[Ads-l] Dialogue Origin: "I want to fly! I want to touch the sun!" "First eat your eggs"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

I was asked about the dialogue in the subject line which has been
attributed to Lorraine Hansberry. I determined that it appeared in
Stephen King's 2000 book titled "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft".

[Begin excerpt]
There's a place in A Raisin in the Sun where a character cries out: "I
want to fly! I want to touch the sun!" to which his wife replies,
"First eat your eggs."
[End excerpt]

I conjecture that King was misremembering a scene that occurred in the
first act of Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun” which was produced
in New York in 1959. The character Walter ardently described a plan
for opening a liquor store with two friends. Walter was hoping to
obtain the seed money for this venture from a family member. But Ruth
was skeptical, and she attempted to change the topic of conversation:

[Begin excerpt]
RUTH Walter, leave me alone! (She raises her head and stares at him
vigorously—then says, more quietly) Eat your eggs, they gonna be cold.

WALTER (Straightening up from her and looking off) That’s it. There
you are. Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat
your eggs. (Sadly, but gaining in power) Man say: I got to take hold
of this here world, baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go
to work. (Passionately now) Man say: I got to change my life, I’m
choking to death, baby! And his woman say — (In utter anguish as he
brings his fists down on his thighs) — Your eggs is getting cold!
[End excerpt]

Here is a link to the QI article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/02/21/eat-eggs/

Garson O'Toole
QuoteInvestigator.com

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org