Quote 1
BENEATHA (Dropping to her knees)
Well – I do – all right? – thank everybody! And forgive me for ever wanting to be anything at all! (Pursuing him on her knees across the floor) FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME! (1.1.123)
Beneatha sarcastically apologizes for having dreams. To Walter, her dream seems kind of far-fetched. However, Beneatha is determined and she stands up to her brother for her right to want to become a doctor.
Quote 2
BENEATHA
That was what one person could do for another, fix him up – sew up the problem, make him all right again. That was the most marvelous thing in the world…I wanted to do that. I always thought it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know – and make them whole again. This was truly being God…I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. It used to matter. I used to care. I mean about people and how their bodies hurt…(3.1.14)
In this lovely little monologue, Beneatha tells us why she dreams of being a doctor – she just wants to help people. To Beneatha, giving people medical attention is one of the most concretely good things a person can do. This just makes it all sadder when Walter makes Beneatha's dreams next to impossible by losing the money.
Quote 3
BENEATHA
I know that’s what you think. Because you are still where I left off. You with all your talk and dreams about Africa! You still think you can patch up the world. Cure the Great Sore of Colonialism – (Loftily, mocking it) with the Penicillin of Independence - ! (3.1.22)
Beneatha mocks Asagai for keeping faith in his dream for Africa. Her idealistic nature was sorely damaged when Walter lost the money for her to go to medical school. The girl struggles to remain hopeful in the face of mounting despair.