Walter Younger Character Analysis

A Raisin in the Sun is a heavily decorated tale of a family striving to survive in a late 1950’s South Side, Chicago. It was the first play written by an African-American to ever reach the renowned halls of Broadway. It’s translation into a film won it praise at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, and is also a Tony Award winning Best Musical (1973). Walter Younger, a father and husband at best, struggles to define himself as one person with set traits as he chops and changes back and forth from disappointments and triumphs. Walter Younger, a 35 year old African American man, serves (or at least tries to serve) as a father, husband, and son. Amongst these, Walter juggles their importance with attempting to succeed at having a better life. Walter is described as a handsome man who is almost dangerously ambitious, but also horridly stubborn and prideful. Acquiring wealth is a huge part of his motivation, and it shows through the way he interacts with others (which causes many if not all conflicts in this play). “Deep down”, Walter just wants to make his family happy. He can most definitely be described as a “Father Knows Best” kind of person, though, and that
As stated, Walter redeems most of what he’s done by denying Mr. Linder the chance to essentially kick them out. Readers can infer that as they arrive at their new house, Walter is walking everywhere with his head high, giving the extra hint that they don’t want any trouble from their white neighbors. Walter’s adventure takes him from a selfish, money obsessed man, to a man that has some self-respect. In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry (author) puts on a fine expose on how poverty and racism used to (and still) affected our society. “[Hansberry] also shows us how these social barriers can be overcome through personal determination and staying true to one's own beliefs.”