Walter a Misunderstood Leader

     Lorraine Hansberry did not miss with her drama A Raisin in the sun. It's good, energetic, realistic, accurate, and captivating.

    The play was put on screen a few times, three to be more precise. In 1961, by Daniel Petrie, in 1989 by Bill Duke, and in 2008 by Kenny Leon. 

    I had the chance to watch the one made By Mr. Petrie in black and white and I have to say I loved it. It kind of reminded me of the movie Rear Window in the way it was made. Obviously, being a play the action happens in one or two rooms but it is very similar to Rear Window where everything happens in one singular neighborhood. It takes mostly place in their little apartment and a few scenes are at the bar. 

    I really enjoyed the characters, Ruth, Mama, Travis, Beneatha and of course Walter. Walter is a very interesting man to look at because I think he can be very relatable to a good number of men. In the beginning, Walter has a dream and that dream is to open a liquor store. It would only be possible with the check the family is getting from the life insurance of their father. Walter is kind of selfish and wants the best for him. At least that is what was said in class. I don't know if his dream is that selfish. I mean he wants to build his own company to make money and become rich so he would be able to make his family live comfortably. Our class also mentioned that he wanted to do it himself and Walter said things like "I want to put pearls around my wife's neck", my class also saw him as not being the man of the house, not taking the responsibilities that he should take care of. I see it differently. I think he kind of wants to be the man of the house and wants to be in charge. I don't think he does it the best way possible and is mature enough yet but I think he tries. In my perspective, he is trying to build an empire, if I can use that word, to give a better life for his family, to get them a better house. He tries to make the decisions for the family and do the best for them. 

    Now I have to say almost every decision he made was probably bad for the family. I just think he wasn't ready mentally yet to become in charge of the family. We don't get too much information about the death of the father but from my understanding, Walter didn't have time to learn from his dad and practice or be in his shadow for a little bit. I got the feeling that Walter felt pressure on his shoulder and tried to do everything without letting himself learn and advance as a person. He tried to do everything like he thought it was done and he did it wrong. Later in the play, he makes the right decision and keeps the house for his family while also deciding whether Beneatha was going to marry George. Mama agrees with everything Walter decided and is happy that he finally understood how to lead his family to a good life. What Walter had to understand is sometimes the first idea isn't the best one and your family doesn't always need richness sometimes they need a calm leader and stability to be happy and prosper in a good environment.

    I was able to see myself in Walter a little bit. When I was younger, I became the assistant captain of my hockey team, and even though I wasn't captain I thought I had to be perfect from that point on. I thought I had to make multiple decisions for the whole team and I put a lot of pressure on myself; I had to perform, be perfect at school, never do anything wrong, don't go out. It made me play very bad on the ice because I was pressured too much, by myself. I learned that year that being named a leader on a team doesn't have to change your whole behavior and doesn't mean you have to become this super hero that's perfect in every aspect of life. You become a leader on a team or a family because people can relate to you and understand what you go through. You become a leader by showing an example which means doing things right not overdoing them. People don't want to follow someone that's perfect and that they can't see as a part of their life. Leaders become leaders not by being perfect they become leaders by making mistakes and fixing them the right way. 

    This is what Walter did. He made multiple mistakes throughout the play and his family didn't want to follow him. Once he fixed his mistakes the right way and helped the whole family, they all gathered behind him and supported him in his decisions.

    Leading can be learned and taught not by reading books and writing papers, but by living life and making mistakes.