A Raisin In The Sun Walter As A Hero Essay

The play, A Raisin In The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry defines the main character as an individual that lacks the conventional qualities of a hero. The main character, Walter Lee, is displayed as an anti-hero because of his self-absorbed and selfish characteristics. Throughout the play, Walter possesses the traditional characteristics of a hero, as well as, characteristics that may not be traditional heroic. A traditional hero is a character that is idealistic and passionate throughout the whole setting. Walter demonstrates heroic qualities throughout by expressing how much he loves his son,Travis. For example, in Act one Scene one, Walter gives his son, Travis, his cab fare so that his son does not have to carry groceries. His passionate …show more content…
Walter can also be described as a character that finds himself lost in terms of his identity as the head of the family. In Act two, we find out that when he is frustrated or is not able to achieve what he wishes, he roams goes around town and gets drunk. Walter sees that becoming drunk will take away all of his pain and his incapability of fulfilling his father’s position, in the family. Walter’s encounter with his mix emotions and situation characterizes him as a tragic hero because it evokes a sense of pity for him. Another reason as to why Walter could be considered a tragic hero is due to the fact that he comes across situations to which later become challenging because of wrong decision. Such as in Act two, instead of placing the money that Mama gave him into to the bank, he decides to invest it in a liquor store. One of his partners then takes all of his investment and leaves Walter with nothing. His family gets very frustrated with Walter’s decision of using all of the money. Although Walter was trying to do good for the family, his actions lead him to a very difficult position where his family lose a huge amount of money. Therefore, Walter is labeled as a tragic hero because of his downfall due to his