5. Show how Raisin deals with the gender gap--the problems that the older generations has in dealing with the younger generation and vice versa.
Right off the bat I am able to notice a gender divide among the characters in Raisin. The youngest Younger, Travis, comes off as having a sort of attitude, but still shows respect to his elders. He is about 10 or 11 and he seems to me to be a typical little boy who resists his mother's rules and love, but still is understanding and always comes around to accept. Beneatha, or Bennie, is the seconds youngest. She is about 20 years old and is about the most stubborn person ever. She is the most formally educated in the house and has this idea that she needs to regain her heritage, much like Dee in Everyday Use. Ruth, Walter's wife, is about thirty and believes that her life is somewhat of a disappointment. She is stern and stubborn and, for a woman of her age, expected to already be a "settled woman" (Hansberry 24). Then there is Walter, Beneatha's brother. He is in his mid-thirties and is a tall, lean dreamer. He too is very stubborn. And finally, we have Mama. She is about 60 years old and just recently lost her husband. She is a strong and graceful beauty who has had to overcome a lot in her life. She is very understanding and knowledgeable.
Mama comes to a realization when she is talking to Ruth about her kids. She says, "No--there's something come down between me and them that don't let us understand each other and I don't know what it is" (Hansberry 52). Mama is concerned because she cannot seem to reach her children or understand them. She is concerned because the times are becoming so different. Her son is only thinking about money and her daughter is only thinking about "protecting her heritage" and becoming an independent doctor. These are things that Mama never had to deal with when she was 20 and 30 years old. She just is not used to the fact that times are different now.
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