How Does Walter Lee Influence The Women In A Raisin In The Sun

In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee is surrounded by three women who influence his decisions. His mother, his sister Beneatha, and his wife Ruth. Although he acts extremely entitled, he is considerate of their feelings and makes decisions based on them. Walter Lee’s mother is a huge influence on him. In the play, Walter falls into a deep depression after his mother will not give him the insurance money to start his liquor business. When his mother realizes how badly his manhood has been damaged, she decides to trust him with the money. She gives him six thousand and five hundred dollars to put in the bank for expenses such as Beneatha’s schooling. Instead of doing that, Walter decided to invest in a business, only resulting in his money being stolen. His mother is heartbroken and Walter decided to call Mr. Lindner to sell the house as a way to get the money back. In the end of the play though, Walter realizes just how much that it would break

In the play, Walter seems to take his anger out on Ruth. This obviously takes a toll on her and puts a huge strain on their marriage. When Ruth finds out she is pregnant, she is so afraid to bring another life into such a hostile environment, she considers abortion. When Walter finds out about this, it shocks him and sobers him up. Business wise, Ruth does not seem to have much influence on Walter’s decision. While the mother had control of the money and therefore having more of a say, Ruth did not have any. In one scene, Walter is able to actually convince her the business is not a bad idea and she tried to convince his mother to give him money. This is in act one scene one, where Ruth says, “it’s just that he got his heart set on the store--” and “well--like Walter say--I spec people going to always be drinking themselves some liquor,” (Hansberry 41). In the end, Ruth decides to keep the baby. Thus influencing Walter’s decision to keep the house so they will have more room for the new