Walter White Sociological Background

Subject History At the subject’s time of death, Walter (Walt) White had recently turned 52 years old. A caucasian male, he was described as having a bald head and a prominent beard, and was commonly found to be wearing a top hat fedora in what he considered his pseudonym “Heisenberg”. As described by his wife, Walter is approximately 165 pounds and 5’11” in height (“Grilled”). In his early years, it is assumed that he was left to his own devices frequently, as he grew up as an only child to a single mother as a result of the fact that Mr. White’s father died from Huntington’s disease when he was six years old. He claims that he has no recollection of his father besides memories of him on his hospital bed. This could have lead to tension in …show more content…
A question that could be asked is how his family influences his actions. Initially, it seems that they are motivation for him to earn money, this can be seen when he calculates how much money he would need to earn for them to live comfortably after his passing. Also through a sociological lens, it can be seen how his relationship with his partner Jesse and others in the drug trade adversely affected him, or more rather brought out the worst in him. Jesse and Walt have a complicated relationship, Jesse is a former student of Walt’s who had failed his class (“Pilot”) and agreed to becoming Walter’s partner in dealing meth, overtime they would have a relationship similar to that of a father-son relationship rather than an arrangement typical of partners in business and crime. This is illustrated when Walter accidentally calls his son Jesse while in a drowsy state (“Salud”) and when he attempts to save his life many times, even when that means risking his own. At the same time, both Walter and Jesse attempt to kill one another several times, getting into physical altercations throughout their time working together. Most importantly, is the way Walter treats Jesse emotionally, violating his emotional rights to great lengths. Walter even poisoning Jesse’s girlfriend’s son, lying to him, saying that someone else was responsible, in hopes that Jesse would turn against them (“End Times”). Before sending in a gang to take him as a slave for their meth production, Walter tells Jesse how he had let the love of his life die as he stood there and did nothing to prevent her from choking to death in her sleep when he could have easily saved her life; here it is most prevalent that Walter had no care for Jesse’s well being, as this only adds more pain to what he will suffer as he is tortured by the gang. Through his relationship with others in the methamphetamine business, Walter’s preoccupation with a fantasy