there is anything wrong with chasing dreams and trying to live up to your full potential but I find that Beneatha portrays herself as childish and naive. She is known to drop the many things she has shown interest in, causing her to seem childish and naive. Even when she tries to tell Mama that she wants to go to Africa, Mama just nods and doesn't pay any further attention to her. Just as Beneatha was taking guitar lessons in the middle of their financial crisis, she now thinks that with a new baby coming and a house to pack up that she can just drop her responsibilities. She is responsible for herself and her achievements but she also has an obligation to her family. When there is another mouth to feed and a new house to move into, leaving is not going to be the best choice. Some people say, "Well it's not like she was helping them anyway, so she should go." Her obligation and role in the family is to help them and support them; but how is going to Africa going to help her do that. Let's face it working in Africa is not going to get her any money. Yet, the money doesn't even seem that important to her opposed to helping people. Even though that is nice of her to think about helping other people, she also needs to think about helping her family. Now that they have bought the new house there is not that much money left. I think that she should wait until the family is stabilized and doing well before she thinks about running off to Africa. I know that this means practicing in the United States instead of Africa, but it is better than nothing. Then at least she would still be in the country if she found out that medicine wasn't her passion. Yet hard times are occurring in this play and being a colored doctor, especial a female colored doctor was not easy. I believe that if Beneatha really wants to be a doctor, somehow she will push herself just as many others had done before her.

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  51. To continue from our discussion on a great point Jackson made, Walter has every right to invest the money in a liquor store than Beneatha does to invest money into medical school. Firstly, Walter is trying to make more money to support a family and give his son a chance to have a good education in his life. The most important thing Walter has in mind is his son (as he proved in the scene where he rejected Lindner's offer. He wants money to be a proud, black man and to support his wife, Travis, the soon to be second child, and also to take care of Mama.
    Beneatha, on the other hand, has HIGH aspirations to go through medical school and become a doctor. She too wants to be self sufficient, which is understandable, but the chances of her becoming a successful doctor are the same, if not worse, than Walter's chances of having a successful liquor store. The reason Beneatha's chances are so low is because she is a black woman who wants to be a doctor during a time period where blacks were disrespected and treated as nothing. I'm sure that no one in that time period would want to see a black woman doctor when sick for medical help, and he or she would probably rather stay at home ill. On page 135, Asagai explains to Beneatha the whole idea of being a "realist" and Beneatha proves his point by wanting to try and become a doctor at that time. It annoys me even more when she thinks that Walter's idea is foolish, when hers is just as risky. I just wanted to thank Jackson for pointing this out in class, because the time period plays a very important role in the play.

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  52. I would have to disagree with Jake when he says that Walter was showing he was a man when he told Linder that he wanted to move into the house. That part in the story frustrated me. The fact that Walter told the family about he was going to take the money and tell Linder that they weren't going to move in. When Mama said they weren't going to move, due to letting Beneatha be a teacher, that was a shock. ALl her life she wasnted to move and have a garden. And Travis bought her a hat, and Walter bought gardenting tools. But then the day the movers come, she doesnt want to leave. What Walter does is showing that he doesnt consult his family before making decisions. He told them one thing and then did the opposite. This just prooves that he is selfish and thinks he can run and rule the roost. Yes, he is the "man" of the house, is he a good one? NO. I believe we have had this arguement many times. But in all honesty, Walter is the most irratating character. He uses money that is not his and then looses it. All of the trust that was put into his hands was dropped. And then after he lost the money, instead of trying to go to work and recover some of it and work harder, he drove and drove and thn drank for three days straight. Which judt prooves how inconsiderate he is. Not even caring about what is going on to the rest of the family.
    As Farooq an Jackson have borught up, I do believe Walter has the right to invest into a liquor store. But the only thing that most of us are mad at, is the fact that he didn't use only his money, he used Beneatha's too. In the begining when everyone was asking what Mama was going to us the money for, she said that some of it was going to be put aside for her education. Ruth told Walter that the money belonged to Mama. His arguement was that he wanted to help Travis and buy a car for Ruth. Well how ware you going to do that if you wasted half of the families money on trusting some other guy to buy a liquor store for you? Walter in general was portrayed as a lazy, drunk father. Not only in the begining of the story, but along the way once he looses the money. In my opinion, Walter is the most aggrivating character in this story.
    -Ashley

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  54. I'm pretty sure I have already completed my three posts, but I had to jump into a debate that just came up. Jackson, I believe that in your attempt to be realistic, you made a very hard-hearted and obdurate argument. I find myself in agreement with Sam and Ariana. Jackson, did you ever think that just maybe some people are okay with helping others without getting paid. I know that's pretty uncommon in today's world, but if Beneatha is okay with saving lives without getting compensation, then she truly has a great heart. That is nothing to condemn her for! Also, in regards to Jackson's comment about Beneatha having no right to go off and leave her family, I must completely disagree. Ariana was correct when she said that Beneatha wasn't bringing in money anyway. If she married Asagai, he would be legally responsible for her, which would take the burden off her family. If Beneatha's family really loves her, they should allow her to follow her dreams. Walter was planning to do something that, after many years, might bring in enough income to help his family. Beneatha, however, is looking at something bigger than that. She wants to help a suffering nation. Finally, Jackson, if we all believed that dreams wither and die, we would be one sorry nation. America was built on dreams. That's how people get somewhere. If we had no dreams, we would have no aspirations, no futures, and no hope. So you can believe that if you want, but without aspirations, you're not going to get very far.

