Walter Lee Younger Character Wall by Zoe Adams https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc Money is life en-us 2018-01-03 21:55:25 UTC 2025-12-24 11:14:58 UTC hello@padlet.com A Picture of Walter Lee (Description) 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649917 The quite abrasive Walter Lee Younger trudges through life with great ambitions. Enthusiastic, though sometimes erratic, Walter’s young age propels him to seek a prosperous future for the many years he still must support his family. Believing himself to be a determined individual, Walter’s actions often make him a polarizing figure in his family. Throughout the first act, many sides of Walter’s personality are described from the different viewpoints of his family members. Walter’s wife, Ruth,  sees her determined husband as stubborn and irresponsible, while his sister Beneatha simply views his dreams as crazy. Building upon Beneatha’s opinions, Mama sympathizes with her son, yet also acknowledges his money-obsessed, cowardly, and misguided nature. Having seemingly distanced his own family as a result of his “intense” and accusatory manner, Walter declares that his family “couldn’t be on [his] side that long for nothing” (Hansberry 25 & 32). Walter also admiringly defends his questionable friends, refusing to allow Ruth to call them “good-for-nothing loudmouth[s]” (32). Overall, despite his inattentiveness and short temper, Walters strives to gain back the support of his family, and often displays the great care and love he has for his young son, Travis.]]> 2018-01-03 22:00:21 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649917 Dreams 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649970 Walter’s dreams exist in two layers. On the surface, he wishes to migrate into the business world, planning to open a “little liquor store [he and his friends have] in mind” (33). However, his plan is simply a front for his more emotion-filled aspirations. After “thirty-five years,” having “been married eleven years,” Walter begins to tire of his repetitive life (34). “I’m choking to death, baby!,” he declares, “and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room” (33-34). Through facing so many hardships, Walter finds himself filled with a sense of failure as he watches his family descend into poverty. With each passing day, Walter wishes more and more to make something of himself. When Mama learns a ten-thousand dollar insurance check has come into her care, Walter plans to convince her to allow him to use the money to open his business. “Do you know what this money means to me?...I open and close car doors all day long...that ain’t no kind of job,” he pleads to Mama. Ashamed of his job and his “failure” as the man of the house, Walter simply wishes to break through the barrier of life’s disappointments, and give his family a member they can be proud of.]]> 2018-01-03 22:01:04 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649970 Obstacles 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649980 Hindered by their lack of funds, Walter is at a disadvantage when it comes to changing his life for the better. With a job as a chauffeur for "rich white people" and a mind full of expensive, risky business ventures without "a woman to back him up," Walter--and his family--are relatively stuck in their current position (34, 32). On top of the Younger Family's socioeconomic level holding Walter back, their race (black) in a prejudiced time does not make things any easier for him. And with a wife, a child and another on the way, it does not appear that things will be changing for the simpler. ]]> 2018-01-03 22:01:13 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649980 Relationships 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649987 Ruth (wife)
Mama (mother)
Beneatha (sister)
Travis (son)
]]> 2018-01-03 22:01:21 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218649987 Ruth 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650789 Ruth and Walter have tension between them over virtually every one that they discuss. Ruth disproves of Walter's friends, calling his best friend and potential business partner a "good-for-nothing loudmouth" (32). Not only does Ruth frown upon his choice in friend, but she worries over and disagrees with the idea of the liquor store altogether (reasonably). Angered and hurt, Walter claims that she displays "just what is wrong with the colored women" in her lack of support and encouragement (34). It is with his mother's insurance money that Walter plans on starting this business, to which Ruth reminds him "that ain't none of our money," upsetting her husband as they disagree on the topic of money even further. Even Travis is pulled into these money matters, as Walter goes out of his way to defy his wife's wishes when he gives their son a full dollar, following Ruth telling him they couldn't spare 50 cents. ]]> 2018-01-03 22:11:04 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650789 Mama 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650796 Lena, Walter's mother, believes that her son is blinded by greed and that instead of obsessing over her money Walter should be more concerned with paying attention to his family. Walter wants to use a portion of his mother's insurance check to invest in a liquor store with his friends Willie Harris and Bobo. As a devote Christian, Mama refuses to lend her son the money for his one and only dream. With the news of Mama receiving a check, she notices the change of behavior that occurs with Walter, this being his obsession with money. "Something eating you up like a crazy man” (72). Walter is so obsessed with the money that he neglects his wife Ruth and her needs. Their conversions are uncivil, and on an afternoon where she wanted to tell her husband big news he lacked the interest to listen. When Walter ignores Ruth's cries Mama describes Walter as a coward. “I’m waiting to see you stand up and look like your daddy” (75). Mama is expecting for her son to stand up and do the right thing for his wife, however his actions disappoint his mother.]]> 2018-01-03 22:11:10 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650796 Beaneatha 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650807 Walter's relationship with Beaneatha is rocky to say the least. In the morning Walter calls Beaneatha a “horrible-looking chick” (35), which is not the best conversation starter. The two engage in the typical brother-sister arguments, as Walter criticizes Beaneatha for her actions in the past when she attempted to  “find herself,”. Beaneatha is reminded of some of the new things she attempted including learning how to ride a horse and how to play the guitar. Walter currently criticizes Beaneatha for attempting to become a doctor. When Beaneatha works hard to try to get an education Walter makes ignorant remarks including “go be a nurse like other women--or just get married and be quiet” (38). Walter does not care for his sister's aspirations and only notices her school bills.  ]]> 2018-01-03 22:11:17 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650807 Travis 19adamsz https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650823 Walter undoubtedly maintains the best relationship with his ten-year-old son. He truly wants the best for him, and refuses to let society suppress the young boy’s dreams. Walter often jokes around with his son, and encourages him to use his imagination, even playfully “drawing a make-believe gun from a make-believe holster and shooting at his son” (30). He also wishes to keep the family's financial situation at a distance from his son’s impressionable mind. When Ruth tells Travis she cannot give him money for school, Walter defiantly asks “What you tell the boy things like that for?,” before supplying his son with the funds he needs (31). Walter wants to instill the same ambition he has for the future in his son, in the hopes that Travis can amount to something more than a measly chauffeur.]]> 2018-01-03 22:11:27 UTC https://padlet.com/19adamsz/ka8dvenl6nqc/wish/218650823