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Beneatha is an attractive college student who provides a young, independent, feminist perspective, and her desire to become a doctor demonstrates her great ambition. Throughout the play, she searches for her identity. She dates two very different men: Joseph Asagai and George Murchison. She is at her happiest with Asagai, her Nigerian boyfriend, who has nicknamed her “Alaiyo,” which means “One for Whom Bread—Food—Is Not Enough.” She is at her most depressed and angry with George, her pompous, affluent boyfriend. She identifies much more with Asagai’s interest in rediscovering his African roots than with George’s interest in assimilating into white culture.
Beneatha prides herself on being independent. Asagai criticizes her for being both too independent by not wanting to marry and too dependent by not wanting to leave America. Asagai’s wish that Beneatha be quieter and less ambitious obviously outrages her, and his contention late in the play that she has been far from independent—she has had to rely on the insurance money from her father’s death and the investments made by her brother to realize her dream of becoming a doctor—greatly influences her. When she realizes this dependence, she gains a new perspective on her dream and a new energy to attain it in her own way. This realization also brings her closer to Walter. While she earlier blames him for his shoddy investing and questions his manhood, she eventually recognizes his strength, a sign that she has become able to appreciate him.
Beneathas “schooling” is a privilege that Walter Lee has not had, yet Beneatha appears to believe that a higher education is her right. Everyone in the family is making a sacrifice so that Beneatha can become a doctor — a fact pointed out by Walter Lee as they clash in the first scene of the play. Yet beneath what seems to be selfishness, Beneathas strengths are her spirit of independence, the fact that she is a “new woman” who refuses to accept the traditional, spineless female role, and the fact that she is so knowledgeable about Africa that her self-esteem is enhanced. Beneathas search for her identity is a motif carried throughout the play; the closer she gets to Africa via her relationship with Joseph Asagai, the more she develops into a pleasant, likeable, and less egocentric person.
Beneathas relationship with her mother is largely one of conflict because of their many differences, but it is not a strained relationship, for even after her mother slaps her for her blasphemous talk, Beneatha later hugs and thanks her mother for understanding her dismissal of George. She clearly loves her mother even if they do not always agree. Beneatha is opinionated, especially in her dealings with her brother, Walter Lee; she clearly lives up to her name, an obvious pun, for, especially at the beginning of the play, everything and everyone seem to be “beneath her.”
Because Beneatha is the most educated of the Youngers, she sometimes seems to be obnoxious and self-centered; especially in the early scenes, she freely verbalizes her views in a household that has difficulty understanding her perspectives. She favors her African suitor over her rich boyfriend, much to the puzzlement of her family.
Even though her family is clearly poor, Beneatha has no reservations about feeding her ego. We learn that she “flits” from one expensive hobby to another as her mood dictates, even though it often seems that the family could use the money spent on Beneathas horseback riding, her camera equipment, her acting lessons, and her guitar lessons for other, more financially relevant things.
Beneatha Younger Quotes in A Raisin in the SunThe A Raisin in the Sun quotes below are all either spoken by Beneatha Younger or refer to Beneatha Younger. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Walter: 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 . . . Beneatha: Well – you finally got it said . . . It took you three years but you finally got it said.
Mama: What is it you want to express? Beneatha: Me! Don’t worry – I don’t expect you to understand.
Asagai: You wear it well . . . very well . . . mutilated hair and all. Beneatha: My hair – what’s wrong with my hair? Asagai: Were you born with it like that? Beneatha: No . . . of course not.
Independence and then what? What about all the crooks and thieves and just plain idiots who will come into power and steal and plunder the same as before – only now they will be black and do it in the name of the new Independence – WHAT ABOUT THEM?!
Then isn’t there something wrong in a house – in a world! – where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man? I never thought to see you like this, Alaiyo.
Have you cried for that boy today? I don’t mean for yourself and for the family ‘cause we lost the money. I mean for him: what he been through and what it done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain’t through learning – because that ain’t the time at all. It’s when he’s at his lowest and can’t believe in hisself ‘cause the world done whipped him so!
FAQ
Who is Beneatha and what are her characteristics?
What does Beneatha Younger represent?
What are Beneatha’s strengths?
Who is Beneatha Younger in A Raisin in the Sun?
Mama’s daughter and Walter’s sister. Beneatha is an intellectual. Twenty years old, she attends college and is better educated than the rest of the Younger family. Some of her personal beliefs and views have distanced her from conservative Mama.
