How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
Quote #13
BENEATHA
I said that that individual in that room is no brother of mine.
MAMA
That’s what I thought you said. You feeling like you better than he is today? (BENEATHA does not answer)
Yes? What you tell him a minute ago? That he wasn’t a man? Yes? You give him up for me? You done wrote his epitaph too – like the rest of the world? Well, who give you the privilege? (3.1.108-9)
Mama suggests that a woman’s support and faith in a man can make or break him.
Quote #14
MAMA (Quietly, woman to woman)
He finally come into his manhood today, didn’t he? Kind of like a rainbow after the rain…
RUTH (Biting her lip, lest her own pride explode in front of Mama)
Yes, Lena. (3.1.155-6)
Even though Walter is the protagonist of the story, it is the women in his life who have the biggest dream for him: to find his own manhood. Hansberry suggests that manliness is having the strength to stand up for what is right.