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  55. Even though Jackson is being a bit narrow-minded, I have to agree with him on some valid points he brought up. Normally I would say that Beneatha has the right to follow dream and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. HOWEVER, I think leaving her family in this situation would be rude and selfish. Yes, she is not contributing to the family right now and one less person to take care of would be better for them, but that is just the problem. She needs to at least try to help her family which has been trying to do the best for her her whole life, and she has not repaid at all.
    On the other hand, Ariana does bring up a very good point. If Beantha’s dream truly is to become a doctor then I do think she should go. I know that if I had the opportunity to become a professional golfer my parents would want be to go for it and reach my dream that I have always wanted to catch. However, I still do not know that Beantha’s true dream is to become a doctor with her fickleness. Therefore, in the situation that this is her dream I would say that she should go without a doubt, but if she is still just “experimenting” with it as she said she was doing with other careers and hobbies then that would be a VERY rude and selfish thing to do.
    -Taylor

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  56. I disagree with everyone that argued that Beneatha is the most aggravating of all the characters in this book. I definitely must side with Ashley on this topic. Walter showed himself throughout the story that he was not only irresponsible but also childish and a drunkard. The most obvious example of this is the guilt trip he uses to make mama give him the money from the check. He throws a tantrum for three whole days and does not go to work. Now in a job where one is paid by the hour this is generally not a good idea, and it's not as if the family can afford Walter not to be a source of income. Instead of going to work he takes his car and drives across the city admiring the scenery! Sure he technically the "man of the house" but in my opinion ma is ten times the man he is. The most frustrating of all of Walter’s actions is that not only did he lose the life insurance his dead father worked for but also did not even bother to drop of Beneatha's future at the bank. This education money was only a tiny fraction of the money that Walter had at his disposal.

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  57. I would like to start off by thanking Kaitlyn for changing the subject because the 1st “blog-war” seemed like it was going to never end. And I don’t think people will ever end disagreeing with Jackson on the new subject of whether or not Beneatha should go to Africa to become a doctor. I’m going to have to do what pretty much everyone else did; that is, disagree with Jackson on this particular subject.
    In the class discussion, Jackson seemed to state two contradicting statements: 1) The Family is in a state of great crisis…and 2) If Beneatha leaves to be a doctor in Africa, then she is not being very loyal/dedicated to her own country. I’m saying that they’re contradicting because if Younger family is in such a state of extreme crisis, then it shouldn’t matter where she has a job; as long as she has one, they should be happy for her and she for herself.
    Also, Jackson was arguing that if she went to Africa, she would be having fewer number of benefits compared to if she became a doctor in America. This, as Jackson put it, is because she will get paid more in America and she could help her family with the money which she wouldn’t be able to if she went to Africa. He also stated that she might change her mind on becoming a doctor in Africa once she gets there since she is a very fickle person. (pg.47 when Mama talk about her guitar lessons, horse riding, etc.) But I would like to disagree with Jackson on all of these greatly debatable points he made except for one of them. This one exception that I partially agree with Jackson on is that she will be paid more in America than in Africa. However, (as I would guess) Asagai would have to pay less money if she learned to be a doctor in Africa than in America. Also, if she decided to become a doctor in America, she might not even get the money she needed to study because Asagai might not pay for it. Also, her daily spending of the money would be less in Africa than in America. She would also have her own life in Africa since she will be with Asagai who knows how to handle her and, as far as I can tell, is the only person who doesn’t or hasn’t found her annoying recently at the end of the novel. Even if Beneatha moved out, looking from one point of view, it would benefit the family since they will have to spend less money on her daily expenses. Also, there will be more room for Ruth’s baby and the others in the family, and she wasn’t helping them at the time anyways (and it looked like she wasn’t planning to in the near future either). Also, when Jackson said that she might change her mind on becoming a doctor once she gets to Africa since she is such a fickle person. How would you know she’s not going to change her mind if she stays in America?

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  58. In Farooq’s recent blog, he mentioned that Walter is trying his best to make more money to support the family and give his son a good education. Then he stated that Beneatha’s dream of becoming a doctor is risky. Also, he said that Walter wants money to be a proud, black man and to support Ruth, Travis, coming child, and his Mama. I disagree. Walter is definitely not trying his best and he is using the excuse that he is a man and he can’t help it because (as Jackson put it in the class discussion) men at that time are like that (he doesn’t directly state this). It is arguable that, as Walter and Farooz put it, Beneatha’s dream is a risky one. However, wasn’t it also Walter who told his son to aim high when Travis said he wanted to become a bus driver? That was one of the few times I agreed with Walter. This is one of my favorite quotes from the book P.S. I Love You: “Aim for the moon. Even if you miss, you will still land among the stars.” The Younger Family needs to get this concept of trying your best and being happy with yourself for doing so even if you didn’t succeed. Also, Walter wanting to be a proud black man doesn’t make him one; he has to actually work hard to achieve that goal. Don’t just aim aimlessly at the moon because I almost guarantee you that you will miss.

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  59. Also, I agree with “Ninja” (uh Weilin?) that Walter is being remiss about pretty much everything: his wife, his mother, his job, himself, etc. Also I agree with Ninja that Mama is being the mature and smart one (except when she trusted Walter with all the money they had) of the family. She knew how to handle things and she knew what each and every one of them wanted which she worked hard to give. For example, she knew Beneatha wanted to become a doctor and so put in some money for her (which Walter, of course, lost). She bought a new house for herself and for Ruth to support her new baby. She put Walter in charge of the money to let him know that she loved him, trusted him, and respected him to be the man of the house (what a mistake!). Also, connecting back to what I said about Farooq’s blog, if Walter wanted to be such a proud man, he shouldn’t have lost the money by giving it to the least trustworthy guy; it was his father’s proud money that he should’ve treated with as much respect as he gives himself. Correction: at this point, there is not much respect left for Walter, so saying what I said about treating the money that way would be what he did: lose the money by being so careless. He should’ve treated with as much respect he would’ve give his father because that money represents his father.

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  60. I am going to agree with Taylor again except this time it's that I think it would be selfish and wrong for Beneatha to leave her family in such hard times. Beneatha decided it would be a good idea to go back to Africa with Asagai to marry him and be a doctor, but she wants to do this while her family is struggling financially. Her mother and father have paid for everything she's done including all of her short-lived hobbies, like horse riding. Also, Beneatha wants to become a doctor by practicing on people with all sorts of serioius illnesses. That's not the way to learn especially when she has not even been to medical school yet. She also wouldn't get paid, which i'm not opposed to her helping without pay but for the time she should be trying to earn some money for family. Also, Brittney said marrying Asagai would take some financial burden off her family but I think it would do the opposite. Asagai probably has little money because he is a tribesman, and I have never heard of tribesman with money. That means Beneatha's family would most likely have to pay for a lot of things they would do like flying to and from Africa. Since her interests change so frequently, Beneatha probably will change her mind about being a doctor at some point which means she will have to fly back home, with her famly paying for it. Basically, hoping that she will "find herself" while married to a tribesman and trying to learn how to be a doctor without pay is not what Beneatha needs to be doing right now with her family in financial hardships. If things don't work out it will leave her familiy paying for her to fly back so she can start over without a job to help contribute to the family.
    -Zack

