Section B: NON AFRICAN DRAMA LORRAINE HANSBERRY - A Raisin In The Sun Comment on the relationship between Walter and Ruth Younger in the play.

Answer Details

The relationship between Walter Lee Younger and his wife Ruth in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is one of strain, disappointment and eventual reconciliation. Through their marriage Hansberry dramatises how poverty and frustrated dreams place pressure on love, and how renewed hope can restore it.

A marriage under strain. At the opening of the play Walter and Ruth's relationship is tense and weary. Walter is frustrated by his dead-end job as a chauffeur and by the family's cramped, poor living conditions, and he vents this frustration on Ruth. He accuses her of not supporting his dreams, particularly his scheme to invest in a liquor store, while she, exhausted and pregnant, is more concerned with the family's immediate survival. Their exchanges are often sharp and impatient, showing a love worn thin by hardship.

The pressure of poverty and thwarted dreams. Much of the friction springs not from lack of love but from economic pressure. Walter's obsession with money is really a longing for dignity and a better life for his family; Ruth's caution reflects her burden of holding the household together. Her discovery that she is pregnant, and her contemplation of an abortion because they cannot afford another child, reveals the depth of the strain the marriage is under.

Underlying love and loyalty. Despite the quarrels, genuine affection endures. Ruth remains loyal to Walter, defends his hopes to Mama, and longs for the closeness they once shared. Moments of tenderness break through the tension, reminding us that the conflict is between two people who still care for each other.

Reconciliation and renewal. The relationship is transformed as Walter grows in maturity. After the loss of the insurance money to Willy Harris, Walter finally rises to his responsibilities by rejecting Lindner's offer and choosing the family's dignity over money. This assertion of manhood restores Ruth's pride and faith in him. The prospect of the new house and Ruth's determination to keep her pregnancy point to a hopeful renewal of their marriage.

Conclusion. Walter and Ruth's relationship moves from tension and near-breakdown to reconciliation. Hansberry uses their marriage to show how poverty and frustrated ambition can corrode love, and how self-respect, maturity and shared hope can restore it, making their union part of the play's larger affirmation of dignity and family solidarity.