From the beginning of this play, we are immediately aware of some of the struggles that plague the Younger family as well as many other African American families of this time period. Poverty is an obvious issue, as the entire family must share a bathroom with other tenants in their apartment building. Travis is also made to sleep on the couch due to a shortage of space and beds. Ruth even says, "I ain't got no fifty cents this morning." (Act I, scene1) This shows that the family is in great need of money.

Another issue discovered later on in the story is that of discrimination. When the family decides to move into Clybourne Park, an all white neighborhood, they are strongly discouraged a and even bribed not to move into the area. This shows that segregation and racism were major

issues during this time period. Early in...