What strikes me about the characters in A Raisin in the Sun is how uttely alone each and every one of them seems. While they share each share the unifying element of having unfulfilled dreams, every one of them seems absolutely blind to the dreams of the others. It is as if each character can see only his own unrealized hopes, and is completely ignorant that the other members of their family might themselves have dreams too. No character receives encouragement or understanding from any of his or her family members. Walter is desperate to open his liquor store and become his own master, but everyone thinks his schemes are worthless. No one seems to understand Beneatha at all... her dreams of being a doctor and her sense of African identity are absolutely foreign and beyond comprehension to them. Ruth seems to struggle with her pregnancy by herself... and appears to disagree with her husband on how to best create a good life for their son. It is this loneliness perhaps, that imbibes the reader with a sense of claustrophobia when reading the play. Not only is there no outlet for expression for these characters, no opportunity for the fulfillment of their dreams, but they also seem so hopelessly alone, they have no one but themselves in which to confide their dreams.