A Raisin In The Sun
A Journey Through Walter Lee's Change of Heart
Why is money so important to Walter Lee, and how does that change?
Pride
However, with money readily available, Walter could easily pay for medical school, buy a bigger house, and let his wife relax at home. