Walter Younger in the Play Raisin in the Sun

Walter Younger, a character in the play “Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. He’s a tough guy to deal with because he is selfish. He looks after himself and his family, but he only cares about money. This gets in the way of his relationship with his mom, sister and wife. Walter is a good guy doing all the wrong things for the right reasons, but the way he does them aren’t always known or liked by his family.

He loves and cares about his family and their well being but can’t control his selfishness.

This essay on A Raisin In The Sun will give light to the struggles he has encountered along the way of finding his pride. Walter can be reckless, especially when it comes to money. He sees money as the gateway to everything. Walter is hard headed, and seems to only make poor choices. Walters father passed away and Mama had received a life insurance check of $10,000. She had saved $3,500 for Beneatha’s schooling, that she trusted Walter with. On that very day, he gave all of their money too Willy, who gave it to Bobo for a scam that was supposed to be “a million dollar investment”. After Willy took the money he never came around again. Walter felt guilty for giving away the money, Walter went home and explained to Mama, his sister Beneatha and his wife Ruth what had happened.

This situation made the relationship between Ruth and Mama rough. Mama was heart broken, Mama told Walter he was a disgrace to his father’s memory. Walter’s wife was thinking about having an abortion because all he cared about was money and his “million dollar deals”. Walter was lost at this point, he wanted money. Money was the only thing he wanted. He loves and cares for his family, but his mistakes got in the way of that. Mama put a down payment on a house in Clybourne Park, a white neighborhood that was run by Karl Lindner. Karl offered to buy their house back for more money so they wouldn’t move into the neighborhood, because he wanted it to remain a safe and quiet neighborhood. Before Karl Lindner showed up at his apartment he was explaining to Mama and Ruth that they needed the money for it was a great opportunity to get Mama’s down payment back that she put on the house and receive more money for not moving into the neighborhood.

Walter was loving this deal, simply because of the money. Mama and Ruth were devastated, they really wanted to move into a house that they could call their own. When Karl arrives, Ruth tells her son, Travis to go play outside. “No, do this in front of your son since you think this is the right decision,” said Mama. Travis stayed and Walter’s decision changed, he didn’t want to show Travis that the white man had power over him. Walter declined Karl’s offer to show his son that their family deserved this home and a happy life. Mama, Ruth, Beneatha, Walter, and Travis moved into their new house. Walter’s final decision fixed his relationship with his family and showed them that he’s a mature man who’s pride won’t take over.

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