Gabrielle Union (Ruth Younger)

I am going to cast Gabrielle Union as Ruth Younger. I have chosen this actress to play as Ruth because her physical appearance indicates the play's description of this character. Ruth Younger is a colored 30 years old woman who was a pretty young girl, but now  she looks older than her age because disappointment has begun to hang in her face (p. 1041). She is constantly trying to keep her family together and to save her marriage to what it was once like. At the same time, Ruth is a practical person who never tries to be pleasant as Walter Lee ironically says that she always tries because she couldn't even give their son money for school (p.1043). Ruth is also a mediator between Beneatha and Walter, between Walter and Mama, and between Beneatha and Mama. She tries to make peace between them by giving wise comments and advises. Ruth tells Mama: "Now... you taking it all too seriously. You just got strong-willed children and it takes a strong woman like you to keep 'em in hand"(p.1049).