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Walter Neff's A Raisin In The Sun

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Once she is down the stairs she is positioned in front of a mirror and we see how she stares at her self with enjoyment. We also see how she enjoys the attention of Walter watching her as she finishes buttoning up her dress and putting on her lipstick. When viewing the two characters we see that Phyllis admires her reflection in the mirror and while ignoring Walter we see how self-centered she can be. The mirror gives alertness to the viewers because she says to Walter “I hope I’ve got my face on straight”. This remark explains that mirror shots foreshadow a two-face deception and are a cinematic technique used in film noir that can create a reflection more powerful than the women they actually mirror (Place 1980). She then turns from the mirror …show more content…

The attraction this female character portrays for Walter Neff is phenomenal, she has captured his attention by the way he glazes at her. As they are talking Walter introduces himself and soon after Phyllis asks how she could take out an accidental insurance policy on her husband’s life without his consent. By asking this of Walter we know that she is up to no good especially because she doesn’t want her husband to know. Neff infers that she is anticipating a murder and leaves because he does not want to be a part of it. Her sexuality has influenced Walter to the point he can’t get her out of his head and soon after she shows up to his apartment and that is when we see that he is no longer able to resist her. While in his apartment Phyllis portrays herself as the victim and uses that card to create an illusion to Walter of how living with her husband is like an imprisonment and a boring authoritarian marriage. She uses her demented mentality to persuade and guilt Walter to help trick her husband into signing the papers for life insurance. Since he knows all the tricks of his trade, he creates a devious plan as the dominant male to create the perfect accidental murder. Throughout the film we as the viewers are also absorbed by her personality of “good girl” she makes the affair between her and her lover seem “normal” which could easily fool anyone.

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778 Words | 4 Pages

In the beginning Walter is basically perceived as a jerk-he doesn’t seem to get along with anyone, not even his own family. His character likes to turn discussions into fights, make rude comments to his wife, and act all around immature. A part that accurately shows the way Walter conducts himself is when he is arguing with Ruth and says “Man say: I got to change my life , I'm choking to death, baby! And his woman say- Your eggs is getting cold!”

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1600 Words | 7 Pages

The main male character, Walter Neff, is a mere insurance salesman who gets drawn into a murder plot because of his attraction to a married woman. Not surprisingly, Walter faces several moral challenges throughout the story. Since the movie was an adaptation of the novella, some of the moral struggles he deals with vary between the two. In the novella, the death of Phyllis and Walter blatantly defies usual moral principles. At that point in the story, they both had committed a murder and had been caught for it.

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1118 Words | 5 Pages

According to Janey Place, “In these films, it is the woman who is portrayed benefitting from her dependence on men; in film noir, it is clear that men need control women’s sexuality in order to not be destroyed by it. (Place, 49)” There are multiple instances in Double Indemnity where Phyllis’s sexuality is portrayed visually. For example, there is a scene where Phyllis has entered Walter’s apartment and begins to smoke a cigarette. The image of Phyllis’s lips around the cigarette is phallic in nature can represent her want for Walter right in the apartment.

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508 Words | 3 Pages

Not even my own mother. " Walter feels betrayed by the family and especially the mother when they don't support his dream for the liquor store and is disappointed with the purchase of a house. He wants their respect and support, but when he doesn't receive it--goes crazy by missing work, dancing "African", and becoming very rude. As the man of the household he feels that all decisions should be made by him and by Mama rejecting his offer, he feels let down by his own family.

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1243 Words | 5 Pages

Walter feels his job is more than unsatisfying, and can not make Mama understand, since her simplistic views are just like Ruths. In spite of his personal inadequacies with his job fulfillment, Walter shines in the end of the story with understanding and growth of his own fathers not so wonderful job. Walter seems to be reflecting on his own status as a

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736 Words | 3 Pages

To try to forget and move on from being raped, she needed to avoid looking at herself and seeing the person she has become. Ever since Melinda was raped, she has been frustrated with herself and has not been able to face her reflection. This shows that she could not face her feelings. Melinda’s coping strategy was to avoid others and avoid herself. The mirror is a symbol for her emotional struggles and that she cannot deal with them.

