The German critic Gustav Freytag proposed an analysis of a play as: rising action, climax, and falling action.
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The rising action of the play begins immediately with Walter's obsession with the insurance check that the family is waiting for. He wakes up talking about it, he argues with his sister about it, and he suggests that his wife assist him in his plan to get Mama to sign the check over to him for his business venture. Aristotle used the term complication for rising action.
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The climax of Raisin occurs with Bobo's telling Walter that the money is gone and includes the family's immediate response to this tragic news.
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The falling action occurs as Walter is contemplating selling his pride for Lindner's money and then deciding not to do so.
The traditional denouement, or unraveling of the plot, is the explanation of all the previous events of the drama. After Lindner leaves, we learn through Ruth's dialogue that the family is about to make the move they have spoken of throughout the play — in spite of their sudden financial reversal; Beneatha tells Mama about the marriage proposal that she has received earlier in the day, and Walter and Beneatha's previously troubled familial relationship appears to have been healed.
