The Grapes Of Wrath: Film Analysis

Walter is in for a big surprise. When his mother finds out about his plans, she rains on his parade. She decides to exercise her authority as the holder of the check. She’s going to fulfill her dream instead; buy a house, with a garden, for her family. Walter still thinks he’s going to get the money.

       Walter was upset when he heard his mother had spent the insurance money on the house and thought it wasn't fair that Beneatha got some of it for her medical school while he got nothing for his liquor store business. Lena, who always wanted her son to be happy, trustingly gave the rest of the insurance money to Walter. Holding the money in his hands, Walter thanked his mother and appreciated the trust she had in him. Walter then gave the money to his buddies to help him getting his liquor license without realizing that they betrayed him. As his dream crumbled to pieces, Walter was regret that he didn't listen to his mother, wife and sister.

Walter does not keep his hopes up for his dream long though they are again crushed. The money Mama gives Walter he gives to Willy Harris. Willy runs away with the money and Walter is back to the way he was the first two times his dream is deferred. Walter makes the decision to call Carl Lindner. Walter is going to sell the house Mama just payed for because he feels like money is what will make his dream come true. Walter talks a big game but, when Mr. Lindner shows up to the apartment Walter is unable to sell the house due to his son being present. Walter finally realizes that his dream may not come true this very moment but, by selling the house it would take away from the rest of the family’s dreams.

Walter Lee is stubborn, very ambitious, and filled with pride at the beginning of the story. He strives for success with the money “Mama,” also known as Lena got from the life insurance from her husband who recently passed away. Walter was so selfish all he wanted was to provide a better life for he and his family because he was not satisfied with their current standards of living. He wants more and wishes to become rich because he believes he never had enough growing up, but at the same time he wants to provide money and societal respect for his family. He put his trust with the money into a person who betrayed him and he ended up losing it all including his sisters schooling money. After this scene in the play Walter was at his lowest point,

Suddenly, things changed, and Walter and his family came into quite a bit of money. Walter’s mama got a check for ten thousand dollars from her husbands life insurance after he passed away, which was a lot of money in that period of time. A nice house or a liquor store could easily be bought with half of the money from the check. Since the check was actually written out to mama, the money was all technically hers, so all that she wanted to do with it was buy her new house for her family, but stubborn Walter, he wanted his liquor store, and would stop at nothing to get it. When he finally realized that his mama was never going to give him the money to get the liquor store, he took it upon himself to get it himself. He eventually stole a portion of his mama’s money to get the store, but he was taken for a fool when the other person that he was making a deal with, stole all of his money. Now he had nothing, and mama had only some of her money.

When Walter loses the money, his views change. He convinces himself that a man doesn’t need morals, and that the only thing that matters is how

. There are many obstacles in the way of Walter's dream of opening a liquor store, as he tries to explain to his wife, Ruth, about what he has to do, "Baby, don't nothing happen for you in this world ‘less you pay somebody off!"(Hansberry 33) Walter's determination to open the liquor store can be viewed as means to an end to his family's hardships.

Showing his frustration to his mother, Walter does not feel like he will ever acquire his dream because he feels like he never got the chance or opportunity to. The inability of not able to provide a better life for his household is causing him to stress, act out of character and clouding his decision making. With nowhere else to turn he thought he could use his father’s life insurance money to invest into a liquor store which turned into a scam. Walter feeling trapped from making advancements in life, he makes a huge mistake and learns from this error. In the play Walter is talking to mother describing his anger,

After Mama tells Walter she was out taking care of business Walter replies with ”What kind of business?” This short simple reply from Walter gives the effect that he’s worried about something and wants an answer quick. Walter being in such a state of worrisome shows that he is really worried about the money and if Mama spent it or not. The insurance money was key to Walter’s plans of owning his own liquor store. After Mama isn’t quick to answer Walter’s first few questions he grows even more restless and says, “Where were you, Mama? Mama, you didn’t do something with that insurance money, something crazy?” Finally, Mama answers saying she took care of business Walter gets even more upset because he could tell she used the insurance money and could almost see his dream crumbling before his very own eyes. Lorraine Hansberry asks numerous questions when she writes as Walter in order to create a sense of urgency and worry on the whereabouts of the money. This is an example that supports the theme because Walter dreamt of having his own liquor store while Mama and much of their family dreamt of living in a nicer house, which she decided to

