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What does Walter tell Beneatha she should do with her life? In reality, he has a deeper, underlying conflict. What is Walter's hidden fear?

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Final answer:

Walter, from 'A Raisin in the Sun,' tells his sister Beneatha to be practical and abandon her dream of being a doctor due to financial strains. He harbors a deeper fear of his own dreams being undermined, leading to his conflict with Beneatha's ambitions.

Step-by-step explanation:

In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter tells Beneatha that she should be practical with her life choices. Beneatha, the protagonist's sister, dreams of becoming a doctor, a goal Walter perceives as unrealistic due to financial constraints.

On a deeper level, Walter's hidden fear is that his own dreams and manhood are being undermined by the entitlement to and control over the insurance money by the women in his family, particularly his mother and Beneatha.

This fear manifests as frustration towards Beneatha's ambition to become a doctor, which he sees as an impractical use of the money that could otherwise support his business aspirations. Walter's underlying conflict stems from his feeling of emasculation and helplessness in a world that seems to constrain his dreams and identity as a black man.

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