My initial impression of Walter Lee Younger Jr. in Act I,
Scene i, is that he is a frustrated
man, who is upset that he is 35 years old and hasn’t been successful in life
yet. Walter tells his wife Ruth, “…I’ve been married eleven years and I got a
boy who sleeps in the living room…stories about how rich white people live”
(34). Walter is a chauffeur, to a rich white man, Mr. Arnold, but he wants some
of Mama’s insurance money to open a liquor store. He feels like his family,
especially the women in his life, and his race are against him. He states, “Man
say to his woman…eat your eggs” (33) and also, “We one group of men…race of
women with small minds” (35) showing that he blames everyone but himself for
his lack of success. It seems important to him that he show the world,
especially his son, that he has money. This is seen in the incident with Travis
when he gives him an extra fifty-cents that his mother won’t give him; he
thinks money will bring him respect.
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