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1414 Words | 6 Pages

Walter goes into immediate denial, making excuses for where Willy, their second business partner, could be with the money. He continues on until he realizes “THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY [HIS] FATHER’S FLESH-” (128) and he had lost it all; he felt he lost his chance of pursuing a better life now that he had even lost his father’s support. His false pride is severely injured up until he is struck with an idea which he believes could save the family. He abruptly calls Mr.Lindner, who he had originally turned away, and tells him to come by because he wants to take his offer of being paid to not move into the new house.

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

Although Walter does not deserve the power, the manhood of Walter Lee enables him to “control” the family. Conversely, Beneatha’s talkativeness and her aggressive personality are against how a 1950s African American should act. Ruth asks “Can’t you be a little sweeter sometimes? (Act 1, Scene 1)” to indicate the modest characteristics women should have. Furthermore, Ruth’s decision of abortion at the beginning of the play was unconventional since it was against gender expectation because it is against her duty as a wife and a mother.

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1061 Words | 5 Pages

She makes sure that she keeps up with her good looks so that she can receive attention from others. She’s always looking in mirrors

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666 Words | 3 Pages

Since nobody thinks it is a good idea, Walter ends up being harsh towards everybody else. In the play, in Act II, Scene I, Walter says, “No he don’t! Excuse me for what? What you always excusing me for! I’ll excuse myself when I needs to be excused!

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

Hardships of the Youngers In Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun, the characters of Mama, Walter ,and Beneatha are faced with hardships associated with their dreams being destroyed by discriminatory housing,racial inequality and lack of support from her family towards her education. In the play all the characters have some kind of dream. Mama wants to get a house for the family, Walter wants to have money to provide for his family and plans to do that with a liquor store, and Beneatha wants to become a doctor. Beneatha is going to school and at the same time she’s trying to discover herself,but her family is not supportive of this.

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1487 Words | 6 Pages

Walter further shows his false pride when he flaunts his newfound sense of power when Mr.Lindner, one of the Younger’s soon-to-be neighbors, offers him an unjust deal. Now that Walter has control over the family 's money, he considers himself the head of the family and decision maker; this plays an important role towards how Walter treats others now that he holds himself to a higher standard. This theme applies to Walter when the chairman of the “welcoming committee” (115) named Mr.Lindner pays a visit to the family a couple weeks before they 're supposed to move into their new home in Clybourne Park. During this visit, Mr.Lindner makes the offer of the Clybourne Park community “buy[ing] the house from [them] at a financial gain to [the] family” (118). Mr.Lindner’s offer represents the racial oppression and how the white community looks down upon and doesn’t want African american people dirtying their communities.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

Walter was introduced as a man who cared about nothing other than his business. He had sacrificed his sister’s dream of becoming a doctor, and held the power to wipe out Mama’s dream for a better home. Walter sees the gender roles as boundaries keeping him from loosening up to his family. He is given the insight that men must be powerful, wealthy, and demanding for them to truly be the head of the household. However, Walter sees past these gender roles, and not only challenges these rigid roles, but he also regains his family’s trust along the

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779 Words | 4 Pages

Walter’s statement tries to tell the women that he didn’t try to make the world the way it is now. Yes, he wants luxurious items for him and his wife. However, even though he seriously messed up, he’s still the man in the family and will continue to make the decisions for the

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405 Words | 2 Pages

A. Intro/ Abstract One can make a good argument that the most valuable thing you possess is your health. While good health should not be the objective of living, it is a resource for everyday life that one can use to reach their full potential. Without good health, defined by WHO as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, it can become hard to reach one’s full potential and it can place hardships not only on the person with failing health but also on their loved ones (3). B.

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