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Walter Lee Younger: A Materialist Portrait
for the future are optimistic, however when this aspect seem threatened by his own misjudgment he suffers a nervous breakdown. Walter’s hopes for a better life is based on his unsuccessful investment which falls apart once Bobo announces the loss of insurance money, “Man, please, not with that money…Oh God… Don’t let it be true…I trusted you…Man I put my life in your hands…” (II, iii,108.) The importance of the money once again is Walter’s based principle for measuring his success as a man and head of the household. The loss of it and his bad employment demonstrates his incapability to assume responsibilities as head of the family,“(He starts to pound the floor with his fists, sobbing wildly) That money is made out of my father’s flesh…” (II, iii,108.) Walter reveals that he has no control over himself to achieve his goal yet he starts to realize the significance behind the money when he comprehends that the money represents the life’s work of his father. Further on this leads him to take action against the race oppressive forces represented by Mr. Lindner in order to finally assume the role that his father has left fir him. Once again Walter’s monetary interest are established by his attitude towards the development of the Younger family, which is based on pursuing materialistic responsibilities rather than assuming all the responsibilities which a household implies.
To conclude, Walter Lee Younger, the key character in this play, which has the power within the family as the “man,” to change the course of their lives, illustrates scarce capabilities of emotional guidance and monetary responsibility, furthermore, relies on money to meet his family’s needs and believes that “life is money,” more than he believes in Mama and in the family. Walter is a rather unsuccessful man in his household, who has failed to obtain his economic independence. His constant unbalanced pursue in the field of monetary interest to fulfill family needs, fails to conceive the necessities of emotional support, implied behind the complex needs of a family. It becomes characteristic of Walter in his development in the play that economic instability threatens his ability to meet responsibilities. Throughout the play, he provides with accurate actions examples to meet this characteristic. He demonstrates his reliance in money rather that on the family with clear signs of anxiety to receive the insurance check, that the family awaits from the beginning of the novel, in order to acquire his goals. His dreams and goals relate to achieving materialistic needs, implying that it would solve all the family problems. Finally, towards the end Walter’s world falls apart when Bobo announces the loss of the insurance money, which represented his source of reliance for pursuing his materialistic dreams. Walter illustrates an perspective of the mid twentieth century African-American male. He is a man of the family who struggles to support it and who tries to discover new, better schemes to secure its economic prosperity. Difficulties and barriers that obstruct his and his family's progress to [next page]