When Beneatha speaks of George Murchison, she speaks "with displeasure" and calls him "shallow" (Act I, sc. i). She feels that George sees himself as better than the Younger family because his family has money and Beneatha's does not. However, she says, "Oh—I like George all right, Mama. I mean I like him enough to go out with him and stuff" (Act I, sc. i). So, she even admits that she likes him, but she is really using him to have a good time and nothing else. Beneatha does not see in George a kindred spirit, like she does with Joseph Asagai. Beneatha's family also wants to see her marry George because it would be moving up in their social world; he has money, so he will be able to support her. However, he won't be the type of person who would allow Beneatha to continue her quest to be a doctor--he is a traditionalist, like her family, and the family hopes that George will settle Beneatha. Joseph Asagai, on the other hand, is more of a soulmate for Beneatha. He is an intellectual much like Beneatha, and he challenges her to think about what she wants in life, not just to follow aimlessly against the will of her family.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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