chance to experience the world on their own. Beneatha’s second thoughts about becoming a doctor when Agasai asks her to go to Africa with him and Bird’s decision to go to work when her husband Lem tells her that she doesn’t have to displays the weakness that both Mother Joe and Mama Younger have overcome. Beneatha and Bird must learn to follow their dreams no matter what happens. Lem, the son-in-law of Mother Joe, mirrors Walter Lee’s character. Walter Lee is undependable and known for getting into trouble with money. These negative attributes also pertain to Lem, played by Mekhi Phifer. These men are given the chance to show their trustworthiness to their families but always fail in the end. In the Younger family, Travis is the glue that keeps everyone bound together. This is true also for Ahmad, the glue of the Joseph family. These families thrive on the future of these two youngest characters. The quarreling and bickering that occurs in these families are for the love of the two young boys and their welfare. The similarities these two families have make the comparison of these works simple to understand and to relate to. The settings of these narratives are alike in several ways. First, both are tales of African American middle class families living in south side Chicago. The whole family lives together in both stories, which promotes togetherness and family life. The opening scene of the movie Soul Food is a visual representation of the description of what the Younger living room used to look like before all of the family dilemmas: “comfortable…well-ordered…polished and washed…arranged with taste and pride.” George Tillman, Jr. based the storyline of Soul Food on his own childhood experience of growing up in his family, just like Lorraine Hansberry. The related settings of these two stories allow the plot to be easily recognized and understandable.Hansberry’s sto...
