Raisin in the Sun Essay In life, people feel they are not important and valued without money. Walter Younger is no exception, he thinks that if he has money he has everything. Walter wanted to be a provider for the family and planned on doing so by investing in a liquor store with the insurance check from his dad’s death. However, he can’t because the money did not belong to him but it belongs to Mama. Later on his mother decides to give him the remaining insurance money and Walter entrusts it to Bobo and Willy to acquire a license for his liquor store.
Unfortunately Willy took all of the money and ran away, making Walter feel devastated and hopeless. In the end Walter realizes that some things in life cannot be bought with money such as love and happiness. The play Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry reviews that the most dynamic character is Walter Younger. In the beginning Walter is a very rude person who values money highly but eventually he changed into a guy that loves his family showing that money cannot buy happiness.
Walter grew up in a poor family, and he believes that money is the answer to everything. His value of money is represented accurately when he states “Baby, don’t nothing happen for you in this world less you pay somebody off. ” Because of his low status and esteem, Walter immediately goes to money for a possible solution. To him the future looks grim and hopeless, all Walter sees is that the future is “just waiting for me a big, looming blank space-full of nothing. ” Walter confesses that he is afraid of a life of nothingness.
Even though he lacks money he still wants his family to be comfortable, and in order to do so Walter sets his mind on a plan to get rich. Walter intends to invest his money on the liquor store. The 75,000 required for the liquor store is out of Walter’s reach. But he figures that “the initial investment on the place be ‘bout thirty thousand, see. That be ten thousand each. ” He has done his research and knows what is required to start the business. In his own mind, he believes that he is taking a big and positive step towards achieving his dream.
By investing money into his plan Walter thinks he has a good chance that their lives could change for the better. Walter depends heavily on Willy and Bobo to make his dream come true. They were responsible for getting the liquor license approved. But Willy ends up stealing all of the money “Gone, what you mean Willy is gone? Gone where? You mean he went by himself” and that left Walter in disbelief. He is devastated from the loss of his only chance for success. In the midst of despair Walter realizes that there is still hope.
After losing his money to Willy, Walter now understands that he is focusing too much on material gain. There is much more to life than money “I’ll say one thing for old Willy Harris… he’s taught me something. He’s taught me to keep my eye on what counts in this world. Yea-Thanks Willy! ” Only after being scammed by Willy, Walter realizes the importance of love and happiness. His father’s death left him a sum of money, but he doesn’t want that money to be a main reason for argument for his family. Even though he thought of Lindner’s offer he decided that they “don’t want your money. So he told Lindner that “we have decided to move into our house because my father-my father- he earned it for us brick by brick. ” Walter finally realized the importance of his father’s sacrifice and changed his priorities to support his family. Walter started out as a person who values money highly, but he changed dramatically as the story progresses. His dreams and goals, although well intended, were all focused in the amount of money that his father left him. In the end because of what Willy did, Walter finally understand that his family’s happiness comes first.
