Walter Lee Younger: Selfish to Selfless

Lorraine Hansberry portrays the revolution of black’s consciousness through the play, A Raisin in the Sun, by introducing the Younger family to readers. This play takes place in a poor black neighborhood in Chicago’s Southside in the 1950s where the Younger family struggles with racial discrimination and finding their true dreams and goals. Like most literature, this play has a clear protagonist, but Hansberry also uses an anti-hero, a flawed character who lacks heroic qualities, but with whom the reader still sympathizes and who eventually redeems himself through a heroic act or decision.

With the weight of his deferred dreams upon his shoulders, Walter Lee Younger digs himself into a massive pit of troubles but slowly redeems himself by realizing the wrongs of his actions, making him the anti-hero of this play. The reality of being unable to achieve his dreams burdens Walter and eventually changes him into a greedy, selfish and cowardly young man who makes poor decisions and hurts those who love him.

Walter’s obsession with money has caused his family a lot of trouble, especially when it comes to the discussion of the $10,000 insurance money they receive.

He belittles Beneatha’s dreams of becoming a doctor and says, “Ain’t many girls who decide to be a doctor”(36). Walter even claims that spending money on Beneatha’s education is a waste, and that he and Ruth would have been richer and happier if Beneatha dropped school. Not only does he put down Beneatha’s dreams, he also selfishly wants all of the insurance money so that he can open a liquor store to make his own dream of being rich and successful come true.

Ruth thought Walter was a dreamer and tells him to “eat your eggs” (34) every time he brings up his dreams. When he realizes that he none of his family supports his desire to opening a liquor store, he becomes a bitter and cowardly man. When Ruth tells him that she is pregnant and considering an abortion, he simply eludes the conversation and “picks up his keys and his coat and walks out (75)”, missing this chance to become a strong, real man.

Walter is misled by his thought that being rich is the most important achievement in life. The greed, selfishness, and cowardice lead Walter from one trouble to another, and he makes his life into a messed-up puzzle, which he ultimately tries to piece back together. Despite the results, Walter’s intensions are pure, he wants the best for his family and he wants them happy, which led readers into sympathizing with him. Walter ultimately earns the reader’s respect due to his final heroic act.

Although Walter loses all the money, including Beneatha’s school tuition because he “never went to the bank at all” (129), he tries to pull himself back together but comes up with an even worse resolution: sell his pride for money: “That white man is going to walk in that door able to write checks for more money than we ever had. It’s important to him and I’m going to help him… I’m going to put on the show, Mama” (143). Mama is extremely disappointed with Walter, so she sternly tells him to look Travis in the eye and tell him he was going to sell the house.

Looking at his son, Walter finally realizes that having pride in oneself and one’s race is more important than being rich; thus, he turns down Lindner’s very tempting offer without hesitation. Walter shamelessly announces that they are moving into the house, thus granting his mama her wish—to own a house for their family: “And we have decided to move into our house because—my father—he earned it for us brick by brick…and that’s all we got to say about that. We don’t want your money” (148). Walter stands up against the whites, putting pride before money, to truly become the man of the family.

Although Walter is originally blinded with the desire of becoming a rich man, even if it means selling his dignity, he eventually comes back onto the right track. Walter starts off as a bitter, gutless and covetous man who cares less about anyone else but his own dreams. Walter performs many wrongdoings in his action through most of the play, yet readers sympathize with him and secretly want him to succeed so that he can prove himself as a man to his family. Walter ultimately exemplifies a clear anti-hero: a flawed but sympathetic and redemptive character.