Major Turning Point

            A major turning point in this story is when Mama “went downtown” (90) to buy a new house in an all white neighborhood. Mama was tired of seeing her family struggling and “falling to pieces in front of [her] eyes” (94). Ruth’s first reaction to the news was one of shock, and rightly so. When she got over the shock of being in an all white neighborhood she went crazy with relief, running all over the house screaming and praising God that she no longer has to live in their “beat-up hole” (32). Now that they are out of the dilapidated apartment they are potentially moving into a hostile environment. This completely changes the direction of the play.

The post WWII time period was not a very friendly time period for African Americans and Ruth shows her realization of this through her initial reaction of astonishment. The Younger’s are trading one evil for another; the first one being their financial situation and the new one being racism and prejudice. They probably have already fallen victim to racism many times in their life but the new area will prove to be far worse than first imagined. Ruth says, “’course I ain’t one never been ‘fraid of no crackers”, (93) but this will test her family. Being the only black family in a neighborhood back then is like having a huge target right on all of their backs. This plot twist will also help enhance the themes of family importance and racial advantage by showing the affects of racial discrimination on a family. The Younger’s will have to lean on each other more than ever before.