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  61. I also disagree with Jackson, but I would like to change the subject otherwise I will just end up repeating what everyone else said. I am going to focus on the characters strengths and weaknesses in this book. First of all, to start with the already argued over Beneatha, I believe that her weakness is her habit of flitting from one interest to another. Because of this, her family members and friends tend to lose trust and respect for her because they don't know if she will ever end up finishing what she first started. On the other hand, I think her strength may be that she doesn't let what other people say get to her. Walter continuously comments about how she never finishes anything or how she doesn't contribute to the family. Beneatha doesn't let what he says get to her head. She continues to work toward her dream without even giving a single thought towards Walter and his rude remarks. Walter has many flaws as it has been noted by previous people in the "first blog war". His major one is either his drinking problem or his money problem. Both cause serious family arguments and problems. One of his strengths may be the fact that he is usually doing most things for his son. He does care about his family even if at times it seems like he doesn't. Even though he makes the stupid decision with the liquor store, he says he does it because he wants to benefit his son and be able to buy his son nice things. He truly does want to lead a good life for his family even if he goes about that in the wrong ways. Mama is also an issue of debate because many would see that her weakness is when she hits her children, but i think it is her inability to make decisions. She should not have given the rest of the money to her son because I do believe that she knew he was not going to make the right choices with it. Her strength would be her ability to keep on going no matter what life throws at her. First her husband dies, then she sees displeasing behaviors in her children, and then she loses the money that was given to her because of her husband's death. She is a strong woman who will not back down from any problem. Everyone is flawed, and everyone is great in their own way. It is just a matter of figuring them out so that you can do the right things.

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  62. -jackson. I'm glad to see that you all had fun with my last statement and I -think that its time for a new one. Grow up. All of you, its not okay to think that one hallf trained solo doctor in africa will make a difference. The thought that its just all handy dandy to ditch her family and not only not send them any money but probly cost them money in her transport sickens me. You really think that she won't just be consumed by the horrors of africa? Civil wars have been raging in Africa for thousands of years, most of the food and supplies dropped into africa get gobbled up by the dictators and warlords that rule the continent. Beneatha isn't even all that commited to being a doctor "I just don't care like I used to" I guarentee that she would wind up either desperately trying to come back or dead. Stop being so optomistic and naieve, she's no superwoman who can swoop in and save the day. Also, where is your loyalty to your country? Did you forget that there are those in the U.S. who nneed your help just as badly? This country has given you freedom, safety, and stability, now when it needs you, you abandon it? You are a traitor to your family and your country. Finally am I the only one to see the hippocracy in your statements? You now advocate becoming involved in yet another foreign affair that will put american lives at risk. Who will protect these medical "saviours" when they face the wars that put Africa where it is today? You will ask our soldiers to do so, and they will comply as they did in Iraq and Vietnam. But then as these brave doctors and soldiers return home in cofffins what will you do? Abdandon the cause? Allow the new government to collapse or the higher standards of living you fought so hard to establish relapse into poverty and death? Will you spit at these troops when they return home? I will NOT allow these idealistic urges of yours to drag us into another lost war. That's all for tonight. -jackson

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  63. I disagree with Jackson's statement. Beneatha is trying to do what she thinks is right and wanting going to Africa to help people there is a great way to be. It doesn’t matter if she's not helping everyone out there as long as she is doing her part. Also she will be helping her family by making some money for them as well. But this is a good thing for her to go because you can't just live with your whole family for the rest of your life. You as a person need to try to succeed in life and not depend on other people around you. The only exception for this would be Mama. She needs one kid helping her a bit and living with her but not her whole family.
    Secondly, with Jackson’s point of the U.S. and our troops has no importance to this book. Beneatha is wanting to go with a man that she loves to Africa to help people. That is not betraying your country or your troops. She isn't doing anything that badly. As well as that the military has been sending doctors all over the world as well. Beneatha is doing nothing more then anyone else is doing, but your acting like she is committing a treason to the country. All in all I think Beneatha is doing exactly what she needs to do.
    Now with Walter, he needed the realization of scammers and people like that in the world. As Chandler had said Mama probably knew that Walter was going to use the money for the liquor store. I think she wanted it to be a lesson for him about investing in stuff like that as well as putting your family first. He finally learned that when he told Mr. Linder that they weren't going to sell their house and planned to move in and be good neighbors. Also I think it could have been that if they lost the money their family would go back to the way they were before the money except for the new house which would be moving them up a bit on the social standards.-Cody

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  64. I agree with anyone who remotely disagrees with Jackson. Sure a “half trained solo doctor” will not have a huge impact on Africa, but did you ever stop to think how much of an impact Beneatha would have in America. The time period of America we are talking about is when racism is reaching its peak. White people in America at that time would rather die than go see someone like Beneatha. While in Africa it is just as you said they desperately need help especially medical aid. Do you think the poor people in Africa will even think twice before begging Beneatha to cure them? Do you think that even for a second they will have doubts about her? Of course it is not totally righteous for her to abandon her family in America, but so far she has done nothing to bring in money and yet the family has enough money to sustain themselves. If she stays with them and does not go to Africa, I predict she will not only be a couch potato and not work but she is an extra mouth to feed and will end up making the family pay for her $50 horse riding equipment. America needs help that is for certain. But Africa needs so much more aid that the two are incomparable. How many warlords do you see in America? How many dictators have “gobbled up all the supplies”? Beneatha has every right to go to Africa. This may be a little selfish but as I’ve already stated she would be much more of a burden than a source of income for her family due to her fickle personality. The only reason Beneatha first wanted to become a doctor was because she saw people who needed to be helped and cared for. There is an abundant supply of these in Africa, so do you really think that I would “consume” her? I think it would solidify her want to help people and she will step up and save lives.

