Mama : Son – how come you talk so much ‘bout money?
Walter : with immense passion Because it is life, Mama
Mama : Quietly Oh – Very quietly So now it’s life. Money is life.
Once upon a time freedom used to be life – now it’s money. I guess the world really do change…
Walter : No – it was always money, Mama. We just didn’t know about it
Hansberry, 1994: 74. Walter talks about money all the time. He even emphasizes on what money is
equal with. Walter believes that money is equal with life because money itself is life. Freedom that used to become life has been put aside by Walter. He states that it is just
about money. People never really know or understand how important money is. When Mama bought a house using the insurance money, Walter felt that he has lost
his dream along with the money that mama spent. “So you butchered up a dream of mine…” Hansberry, 1994: 95. Another point that shows how money oriented
Walter is when he is going to accept Mr. Lindner’s offer to buy the house back. “Don’t cry, Mama. Understand. That white man is going to walk in that door able to
write checks for more money than we ever had…” Hansberry, 1994: 143. It shows that Walter does not care about anything else but money, even he does not care to his
family condition. He feels that money is the only things that can bring pleasure to life.
b. An Uneducated person
Hansberry also describes Walter as an uneducated person. It can be seen through how this character’s ability in using English. Hansberry also portrays Walter
as an old-fashioned stereotype of men. He is considered being the type of men who 38
thinks that colored women have small minds. He thinks that a wife should always agree with her husband and support them in everything 1994: 24-25. Walter thinks
that men should have higher education than women therefore it is unnecessary for a woman to have high education.
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… Hansberry,
1994: 38.
Walter thinks that Bennie’s dream to be a doctor is something useless. He sees that if Bennie really cares with the sick people, what she needs to accomplish at most
is just becoming a nurse. He thinks that if she does not want to, it is better for her to get married and stay at home with the children and the household job.
3. The Description of Beneatha Bennie a. A Smart Girl
Beneatha is the daughter of Mama. She is called Bennie by the members of the family. Related to Murphy’s theory of characterization, one of the methods so that
we can understand characters in the story is by personal description 1972: 161. As we can see in the play, Hansberry describes Bennie’s appearance as slim and intense
as her brother. She is about twenty years old. She is not as pretty as her sister in-law, but her lean, almost intellectual face has a handsomeness of its own. Her speech is a
mixture of many things Hansberry, 1994: 35. 39
