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Zoe analyzes the character Walter Lee Young in "A Raisin in the Sun" and discusses his passionate and ambitious nature as well as his selfishness and stubbornness. She highlights his unhealthy obsession with the idea that his business venture will solve all his problems. Despite facing poverty and prejudice, Walter strives to improve his family's situation and challenges social norms. However, he holds misogynistic views and fails to support his sister's dreams. After making a costly mistake, he experiences self-hatred and considers selling out his race. Despite his flaws, Zoe believes that Walter's journey and desire for economic stability make him relatable and not entirely wrong. My name is Zoe and this is my analysis on the character Walter Lee Young in A Raisin in the Sun. And just to kind of introduce him, he's a very, either someone could look at it as a passionate and ambitious person or someone could look at it as a selfish and stubborn person. I'm going to be talking about both of these point of views just because I find them very interesting. And I almost found myself in a way looking at him in very different point of views throughout the story and, you know, whenever he explains his reasoning and just many of the behind the scenes aspects of it. So I think he's just very unhealthily obsessed with this idea that the business he's interested in is going to solve all his economic and social problems. And he's been almost held back in a way by poverty and prejudice. And not only that, but many can tell that he's also not the most knowledgeable person. In Act 2, Scene 1, George says goodnight Prometheus. And Walter doesn't really know who George is speaking of. He actually believes that he is just making up a person or a word on the spot. And I believe that this was a very strategic move on the author's part just to kind of hint to the readers that not only could he be held back by his poverty and his situation and his son sleeping on the couch and, you know, his wife having to complain and force him to go to a more reliable and stable job rather than wishing for something that is very, I wouldn't say unlikely, but it's just such a far reach for them and what they're so used to. Because, you know, they're used to getting a 9-to-5 job and getting a stable income in a certain way. But then whenever Walter introduces the idea of possibly working for themselves and making so much money, it's just not realistic in his family's eyes. However, I, for one, almost applaud him in a certain way for not falling under the social norm of just working for someone else, but he actually is striving to better his family instead of just... Yes, he sits around and complains a lot, but he's also trying to do something about it. And I can respect the fact that he improves in a certain way. At the very end of the story, you can tell that he's becoming a more respectable and stable man instead of just, you know, putting all his anger and emotions towards his family. And speaking of putting his emotions towards his family, in Act 1, Scene 1, Walter actually states, that is just what is wrong with the colored woman in this world. Don't understand about building their men up and making them feel like somebody, like they can do something. So, in Walter's eyes, you can tell he almost has a monogenistic point of view on women because he looks down on them in a way that women are supposed to support the man and women can't do anything but stand beside a man. And you can also tell this because he doesn't really support Benicia's dreams of becoming a doctor and that's part of the reason why he's not really considering what Mama is putting towards Benicia's college or educational funds as a very important thing and that's why he's putting himself on top of her as well. And it's also not even the fact that Mama wouldn't give him the money, it's just because she doesn't support, you know, the business idea of selling liquor and he's so set on this economic dependence of getting the singular obsession of selling liquor and he loses sight of other possible incomes that could support his economic problems. Also, after Walter entrusts all of his mother's remaining money to his so-called friend, his shame turns into almost a self-hatred and this is basically the only emotion that makes him consider selling out his race and just accepting Linda's offer instead. And because Travis, his son, is watching him, it's a really proud moment for Walter and we the readers have almost this feeling of we're proud of him too because we've been on this journey with him and we know what he's been through and for him to have such a need for economic stability, you know that he has had to experience something of his own, whether it be, you know, just his kids sleeping on the couch or him sharing a hall bathroom with his neighbors. Something inside of him drove him to be a better person and I don't feel like that technically makes him the bad guy because I can't say for myself that I wouldn't have done the same thing he would have. Maybe I wouldn't have been so selfish and persistent on getting the money from his mother, but I definitely would have thrown the idea out just as he did. So, no, I don't think Walter's technically wrong, but I don't feel like he also is the best person either, even though at the end of the story he kind of redeems himself. So, yeah.