Raisin in the Sun 2.1

What are the Youngers doing at the beginning of this scene?

• Preparing breakfast

• Cleaning the house

• Hosting a party

• Packing for a trip

What is Travis doing while the others are working?

• Playing outside

• Helping his grandmother clean

• Leaning on the windowsill, looking outside

• Doing his chores in his room

Why does Travis ask to go downstairs?

• To meet his friends

• To escape the smell of insecticide

• To pick up the mail

• To run an errand for his grandmother

What is Beneatha doing to help clean the house?

• Sweeping the floors

• Washing the kitchen walls

• Spraying insecticide into wall cracks

• Rearranging furniture

How does Mama respond when Travis asks where his mother went?

• She says Ruth went to work

• She says Ruth went to see a friend

• She says Ruth is taking care of personal business

• She ignores his question

Who calls on the phone for Walter, and why?

• Willy Harris, regarding papers from a lawyer

• Ruth, checking in from her errand

• Travis’s teacher, about his schoolwork

• Beneatha, with news from her friend

What does Beneatha tell Travis about the cockroaches?

• They need to be carefully caught

• She doesn’t want to hurt them

• They are not bothering anyone

• They are all gone now

What is Mama’s response when Beneatha suggests the only way to get rid of the cockroaches is to “burn down the building”?

• She laughs and agrees

• She is shocked by the suggestion

• She tells Beneatha to get back to cleaning

• She asks if Ruth might know what to do

What does Mama imply when she says that Ruth went “to the doctor”?

• Ruth might be pregnant

• Ruth is feeling unwell

• Ruth is hiding something

• Ruth has been injured

How does Beneatha react to Mama’s suspicions about Ruth’s visit to the doctor?

• She dismisses them as foolish

• She becomes defensive

• She shares a knowing glance with Mama

• She ignores Mama’s comment