A Raisin in the Sun Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards for the play A Raisin in the Sun, focusing on key terms and concepts from Act I and Act II.

Dream Deferred

A dream that is postponed or delayed. Langston Hughes' poem asks what happens to a dream deferred, suggesting it may dry up, fester, stink, or explode.

Indestructible Contradictions

Refers to the conflicting aspects of the Younger's living room, which is both comfortable and worn due to years of use by too many people.

Settled Woman

A term used to describe Ruth, indicating that life has been harder than expected and disappointment is evident in her face.

Erratic Speech Habits

Describes Walter's way of speaking, which includes quick, nervous movements and a voice with a quality of indictment.

Maximum Indifference

Ruth's attitude towards Walter's comments, showing her weariness and emotional distance from his concerns.

Slubbornness

A dialectal pronunciation of stubbornness, used by Ruth to describe Travis's behavior.

Mutual Appreciation

The connection between Walter and Travis when Walter gives him money, disregarding Ruth's disapproval.

Good-for-nothing Loudmouth

Ruth's description of Willy Harris, reflecting her distrust and low opinion of him.

Fly-by-night Proposition

Walter's attempt to assure Ruth that his business idea is legitimate and well-planned, not a risky venture.

Graft

Ruth's term for the money needed to bribe someone to approve the liquor license, highlighting her skepticism.

Assimilationist

A person who is willing to give up their own culture and submerge themself completely in the dominant, and oppressive culture.

Mutilated Hair

Asagai's joking term for Beneatha's straightened hair, which he sees as an attempt to conform to Western beauty standards.

Acute Ghetto-itus

Beneatha's humorous term for the Younger family's weariness and frustration with their living conditions.

Alaiyo

A Yoruba word that Asagai uses as a nickname for Beneatha, meaning 'One for Whom Bread/Food Is Not Enough.'

Ocomogosiay

A term chanted by Beneatha and Walter while dancing, representing a connection to African heritage.

Flaming Spear

A term Walter uses to describe himself, reflecting a romanticized view of African warrior heritage.

Liberated Women

According to Asagai, even those who claim to liberated are not liberated at all, they merely talk and do not act.

Prometheus

George's parting insult to Walter that he is a person whose intellect does not amount to anything.

Three hundred years later the African Prince rose up out of the seas and swept the maiden back across the middle passage over which her ancestors had come

A term Asagai uses when referring to Beneatha moving back with him to Africa. He expresses this in a flirtatious manner