Vocabulary in A Raisin in the Sun

To force something into order through stern disapproval or pressure, as if a scowling expression alone could reshape reality. Here it suggests God grimly molding a resistant world.

Acting self-righteous or morally superior, as if one is too pure to be questioned. Used here as a criticism of someone who puts on a pious, judgmental attitude.

Things of value — comfort, money, personal ambition — given up so that someone else can have a better chance. Used to remind Beneatha of what the family has gone without for her sake.

To back a shared plan or goal instead of working against it; to act as a loyal partner rather than an obstacle. Used as an appeal for family unity around Walter's ambitions.

Willing or pleased to do something; used in the phrase 'didn't see fit,' meaning God chose not to grant something. It carries a sense of divine decision or withholding.

Produced from, or representing the cost of, something deeply personal. Here it means the insurance money literally comes from the sacrifice of her father's life and labor.

A person's physical body and the labor and suffering it endured. Used to say the insurance money represents the cost of Big Walter's entire working life and death.

To make a formal or earnest request, often by calling on someone's sense of reason or decency. Lindner uses it to sound polite while pressuring the family not to move.

Behaving according to the social norms of a dominant culture; reasonable and restrained. Lindner uses the word to flatter the Youngers while implying they should quietly accept segregation.

The supposed good sense or prudence of a course of action. Lindner uses it to make backing down from the move sound like a smart, calm choice rather than surrender.

Careful thought or attention given to something; also, in a legal or negotiating context, something offered in exchange. Lindner's phrasing blurs polite concern with a veiled financial offer.

Used as an intensifier expressing frustration or dismissal, with no literal meaning about damnation. Here it shows Walter's contempt for book-learning as a solution to real-world problems.

Treating someone in a harmful or diminishing way, denying them respect or belief in their potential. Walter admits he has crushed Beneatha's spirit just as society has crushed his own.

Ordinary, without pretension or wealth; simple in background and manner. The family uses it to describe themselves honestly before asserting that simplicity does not mean inferiority.

Having a strong sense of self-worth and dignity that refuses to be bought or humiliated. Used here not as arrogance but as the refusal to accept a lesser place in society.

Gradually and through hard, steady labor, piece by piece over time. It emphasizes that the father's earnings came from years of grinding work, not luck or inheritance.

A person's sense of their own worth and the right to be treated with respect. Walter invokes it as the reason the family will move despite threats, choosing self-respect over money.

Empty of feeling or purpose; numb and defeated inside. Describes Walter's state of shock and despair after losing the family's money, as if all life has drained out of him.

A payment offered to persuade someone to give up a right or property. Here it refers to Lindner's offer of money to stop the Youngers from moving into the white neighborhood.

To be made possible only because someone has died and left behind insurance or inheritance money. Asagai uses it to question a system where a family's future rests on tragedy rather than justice.