Walter does not have control over his own responsibilities. Therefore, if he was given all the resources needed to provide his family his poor judgement and lack of business sense would create further stress on the family. Ruth, Mama, and his sister Beanetha attack him from every angle about his doubtful ideals. Ironically, those ideals are what Walter needs to shape and justify his manhood. Without ideals and proper resources to obtain them, a man's existence can be regarded as insignificant. There are many obstacles in the way of Walter?s dream of opening a liquor store, as he tries to explain to his wife, Ruth, about what he has to do, ?Baby, don?t nothing happen for you in this world ?less you pay somebody off!?(Hansberry 33) Walter's determination to open the liquor store can be viewed as means to an end to his family?s hardships.

Walter has changed his whole family. He has started so much conflict with all his family. His family at this rate will be better off without him. “You ain’t looked at it yet and you don’t aim to speak on that again? You ain’t looked at it and you have decided-well, you tell that to my boy tonight when you put him to sleep on the living room couch.” This just shows how much he wants to have HER money for himself because he is selfish and a shallow person. He is the reason why the family is tearing apart. Also, Walters actions show how edgy and inpatient he is. (Violently flinging the coat after her) He starts to get very violent, he flings things, slams doors, yells at mama, and starts to get verbally abusive towards her. He doesn’t know how to let things go and how to think in another person’s perspective. He only wants to do what he wants, he doesn’t care what the other family members want he just knows what he wants to get and forces the decision upon them all.

Lindner over to finalize the agreement. Walter even tells Mama what he is going to say: “All right, Mr. Lindner—that’s your neighborhood out there! You got the right to keep it like you want! You got the right to have it like you want! Just write the check and—the house is yours.”(144) So even though Walter had his whole speech for Mr. Lindner planned out, he changes his mind at the last moment. The reason for this sudden change is because of the words his mother implied on him earlier. Mama told Walter, “Son—I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers—but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay’em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. We ain’t never been that—dead inside.”(143) Mama is saying that Walter will be disrespecting five generations of Youngers if he goes through with his plans. The statement Mama made helped Walter to realize that by selling the house he was only making himself feel better about the money being lost, but was making everyone else in the family lose more and more respect for him. To show just how upset the family was, Beneatha even told her mother, “Love him? There is nothing left to love.”(145) Beneatha feels that Walter has stooped so low this time that there is nothing there but a soulless body that cannot be loved. Walter makes amends between himself and his family by telling Mr. Lindner, “We

Walter focused solely on the money and this caused him to think that all the money is his and he can go and do as he pleases. He was obviously disappointed when Mama did not give him any of the money initially but when she entrusted him with the remaining $6,500 it brought about a sense of pride and responsibility that had long eluded him. It was almost a renewing moment for Walter as his family life changed for the better since he was now acting as the man of the house.

Walter believes that money will solve all of their problems and he speaks about money constantly "because it is life [. . .]"(1010). Walter's selfishness can be seen at the climax of the play when the family finds out that Willy has ran away with the money: "I never. . . went to the bank at all. . ."(1032). Consequently, Walter used the money to begin his own business.

For these reasons, Mother bought the family a new house and put it in the name of Walter's son, Travis. In other words, she made an investment in Walter's future and his family. Mother saw the family falling apart and that their feelings of resentment for one another, and general discouragement in their lives, was an effect from living like sardines in their tiny dreary apartment. Walter, however, did not see it this way and felt nobody would listen to what he wanted. He wanted the same thing as his mother, to make an investment in his and his family's future, but he had his own idea of how to do it. As he tries to explain to his mother, "Sometimes I