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  65. I agree with Weilin in that Beneatha would be better of in Africa than she would in the United States. There are plenty of people in America that need help, but the numbers in Africa outnumber America by far. This could be considered selfish of Beneatha to leave her family behind to pursue her dreams, especially with the economic situation that her family is faced with. But honestly, at least she is getting out and doing something to support herself. I think it is better this way because if she wouldn't do that, her family would be stuck supporting her and paying for all of her unneccessary hobbies. She has given up on so many of her ideas (ex: guitar and horse riding). I think it's nice that she wants to pursue this dream because if she flies out to Africa, she can't really turn back. This will force her to become independent and follow through with her decisions. Airfare was very expensive in those days, so it would be extremely hard for her to cough up the money to fly home if she were to bail.

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  66. Because of my dislike of ethical and political issues due to its nature to tear people apart, as noted above, I will not discuss anything about that. Instead, I will talk about something from one of the intro activities we did. If you remember the activity we did where Mrs. Harding gave a theme/statement, and we moved to different sides of the room depending on our views, then you should remember the statement about goals and accomplishments requiring big risks. When tying this statement back to the book, it is really seen in 3 places. First is with Walter. Walter’s big dream is to have a successful liquor store and to make enough money to make his family plenty richer. He tries to invest in one with Bobo and Willy Harris. He makes 2 major gambles here. He first makes the gamble of the investment, taking a sizable portion from his father’s insurance money. Had his store been successful, he probably would have had a really nice return. However, he lost not only his portion of the insurance money, but also Beneatha’s portion that was set toward her education. Without the money, though, the store would not have even had the chance of getting off the ground. The next gamble he took was with his family. Since they generally didn’t like the idea, he had to try to keep them relatively on the more favorable side of the agreement. Of course, this was hard, and it was risky to even try to get the store with them getting gradually more and more against it. The next case appeared with Mama. She decides to go out and buy a house for the family. She takes 3 risks that I can see. First is the financial risk. Indeed she has the money at first, but there are many chances for it to be lost, as it was when Walter trusted it to Willy. Her next risk was how her family would react, as she couldn’t be sure. She hoped to make everyone happy, and everyone except Walter was. Walter was unhappy because he wanted the money for the liquor store. The final risk she took was buying the house in a White neighborhood. This is obviously a problem in a time where racism was still prominent and the Youngers were a black family. The final case seen is Beneatha and her wish to be a doctor. The wish itself collectively is the risk. First, education to be a doctor is expensive. Next, being a female black doctor in those times were pretty hard. There was racism against blacks, and females were not always trusted with the higher jobs. She goes even further when she plans to go to Africa to learn and practice medicine. Though Africa potentially could have more patients, they are also poorer and have lower quality health care, so she would have a harder time practicing anyways. Overall, the book seems to favor the idea that big goals take big risks.
    -Bob

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  67. Also, to address Farroq and Hannah's blog and the debate in class over whether Beneatha would be wrong to fly to Africa or not. Like I said before, I think this will be great for the family because Beneatha will be forced to gain independence and support herself. It will be very difficult for her to return home soon after she flies there, due to the airplane expenses. This experience will make her become self relying, instead of leaning on her family.
    I disagree with Farooq because when Walter risked all of the money for the liquor store and failed, that was the family's money. I believe people can do whatever they want in life, except the risks should only affect them. In Walter's case, the risk he took affected everyone in his family, and it wasn't even his money to begin with. For instance Beneatha says on pg.38, "...Walter, give up; leave me alone- it's Mama's money." Mama trusted Walter to do what was right with the money, and he basically threw it all away. It would not be selfish of Beneatha to go to Africa, because at least if she fails it will only affect her and not the rest of her family. I think she has the right to go to Africa and become a doctor, because unlike Walter, her decisions will not affect the welfare of her family.

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  68. I mostly agree with taylor in her last blog about the affect of money. The family was perfectly fine on their own, before the insurance money came along. They weren’t doing WELL, but they were okay. Then here comes the $10000, and baam. Everything is crazy. They are all arguing over who should get the money, and what they should use it on. Money can ruin relationships. Unfortunately, as a result of the arguments from having the money, most of it was lost.
    What I disagree with, and agree with Zach, is that money can have an impact on whether or not you achieve your dreams. You have to have access to money so you can go through college and anything else you need to, so you can get to where you want to go.
    As we somewhat talked about in our class (2nd period), but somehow began arguing about whether or not we should protect our countrys borders (thanks, Jackson), and kaitlyn discussed in her blog, should beneatha be allowed to go to Africa with Asagai? I agree with kaitlyn that it is her choice, and no one can make it for her. There is no reason for Walter to tell her she can’t go because she isn’t supporting her family. Its not like she is making money for the family as it is. In fact, she is loosing money, because she is in school. If she left, she would no longer have to go to school, and all issues with no one wanting to hire a black female doctor would be gone. No one is going to care if you are black in Africa, and they don’t care whether you are male or female, all they care about is that you are there to help them.
    I do believe that Beneatha really wants to be a doctor. As she explained on page 133, That was what one person could do for another, fix him up-sew up the problem, make him all right again. That was the most marvelous thing in the world. ..I wanted to do that” I think that is a great example of why people should want to be doctors. They know that without them, the patients would be in a lot more pain.
    I completely disagree with both of Jackson’s statements. And Jackson, you need to decide what you think. In class, you said that there was no chance of beneatha being a doctor in America, because she was black and female. But then in your post, you said that she shouldn’t go help people in Africa, that she should stay in America and be loyal to her country. I personally think it would be a lot more plausible to go to Africa if she truly wants to be a doctor. And when Jackson said “Beneatha needs to do is grow up, get a real job, and realize the fact that most dreams wither and die,” I almost laughed out loud. Just the fact that he said that most dreams wither and die seems so pessimistic and disappointing. What if Beneatha’s new dream is to go to Africa? Why can’t she pursue that?

