MovieChat Forums > A Raisin in the Sun (2008) Discussion > Confused about the ages and sleeping arr...

Confused about the ages and sleeping arrangements . . .


Okay, so Walter Lee is 35. We can assume that Ruth is about the same, maybe a year or two younger. Travis is 10, so they had him when they were, let's say, 25 and 23.

If he's 35, that makes Lena around 55 or so, maybe she's pushing 60. A little young for retirement, if you ask me. Of course, there is that big fat check, but it's not as if she couldn't work any more.

But Beneatha is in college. So that makes her what, 20? 21? That's a big gap between children, dontcha think? And if Lena is 60, she had Beneatha when she was 40? That was practically unheard of in those days, I would think.

Just as an aside, the relationship between Beneatha and Travis would be more like brother and sister than aunt and nephew. Interesting.

But the sleeping arrangements confuse me. It's a two-bedroom apartment. Walter and Ruth, of course, sleep in one room. Lena and Beneatha sleep in another. Travis sleeps on the couch.

But what about when Walter Sr. was alive? Where did Beneatha sleep then?





I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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But the sleeping arrangements confuse me. It's a two-bedroom apartment. Walter and Ruth, of course, sleep in one room. Lena and Beneatha sleep in another. Travis sleeps on the couch.

But what about when Walter Sr. was alive? Where did Beneatha sleep then?


I thought he died before Walter Lee got married to Ruth??

I'm his Angie and he's my Jesse

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Well, no. Think about it. How long does it take insurance proceeds to come through after someone dies? And how old is Travis?

Walter Sr.'s only been dead a few months.




I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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Oh...well maybe she was shacked with Travis on the couch.

I'm his Angie and he's my Jesse

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Ewww.




I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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I know right?? I never thought about that tho.

I'm his Angie and he's my Jesse

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In regard to the questions you asked, jgroub:

Lena is about 60. She is retiring young and it is exactly because of the check. She doesn't want to work any more because she's been working since she was 12. That's a long time of taking care of other people's children and mopping floors. I know I'd retire as soon as a check like that that came along.

There is a decent sized gap between Walter and Benetha, but it certainly isn't unheard of, even then. This is anecdotal, but my great grandmother accidentally got pregnant at 40, going on to give birth to my grandmother and her twin brother. That would have been in 1924.

Yes, it's a two-bedroom apartment. When Walter Sr. was alive, Beneatha slept on the couch while Travis slept in a screened off part of his parents room. Yes, I know that's weird, and Hansberry somewhat acknowledges this in the dialog of the screenplay, but when you have no other alternatives, you do what you have to.

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Thanks for the info. I've never read (or seen) the play.





I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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I would guess that Beneatha slept on the couch while Travis slept on a mat on the floor. That apartment was clean enough to eat off the floors. I very seriously doubt a girl and boy would sleep in the same bed or on the same couch much past the age of 5.

The pad for Travis could slip under the couch or fold up and go in the closet.

People are creative if they need to be.



No two persons ever watch the same movie.

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As far as the age difference between Beneatha and Walter, did you forget that Lena had been pregnant before and lost the child, either as a miscarriage or another circumstance. After that child, Beneatha was probably a surprise to them both, Walter Sr. and Lena.

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So, that probably explained the big age difference between Walter and Beneatha.

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It must be hard for Beneatha to have to share a room with her mother even at the new house.

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I wonder did Walter Jr. sleep in the room that he shares with Ruth now when he was a kid or did he originaly sleep in the other room? Also, why didn't he and Ruth move into a cheap apartment of their own after they got married or at least had Travis?

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I have a great aunt that is 57 and her oldest brother is 77.My father and his youngest brother are 17 years apart

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Unheard of in those days? Where did you get that from? My father is in his 60's and his mother had him at 41 and 2 more children after him. "Change of life babies" as they used to be called has occurred for generations.

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