May as well do a little introduction..
Walter Younger, is an example of a dynamic character. A dynamic character is someone who changes throughout a piece of literature or media. Walter lives with his wife Ruth, his sister Bennie, his son Travis, and his mother in a small, one-room apartment on the Southside of Chicago. The Younger family lived in a time period between 1945 and 1959 when segregation was starting to become more established. Since his father died, the family has been having a hard time money wise and are slowly falling apart. Walters idea of an “American dream” is to have anything and everything. He wants his family to have the best of the best. Walter works as a chauffeur for a rich white man named Mr. Arthur. He works extremely hard every day. Mr. Younger wants to earn as much money as he can because he believes it will bring his family tranquility and happiness. Mr. Younger’s main goal is to have money and he dreams up so many different ways to make money that he sometimes overwhelms himself. He doesn’t want to think about reality and how things really are. He only concentrates on the future. Walter is an example of a dynamic character because his character evolves throughout the novel by changing from a selfless, compassionate, family man to a very selfish person, only looking out for himself.
Walter experiences the most significant change throughout the course of the play. Walter has dreams of using his mother’s insurance check to start his own liquor business to reach financial success. Walter believes that he’ll be able to buy happiness and thinks money will solve all of the families problems. After Lena refuses to invest in Walter’s dream of owning a liquor business, Walter becomes depressed and loses hope. When Lena asks her son why he talks so much about money, Walter tells her, “Because it is life, Mama!” (Hansberry, 74) In an emotional moment, Lena confesses that Ruth plans on having an abortion and begs her son to say something to stop his wife from going through with it. When Walter remains silent, Lena says, “You . . . you are a disgrace to your father’s memory.” (75) As the play progresses, Lena ends up giving most of the money to her son, who ends up losing the money when one of his business partners steals it. Walter’s mood changes from being depressed to excite and happy when he receives the money, to being upset and full of despair when his partner runs away with it. Yet, his attitude is determined by his financial situation throughout the majority of the play.
Coming up to the plays ending, Walter calls up Mr. Lindner and is responsible to sell the house Lena bought in Clybourne Park. Lena watches over Walter ’s shoulders and makes Travis watch his father sign the papers, Walter experiences a change of heart. He refuses to sign the deed and tells Mr. Lindner, “And we have decided to move into our house because my father—my father—he earned it for us brick by brick. We don’t want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors. And that’s all we got to say about that. We don’t want your money.” Hansberry (148) Walter’s attitude changes from being solely focused on his financial situation to be focused on his family and his integrity. Originally, Walter goes from being a selfish man into a morally upstanding, noble individual by refusing to sell Lena’s house back to the white community. The amount of growth Walter goes through is very clear.
Questions!
- What are the marks of manhood at which he arrives and what do these have to do with the major themes of the play?
- What causes the changes in his character?