    In conclusion, Lorraine Hansberry did a great job ending the play where she did, leaving everything up for grabs. We weren’t meant to know how it ends. We all argue, but there is no real right answer. We are all right, but we are also all wrong.
    ~Erin

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  69. Ok, seriously Jackson? America's government is going to collapse just because one - ONE! - woman is going to another country to help the people there? Don’t take it to the extremes. Sure it may collapse if a vast amount of people went which caused a statistical difference, but right now, we are talking about ONE woman who is, maybe, trying to at last figure out who she is! Sure you could argue that she is a fickle person and is just being influenced again by her fickleness to try out new things, which the family cannot afford at this time due to the catastrophic situation they are in right now. However, even if she is influenced by her fickleness, then staying in America and changing her mind of becoming a doctor would be worse than if she was in Africa because in America, the family will have to put up with this again whereas in Africa, Asagai will be the one who has to deal with it. Also, think of this as helping the world, not just America. Plus, as I mentioned in my last blog, Beneatha shouldn't care about where she goes or who she helps as long as she gets the money and happiness in life (Here, I am not saying that she will get happiness from money..I am saying she will get it from her most-likely-future-husband-Asagai and maybe a future extended family in that chain and she has a higher chance of getting this future family if she goes to Africa, which she most definitely should.) Also this is not just me saying it, the novel, which is what we should be focusing on, doesn’t give much importance to this topic of “staying loyal to your country.”

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  70. Also, Jackson, we all know that you are a hard-core Republican and so you *think you are more patriotic than some others. So let me define Patriotism for you: it’s not just staying loyal and loving to your own country; it’s also, respecting other countries and not hating other people. You are making me question whether or not you are a true Patriot because you seem to be disrespectful to Arica and you are hateful towards their dictators who, as far as I know, haven’t yet “gobbled up” the supplies of the people there. By the way, Patriotism is also defending all human race from tyranny. That’s why we went to Vietnam and why we fought in WWII; and that’s why we are still in Iraq. Thank You :)

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  71. I agree with Hannah. Patriotism is not only helping your country but representing your country in wars and other counries. Beneatha should follow her dream and go to Africa. She lives in a free country and she doesn't owe anything to her family expect to live like they want her to. Why else did they give birth to her? She is being perfectly loyal to her family and America if she goes to Africa, because Aemrica is not only a country but an idea that people believe in. America is when you go out do something not becuase have to but because you want to. Its when someone is given the chance to work, nad its working hard for something and getting something in return other than money. Beneatha is going to Africa, becuase she wants to help and cure people not because she wants money. And for god's sake she ought to. If and when she goes to Africa she will be representing America, and if I was living in Africa with a desperate need for medical help, I would thank god that America trained her and let her come over here to help me. Most countries won't let a woman have a job. So she should excercise her rights and live.

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  74. I would like to bring up both Farooq’s and Brittney’s posts back on the 9th of this month. Farooq’s post was his explanation of why he thinks that Walter is the most admirable character, while Brittany’s post was the opposite of Farooq’s, and explanation of why she finds Walter to be a very dishonorable character. Though in one of my earlier posts, I said that Walter was much less annoying than Beneatha, I still don’t believe that he is an admirable man, at all. So what I guess I am saying that I don’t think that Walter any bit admirable, yet I don’t find him as annoying as Beneatha.
    I find Walter, just like Brittany does, to be moody and whinny. In the beginning of the book, he comes out, and while Ruth is cooking him eggs, starts complaining about money and how it is life. Later on, you find out that even with his whole “money is life” speech, he has skipped work for 3 days and just has driven around doing nothing productive. Not only has he done nothing to help his family in their present circumstance, but he kept it a secret from his family and could possibly lose his job. To me, that seems the exact opposite of admirable, it seems sneaky and deceptive. But Walter gets worse as the book goes on. He tries to convince Mama to give him ALL the money from the life-insurance check. His business proposition, though it may turn well as I said in a prior post, could also be a very dangerous gamble in which he could lose all the money he put in. He also acts childish when he finds out that Mama purchased the house. To quote Walter. He says that Mama purchasing the house. with her own money, “ butchered up a dream of mine- you- who always talking ‘bout your children’s dream.” He acts as though her doing what she wished with her money and not giving it all to him was such a horrid thing, which shows once again that Walter is whinny and immature. Still

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  75. (here is the rest of my post, for some reason it was too large of an URL) , Walter gets worse. He later on takes all the left over money, some of which was for Beneatha’s education, and invests it all into his own business idea. Not only was that action selfish but it was dangerous. After the money was lost, he tried to right his wrong. Yes, it was a good idea, but how he attempted to right his wrong was not correct. He was willing to sell back the house, in turn depriving his family of the new house. Not only is he willing to do this, but he says “ I ain’t just talking ‘bout it baby- I’m telling you that’s is what’s going to happen.” To me that seems like the epitome of the opposite of admirable. Not only did he lose his families money, but he is willing to ruin his families’ future to make up for his wrongs. Thankfully, in the end he doesn’t do so, which I find to be the only minutely admirable thing he did in the entire book.

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  76. One last comment based on Brittney’s post that I was talking about before, I do think that Walter was extremely wrong to say that Beneatha should marry George because he has money. He is her brother and can’t dictate that. Even if he was her father he shouldn’t control who she should marry. Plus, after all the mistakes that he has made, he shouldn’t e attempting to control anyone else’s lives. I do disagree about one thing that Brittany said, I don’t think that that it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. That straw happened much earlier, when he put Beneatha’s money into his own ‘investment”.

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  78. I also agree with Brittney when she said that it was wrong for Walter to say that Beneatha should marry George because he has money. It is completely wrong for him to choose who Beneatha should marry because the prospect has money. However I disagree with her when she blames walter for everything bad that happened in the novel. Walter was wrong when he decided to spread money around to get his liquor license instead of doing it the correct way, however he was just trying to help his family by making some money for them. I think that he was trying to help his family so that they would have enough money to do what they wanted. I also think that Beneatha is wrong in trying to go to africa. When Beneatha approaches mama about going to Africa I think that she is wrong in doing so because she doesn't care what Mama says. Mama doesn't want her to go, but Beneatha doesn't care and decides to leave anyway. I also think that it is wrong for Beneatha to go because she should help her family until they are out of the hard times.

