Money Money Money Money

Mama:  "It ain't much, but it's all I got in the world and I'm putting it in your hands.  I'm telling you to be the head of this family from now on like you supposed to be.
Walter:  You trust me like that Mama?
Mama:  I ain't never stop trusting you.  Like I ain't never stop loving you." (A Raisin in the Sun p. 107)

During this excerpt, Mama hands Walter $6,500.  Mama tells Walter to put $3,000 in the bank for Bennie, but the rest of the money is given to Walter to use at his own discretion.  This is Walter's turning point in the story.  After this interaction, Walter no longer bickers with his wife; instead, he takes her out to the movies and restarts their once abusive relationship.  Ruth decides to keep the baby because of this change.  Walter even decides to stop drinking.  Later in the story, Walter buys his mother gardening tools for the new house after being told by the "Welcoming Committee" that the Younger family was not allowed to move into the neighborhood due to the "social standards" of the community.  Nothing seems to be able to stop his happiness because he has everything he wants and needs - money. 

At the end of Act II, Walter discovers that Willy stole all of the money he invested into the business.  Instead of putting some of the money into the bank for Bennie, Walter gives all of the money to Willy.  This causes the happiness to end.  Mama no longer trusts her son; in desperation, she hits her son for losing her husband's life savings.  This is ironic because Mama protests Ruth threatening to beat Travis earlier in the story.  It is going to take a lot for Mama to ever trust her son once again, but I'm sure her love will endure through this hard time.