Clearly, Travis is spoiled. In the first scene of the play, we watch him cleverly get what he wants (the fifty cents his teacher has told him to bring to school) from his father after his mother has emphatically stated that they just don’t have fifty cents. Earlier, Travis said that he could get it from his grandmother, which implies that she gives him whatever he asks for.

In spite of his manipulative nature, however, Travis is a likeable child because, although he might be mischievous at times, he is always mannerly. He seems sheltered and overprotected by the numerous adults in the household, yet he is a “street kid,” drawn to the life of his ghetto neighborhood. In Act I, Scene 2, Travis and his neighborhood pals are chasing a large rat for “sport.” (This scene was omitted from the original stage production and also from the original screenplay.)

Travis shows remarkable maturity by requesting permission to make some money by “bagging groceries” at the local supermarket. He is not so spoiled nor so pampered that he shirks responsibility. This scene contains, perhaps, another of Hansberry’s attempts to pay homage to the “children of the poor,” those whom she admired for their “spirit of independence.”