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  79. I wish this topic was brought up in our discussion; I agree with Taylor when she says that money is needed in a dream. When you dream, you dont't just reach your dream in a day. It is going to take risks, and sweat, and work. When you put in the work to reach a goal, depending on what it is your going to need money. In this book, there are three examples. Fist, Walter needs money for the liquor store, in which he wants to invest in. Next, Beneatha needs money in order to go to medical school to become a doctor. You aren't just expected to walk right in and be allowed a free four years of school. And that is the case at any school you go to and even public schools you have to pay for trips and things. Finally, Mama's dream of buying a new house with the garden out back. All of the dreams that this family want to achieve and accomplish include the fact that you need money. At most times this family can also be money hungry.
    I would also like to disagree with Zach when he says: "If you want to be the leading neuroscientist scientist in the world, that mostly wont happen." If you want to reach a goal you can, no matter how large or difficult it is. YOu can do it. All you have to do is put in the sweat and work and you can come out how you would like it. There may be risks in the world and there may be bumps through the road, but I'm sure you will make it.
    -Ashley

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  80. The argument that arose in our class over whether Beneatha should go to Africa or not ended up being a fiery debate! Personally I argued on the side that said it was okay for Beneatha to go. If I remember correctly none of the points of interest was over dreams and the question of if it was okay for Beneatha to go because it was her dream. Again I think that she has every right to go. If it is her dream and in my opinion it does not really affect the family then I think she should go for it. The reason I say it does not really affect the family is because Beneatha was not providing for them as it was. And with the family moving into a new house they are going to need all the money they can get. If Beneatha was just sucking up money then why should it matter if she leaves? Yes she is still not supporting the family but she also stops taking the money away from the family. We clearly do not know whose money she will use or how she will get to africa but we are given a hint on page 137 here Asagai says "African prince rose up out of the seas and swept the maiden back across the middle passage over which her ancestors had come" "Nigeria. home" Yes its a metaphorical reference but it is obvious he is stating he will take her there. And we could get into the "well you do not know if he has money" or "it does not say how he will do it" but then you are not making arguments out of the facts of the book.
    I also think she should be able to go because it is a dream. The book is based around peoples dreams. Mamas dream of living in a big house, Ruths dream of getting out of that rundown apartment, Beneathas dream about being a doctor and finally Walter dream about having the liquor shop. So when walter was given the chance and opportunity to follow his dream he took it. In reaching for that dream he took a huge risk, one that involved the welfare of the entire family. There are obviously people who are going to argue this statement but I do not see Beneatha going to Africa as a risk that is going to involve the entire family. Again it goes back to the she was not previously providing therefore she is not taking that part away from them. So i disagree with matt kraft in that I do not not really think she should help her family until they are out of hard times because since Walter wasted all of the money they may never be out of those hard times and then look her dream and this opportunity are wasted. Plus not to mention Beneatha should be able to at least give this moving thing a shot considering her brother went and risked plus basically lost and ended her other dream of going to med school in the us and becoming a doctor here.
    On the topic of Beneatha's dream of med school and becoming a doctor I would like to state that I think she really wanted it. On page 133 when she says "it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do" "I wanted to do that" She clearly really was dead set about being a doctor and how that truly was her dream. But notice the past tense. Walter had killed that dream for her. I pretty much entirely disagree with the argument saying that it was just another silly thing she wanted to do. When the evidence about Walter and Asagai and how she could not even decide between then was brought up at the end of class I think it is wrong. Beneatha even says it her self that she would not marry George Murchison if he were adam and she were eve. Personally, I think that is saying something. Over all I just think that Beneatha should be given a chance and listened to this time. Its not some new adventure really its just a play off of her old dream to become a doctor in the us. I think that She really might want this one.

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  81. I was in agreement with Brittany until the last statement in her last post, in which she said that America would be a sad and sorry nation if Americans did not have dreams. I disagree with this statement on the basis that when one reaches so high and tries to achieve something that has never been done, he sets himself up for a perpetual cycle of failure. This perpetual cycle of failure leads to increased amounts of disappointment and depression. The American dream is only an illusion these days. Hard working families do not always succeed. A good majority of success is now also based on luck.
    In A Raisin in the Sun, if none of the main characters had aspersions of success, the loss of the $6500 would not have affected them so greatly. Those monies were the only way that they could achieve their dreams, therefore, if the characters had not dreamed the $6500 could have been more rationally spent and likely not lost.
    At the end of day, dreams only lead to the downfall of rationality. Walter’s dream of owning a liquor store to help him support a family, lead him to making irrational choices. In Beneatha’s case, her dream of becoming a doctor leads her to alienate herself from her family.

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  82. I agree with Brittney in that it was totally wrong of Walter to start bossing Beneatha around in trying to tell her whom she was to marry. Walter had no right to tell her what to do, especially after throwing all of the family's money away. I know that he had good intentions for wanting to open up the liquor store, but again, it was not his money to bargain with. For example on pg 150. Walter says, " Girl, if you don't get all them silly ideas out your head! You better marry yourself a man with some loot..." Beneatha asks him why he has a say in who she marries and he replies, "Plenty, now I think George Murchison.." Walter had no place in bossing Beneatha around, after he had hurt the family in his selfish dreams. It is morally wrong for Walter to tell Beneatha that she has to marry someone with money, especially because the reason why he thinks she should marry someone with money is because she can't pursue her dreams to be a doctor due to the lack of funding because of Walter's gamble.

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  83. I agree with Brittney that America would be a sad and sorry nation if Americans didn't have dreams. Throughout ARITS dreams are what keep the family moving forward and thinking ahead to the future. A person is not a person without a dream. A dream is just like a goal, and if we don't set goals how are we ever going to move forward. America is an amazing country, because we are the only country that lets people move higher up the social ladder with hard work. You could be the poorest person in the world and if you work hard you can still find a job that gives money in america and next thing you know you could Be a millionaire. For example, in ARITS mama is one of the best examples of moving up in the world she was in that house forever, and when she finally got the money she was able to take a step forward into the world by buying a new house. This is an example of an American dream. In fact the American dream is exactly that: no matter your color, ethnicity, or age you deserve just as much of a chance as the next person to earn the same amount of money to get what you want through hard work. Beneatha is also a prime example of that dreams are what make a country, because she has a dream to help cure peolpe and she goes after that dream when she goes to medical school. If she never had that dream or if anyone never had that dream what would happen to the people who are sick. In conclusion, people's will to dream big is what makes a country great. it is dreams that push the family in ARITS to work hard.

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  84. Also I want to add that jackson if you really think that dreams wither and die you live in a sad, sad world. Dreams are the only thing that live through the hardest of times. Dreams give hope to the hopeless, and if you are forgetting, the idea of a country like America was dream once. Now its real. That proves all dreams live on and on. For example in ARITS Mama held onto her dream about moving ever since she was young. Now her dream is real.

