Read the following excerpt from the ending of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun: 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.
(WALTER'S voice calls for them raucously)
WALTER (Off stage) Y'all come on! These people charges by the hour, you know!
MAMA (Waving RUTH out vaguely) All right, honey - go on down. I be down directly.
(RUTH hesitates, then exits. MAMA stands, at last alone in the living room, her plant on
the table before her as the lights start to come down. She looks around at all the walls
and ceilings and suddenly, despite herself, while the children call below, a great heaving
thing rises in her and she puts her fist to her mouth to stifle it, takes a final desperate
look, pulls her coat about her, pats her hat and goes out. The lights dim down. The door
opens and she comes back in, grabs her plant, and goes out for the last time) Curtain
How does this excerpt contribute to the theme of A Raisin in the Sun? What aesthetic impact did the author
intend it to have on the reader? Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.