https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl An analysis of Walter White Jr. in the fifth episode in the first season of the T.V. show, "Breaking Bad" en-us 2018-03-22 18:38:24 UTC 2018-03-22 23:17:36 UTC hello@padlet.com alexvdb https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245267921 Walter Jr. is an inspirational character in this series for many reasons. At this stage in his life he is already going through many changes physically and psychologically, and to be in this transitional phase while coping with cerebral palsy and his father not having enough money for chemotherapy is immense. Despite all of this, he is still one of the more-positive characters in the show, through his wit, charisma, and courage. It is heart-breaking in this episode and the rest of the show to see him grow to resent his father. ]]> 2018-03-22 22:32:02 UTC https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245267921 alexvdb https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245270979 Though there isn't any direct impact in the episode, the decision of Walt and his friends to go and try to get beer is likely to have been influenced by a contribution from media.  Besides television and the movie and music industry glorifying alcohol use, there are advertisements on virtually every media platform. Given that "...according to one estimate, underage drinkers account for about one-sixth of the $100 billion dollars spent each year on alcohol" (Steinberg, 274), it is fair to assume that the alcohol industry places advertisements in areas that target that age group. "For every public service announcement discouraging alcohol use, teenagers see 25-50 ads for alcoholic beverages" (Steinberg, 202). ]]> 2018-03-22 22:52:38 UTC https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245270979 alexvdb https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245271047 Walter Jr. is stressed out for the majority of this episode due to his father's inaction on receiving treatment for his illness. His father's death would leave him devastated, and to him it seems like he is just giving up, which angers him. If Walt doesn't get chemotherapy, he will surely dies. However it is still a difficult situation because if he does get the chemotherapy (which isn't a certain cure,) the family will be left in financial strain, as far as he knows. "The family climate created by economic strain puts adolescents at risk for a variety of problems" (Steinberg, 159). Beyond this he has to see his parents fighting about it all the time, adding the additional impact of the marital conflict between them. All of this contributes to his actions such as being verbally hostile and trying to get alcohol with his friends.]]> 2018-03-22 22:53:03 UTC https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245271047 alexvdb https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245271087 The clearest impact Walter Jr. receives from his peers is in the scene where they are trying to get someone to buy them beer.  "The more substance-using friends an adolescent has, and the closer he or she feels to them, the more the adolescent is likely to use tobacco and drugs" (Steinberg, 193).  From what is already known about his character, it is unlikely that Walter Jr. would've been in this position had he been with non-using friends, or by himself.  It is evident that he isn't the one that wants the beer most, as he asks why he has to be the one to do it.  His friend offers to do it if he gives him the crutches, but then Walter Jr. goes through with it in order to keep a status of "cool" in front of them.  When caught, they shamefully run away and leave him there hanging, making the stability of that clique relationship questionable.  "Adolescents' cliques show only moderate stability over the course of the school year, with some members staying, others leaving, and new ones joining" (Steinberg, 193).]]> 2018-03-22 22:53:18 UTC https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245271087 alexvdb https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245271112 In the beginning of the episode, Walt and Skyler are at the birthday party of a former colleague who now owns a successful technology company.  When they are leaving, he offers Walt a job at his company, which he tells him has great health benefits.  Walt declines and afterward is angry at Skyler for telling him that Walt has cancer.  

Walter Jr. is out with friends one night and they are waiting outside a convenience store to try and get someone to buy them beer.  One man who Walter Jr. asks turns out to be a police officer, and his friends run away.  Walter tells the officer about his Uncle Hank, the DEA agent, who is called.  When he arrives he learns that Walter Jr. actually told the officer that Hank was his Dad, to which he ways, "Not Cool."  When Hank takes him home he tells Skyler that he thinks he is acting out because of his father's illness, and they agree that they need to sit down with Walt to voice their concerns about him refusing treatment, which the whole family does the next day.]]> 2018-03-22 22:53:27 UTC https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245271112 alexvdb https://padlet.com/alexvdb/56ayq5q581wl/wish/245271129 The plot revolves around Walter White Sr. (Walt,) an Albuquerque high school chemistry professor who also works a second job at a car wash in order to be able to provide for his pregnant wife, Skyler, and their teenage son Walter Jr., who was born with cerebral palsy.  Walt inexplicably collapses one day, and learns that he has stage 3 lung cancer, likely to his many years working in laboratories.  Skyler and Walter Jr. beg him to go through chemotherapy, but he initially refuses due to the cost, and the thought of leaving them with no wealth in his death.  

On Walt's 50th birthday, the family is watching a news segment about a drug bust and the report includes the amount of profit in the methamphetamine business.  Later, his DEA agent brother-in-law Hank offers him to ride-along on a methhouse sting operation, and Walter agrees.  In this ride-along he sees his former student, Jesse, escape.  Determined to secure a future for his family, Walt tracks Jesse down and gets him to tell what he knows of the drug trade.  Together, due to Walt's vast chemical knowledge, they are able to make the purest meth on the market.  In the progression of trafficking the drugs, Walt struggles to remain unnoticed by the government as well as his family, with whom he grows distant on his descent into darkness.
              

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