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  85. Jackson, there's no need to be rude about this. I think that Beneatha should wait until her family is more stable and she has a better idea of what waits for her in Africa, but in a few years she should absolutely go to Africa if that's what she really wants. Her country treats her like dirt, and I don't blame her for wanting to leave. If her country and family need her so badly, maybe they should show her some respect. Leaving would not be disloyal. She can make so much more of a difference in Africa than she could here, and at least they would be grateful. She is leaving her family in a time or trouble, so I'm not saying that she isn't being selfish. But I am saying that she does have the right to go if she really knows what she's doing and wants it. There's nothing wrong with dreaming and being optimistic. And who said anything about asking our soldiers to protect her? She left, and if she needs protection, she should come back. It's not our soldiers' job to protect people who live in Africa. It is our soldiers' job to make sure that nobody threatens our freedom to follow our dreams.

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  86. I would like to re-word Amy's 1st statement in her last blog. She said "Dreams are the only things that live through the hardest of times." I would like to change that powerful statement to: Dreams are what coerce you to live through the hardest of times. This is different from what Amy said because the dream doesn't achieve your dream...You do. It's you who can do it if yo want to but most people believe they cannot. There are many obstacles that you have to pass over, and it's you who pass them, not the dream. The dream is what gives you the mental strenght to do so. It acts as a catalyst. If my friend helped me study for a test, and I got a 100% on the test, it is I who received the 100%. I just needed that little spark that would start me and after that spark hits me, it's all me who does the hard work to achieve my dream, and in this situation, my dream of getting a 100% on that test after I studied it. In Mama's case that Amy used as an example, it was she who made the dream come true and the dream persuaded her to do so.

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  87. I would also have to agree with Amy and Brittney on that. If people didn't dream there would be no new inventions or any differences in lives. Every person would just do what they were told to do and not think anything of it. If that was the kind of world that we lived it would be a terrible place. Instead people in America have the chance to try to succeed and that is what is great about it. This is why Walter acts as he does. He feels that if he does not try to succeed that he will let his son and his family down. In the end he still lets them down but he tried to do what he thought was right and that is what’s important. In every dream that a person has there is some sort of consequence that can come up but that is what makes it a dream and that’s why you have to work to get there. Travis talks what he wants to be when he grows up and his dad tells him to dream higher than that because it’s not a good job. This is the kind of stuff that gets people somewhere in life. It's trying for something that seems a little out of reach. This is also what Mama does when she buys a house in an all white neighborhood. She is setting herself up for trouble but wants to live in a house so she takes a chance to follow her dream. -Cody

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  88. Changing the subject for the moment, I belive that one of the main themes of the book is just being human. Walters greed, Beneathas dreams, and Ruths sorrows are all just part of human nature. Walters desire to be on top, to be a man, is the desire of every man, to be the leader of something, to have meaning in the world. That is one of the basic human interests that has been around since the invention of writing. Benethas dreams also fall under this catagory. She said that she wanted to be god, to cure. Everyone always wants to be god, they want to have the feeling that they had a direct effect on the lives of others. This also relates to Benethas constant switching of her hobbies, it's because she wants controll over her life, so she can have controll over her own life. Even Ruth falls under this. Her sadness and stress is all part of the human condition. Humans always feel stressed when things don't go their way so when you throw a baby into a already struggling family the results are bound to be bad. I feel that the people that display the most human characteristics are the people pushed to the brink.

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  89. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  90. To get back to what Amy and Hannah were talking about…

    I agree with Amy about how dreams are what keep people moving forward. Everyone needs that incentive in life, because without dreams, what is there to live for? On the other hand, Hannah is correct when she states that dreams don’t happen on their own. If you want something in life you have to go out and make it happen. Not everything is handed to you on a silver platter. Now to bring in Beneatha and Walter, I feel this is a difference in their childish behavior. Walter is always complaining. Every morning his wife asks what kind of eggs he wants. When he says not scrambles, she scrambles them any way. The problem is he doesn’t have anything to say about this, but complaints. Sometimes you have to take the situation in your own hands and do it yourself. If you don’t want your eggs that way, man up and cook them yourself!!! If he had learned this, he certainly would not have lost the $6500. Beneatha on the other hand, doesn’t want anything given to her. She states that she is not even going to ask for the money from the check. Walter on the other hand asks about it every two minutes. In conclusion, in order to get something you want, you have to go out and achieve it yourself.

    Sorry this was a rather odd post.

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  91. First and foremost, I would like to apologize if this posting is lacking. This is the third time that i've had to retype it do to internet problems. I somewhat agree with Maddy when she says that Benetha can go to Africa. I think, though, that if her family needs her support that she ought to stay and help them with their financial dilemmas. At the same time, if they felt that she should go, then I would think so too. On the last page, the family sort of made it clear that Benetha would not be able to go to Africa due to money issues. Under different circumstances, I would be more understanding of Benetha traveling to Africa. If she was Walter's hard working, successfull daughter who had sacrificed time for her family, then it would be more agreable. However, even Mama knows that Benetha does didly-squat to help out the family in times of struggle. Also, I didn't think, when Asagai offered her the opportunity, that he was willing to pay for her plane ticket as well. It didn't seem like the Younger family had the money at the time either. An example of Benetha's "sacrifice" as Mrs. Harding delicately put it: Benetha is taking Guitar lessons when Travis barely has fifty cents to take a cab to school in the morning. To reiterate, if the family gave consent to Benethas plans, then I would not disagree. But if they needed her to stay and help them, I think that she would be obliged to do so.

    -Matt A

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  92. Karl makes a very intresting point. I agree with his statement about human nature playing a role in the story. Several of Walter's traits in the story present themselves as quintisential characteristics of the human race. Walter thinks that he needs the check more than anyone in the family. He wants that money to open up a buisness. He says it is to help his family, but one of the main reasons is to straighten out his own life. Therefore, he feels like he deserves the check more than anyone. Not that he needs it, but he deserves it. He also isn't satisfied with the quality of life that he is living. He wants more. That is basic human nature. Also, Walter's afterthought is a common thing that people do. That is, not thinking about their actions. Walter doesn't give a second thought about putting his long awaited for money into someone else's hands.

