A Dramatic Change for Walter

Throughout Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, we see a dramatic change in Walter Lee. Near the beginning of the story, Walter was purely motivated by his own dreams and menas of escaping poverty; he was predominantly blind the needs of others, even ignoring his own wife's pregnancy and consequential thoughts of aborition. Mama says to Walter, "Well...Well-son, I'm waiting to hear you say somehting...I'm waiting to hear how you be your father's son. Be the man he was...Your wife say she going to destroy your child. And I'm waiting to hear you talk like him and say we a people who give children life, not who destroys them-I'm waiting to see you stand up and look like your daddy and say we done give up one baby to poverty and that we ain't going to give up nary another one...I'm waiting" (75). Walter responds with silence. This shows that he is completely blinded with his frustration with Mama buying the house and not allowing him to pursue his dream of entrepreneurship to the point where he can't even stand up for a life he created. Moreover, Mama repeatedly compares Walter to his father here; Walter's silent response confirms the fact that he and his father, at this point, are two very different people.
However, near the end of the story Walter undergoes a dramatic change. In the face of disaster, after the money he invested was stolen by Mr. Harris, Walter is finally able to see needs of his family members. He realizes that being with his family and making a comfortable life for them is what is truly important. He lets go of his desire to become wealthy. "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 your money" (148). In this short excerpt, Walter both compares himself to his father as well as denounces a large amount of money, something that would have been extremely difficult for him to do earlier in the play. This shows a 360 degree difference in Walter Lee's mindset. He is able to lead the family into a new chapter of their lives motivated by the happiness he knows it will bring each member, rather than his own potential achievement.