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A Raisin In The Sun Character Analysis Walter

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How do we interpret the character of Walter?
The character of Walter is characterized as a struggling black man often viewed as having a male chauvinistic attitude towards women. Challenged with the responsibility of being the man of the family (head of household) who struggles to support the family financial needs. He is continuously contemplating new ways to enhance the well-being of the family. Frustrated by the societal barriers placed on black men and families during the early twenty century which impedes his progress to attain not only his advancement but impedes the prosperity of his family. Walter holds steadily to the notion that money is the answer to his problems (p.1462-1462).

Many readers fault Walter expressing that he is a …show more content…

I support my point of view with this: Walter has had a lot of responsibility placed on him by the family and more so his mother. Being the oldest man (the only man) in a family that has recently lost the one person with whom they (the family) looked up too and counted on for their well-being. It is expected that he (Walter) has to, and will, assume the responsibility of, being the man of the house. With this responsibility, Walter feels the necessity to fill and walk the shoes of his father who in the eyes of the family was smart, strong and dominant. Let's remember that this family is going forward during a period in which blacks, for the most part, were poorly educated with no real understanding, e.g., education and or training of what success embodies. Therefore we have people and in this case, a family who has no other recourse but to embrace thoughts of success through a layperson understanding. So, often the ideas are not presented as a well thought out venture. Thus they are not planned nor executed successfully. My support for this perspective is stated throughout the play, however, as an example, let's look at this statement made by Walter: That’s it. There you are. Man say to his woman: I got me a dream. His woman say: Eat your eggs. Man say: I got to take hold of this here world, baby! And a woman will say: Eat your eggs and go to work. Man say: I got to change my life, I’m choking

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