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  93. Wow... lot's of blog wars on here. Anyways, I'd like to back up Hannah and Amy. Sorry Jackson. :) The whole doctor thing. It's her choice. Besides, people are people, no matter what piece of land they live on. If she wants to help people, so be it. If she wants to help people who need help a heck of a lot more than we do, so be it. It is her choice, no matter the consequences. Dreams are dreams, and she has the right to fulfill them as she pleases. If you want to take them away just because "we're traitors," that's just plain wrong. Let's define traitor, with examples. Benedict Arnold was a traitor. Why? Because he helped people in such a way that WAS HARMFUL to us. Other people, such as, let's say, F.D.R, are not traitors, even though they helped people out abroad. Why? BECAUSE THEIR ACTIONS DID NOT HARM US. Simple as that. If you can't understand where the line is, then you're better off either not worrying about it, or finding a way to discuss it, without being rude of course. Anyway, that's just my opinion on that.
    -Mark
    P.S. On a side note, this wasn't posted yesterday because my internet was down. :(

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  94. I partially agree with what Sam said in his last post about dreams in that sometimes people are setting themselves up to fail. Sometimes people set unreasonable dreams, like Beneatha wanting to be a doctor in America in that time period. I'm not saying that it would be impossible, but with so many people having racist and sexist views, it would be extremely difficult. That's part of why I think she should go to Africa if she wants to be a doctor so badly. At the same time, though, without those hard-to-reach dreams, nothing would ever change. If nobody ever accomplished a goal like being a good, black, female doctor, then it would continue to be accepted that nobody ever could. I think that while so many people do set nearly impossible goals and fail, we really need the people who set those goals and succeed. I think that's what Brittney meant when she said that we would be a sorry nation. There would be no change, no progress, and therefore no future if nobody ever had dreams. Even if some people are happier without failing, isn't failing worse than never trying? I would rather spend my life working hard for something I want and failing than hating something about my life and never doing anything about it.

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  95. Alright, now for my other post! I saw Karl's thought about human nature, and I have to say, I totally agree with it being a pretty big theme in the story. However, at the same time, I would like to note that with Mrs. Harding's mentions of all the various prides, and conflicts being major themes as well make a lot of sense. I simply feel that these are massive breakdowns of the broad idea of human nature. I mean, if you really went through the thinking process, human nature encompasses all of those ideas, which needs to be taken into account. However, I don't think human nature should be totally nullified, because it has a point to it as well. It also encompasses many major ideas, such as Mama's love for her plant, into it as well that aren't necessarily MAJOR themes in the story, but they definitely have importance in the development of others.
    -Mark

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  96. I agree with everyone but Jackson Dreams never die at all. For example, Walter, do you think he still wants to be rich? Yes of Course he dos but he had a setback. That doesn't mean that the dream withers and ceases to live. Somewhere in that person's brain or heart the dream lives until it is for filled. Mama and Ruth wanted a bigger house to united the family. Their dream was accomplished and so they didn't need to think about the dream they lived the dream.
    Beneatha wants to be a doctor. I am not actually certain that this is the full dream. Most people who are doctors make a lot of money and Beneatha has never had the amount of wealth like that of George. So I think her goal in the beginning is to make money by helping others which is something she has never done. Then she wants to go to Africa to be with Asagai and be a doctor there. Her dream in a sense transforms and loses the addition of making lots of money. In the end her dream or goal is to help others.
    The theme in the story of Differing dreams means that a dream doesn't die it just moves. In second period today I thought that Weilin's, Erin's, and Taylor's project showed an interesting point with the table and how the dream doesn't die it moves to the table.
    -Ernie

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  97. I would like to comment on Jackson's latest comment and say that I fully agree with him. Beneatha has no right to go to Africa and abandon her family and her country. By leaving she would be abandoning her family that has tried to pay for all of her expenses to go do college and to do all of her extra activities like horseback riding and guitar lessons. She would also be abandoning her country that needs more workers. She should try to help her country so that it can become better so that it can be able to go and help other countries in need. I would also like to disagree with Hannah who says that patriotism is to love your world when it is not. The EXACT definition of Patriotism is-devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty-(Dictionary.com)- This is exactly what you said it was not. But, the definition aside, I think that it is your duty to help the country, or even family, that raised or helped you to become what your are today, before you go to help another country just to make yourself feel like you are doing something good. I also think that in Beneatha's case she does not have the medical training to go and help other people when she could actually hurt them instead of helping them. I think that she should get a job that helps her family until they are out of the hard times they are in, then try to get money to go to med school, and then she could organize a group of grad student to go with her, and if she is just going to be with Asagi then she is extremely selfish and doesn't deserve anything her family or country has done for her.

    Matt Kraft

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  98. I know this is like my 9th blog or something, but I would obviously love to disagree with Matt Kraft because he disagreed with my beliefs. He said that Patriotism is not helping others; it's helping your own country. He also said that it's the belief of a person that it's their duty to help their country. Don't you think that in order to help your country, you should seek help from other countries? And just like respect, help is not a one-way street. Sure, you could argue using the quote "nice [altruistic :D] people always come last." However, in the end, don't selfish people come last, too? Are you saying that America can succeed on its own and could’ve gotten to the point where it is today independently? Do you have any idea how much we depend on other countries (China) and how much they depend on us?
    I would like to apologize if I sound rude or vicious or etc...I'm not at all trying to ... just want to support my views :D

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  99. While you guys are disputing your family feud I would like to revert back to the discussion of the book. I know that everything that could have possibly been said about this book has been said but, having that in mind, I would then like to reiterate a point made by so many others preceding me. This would be that, regardless of your point of view, even though the Holocaust was only one part of the war, it has influenced, changed, and destroyed the lives of countless people. All because of a man's struggle to power. In my opinion, the book night was one man's, or at this time one boy's, struggle to survive because someone had the charisma and power to influence millions of individuals that not all humans are equal. To me, I see a reoccurring theme between the second World War, and the American Civil War. Both of these wars a circumstances represents how one mind can influence the coarse of history. This also shows how the body and voice are only a mere tool in the execution of horrific and completely immoral tasks. An evil combination of these three has the ability to harness enough power to send the entire human race to oblivion.

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