There are certainly a number of different characters you
could choose to examine in this great play, however, for me, one of the characters that
most clearly represents a dynamic character, is Walter. When we first meet Walter, we
are presented with a man who is consumed by dreams of having a better life. He desires
to invest the money from his father's insurance in a liquor store and to make money by
his own efforts. He constantly refers to his idea and how money can be made through
starting a business:
Charlie Atkins was just a "good for nothing
loudmouth" too, wasn't he! When he wanted me to go in the dry-cleaning business with
him. And now- he's grossing a hundred thousand a year. A hundred thousand dollars a
year! You still call him a
loudmouth!
He is therefore a
man obsessed by the tantalising prospect of the "easy win," a way of making money on his
own terms that will bring him and his family prosperity. However, when his mother gives
him a chance to do exactly what he wants to do, it ends in tragedy, as his partner runs
away with the money. However, although he appears defeated, deflated and hopeless, it is
precisely at this point that he has a chance to assert himself as an adult and leader of
the family, for he is able to resist the temptation to give in to Karl Linder and
rejects the cash offer for his family not to move into the neighbourhood where their new
house is:
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 to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and
we will try to be good neighbours. And that's all we got to say about
that.
By making this choice
on behalf of his family, Walter shows his maturity from an adult who always hankers
after impossible dreams to a man who is willing to take responsibility for his actions
and decisions in life, proving him to be a dynamic character.
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