Under Pressure

In A Raisin In The Sun, characters' motivations are influenced by pressures from outside sources. Both Ruth and Mama feel that they have to take certain actions because of the pressures from other members of the family, their financial situation, but the greatest pressure of all comes from Walter Lee. 

Mama puts Walter in charge of the rest of the insurance money. This is the result; the action that was caused by an outside pressure. That outside pressure was none other than Walter Lee. Even since he found out about the money, he acted like it was his even though it was solely his mothers. He made elaborate plans of investing the money, drew up the papers and tried to convince his mother to sign off the money to him, to gamble it all on the liquor store. She refuses this at first, but Walter slowly beats her over the head with guilt and snide, digging comments until she buckles. She puts him in charge of the money but only after Walter says things like, "So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." (95) Mama would have stuck to her guns, spent the money on the house and save the rest to improve the family's quality of life had it not been for the enormous force of guilt on her shoulders, put there by Walter Lee. 

Ruth is another character under pressure. She put a five dollar down payment on an abortion. If the Younger family was better off financially, do you think she would have done this? The Youngers barely scrape by as it is and she feels that if she brings another person into the world the family may not make it. She would never get an abortion under any other circumstances, Walter Lee even said so flat out to his mother. Their financial troubles as well as the troubles in her marriage force Ruth to consider an option against her beliefs.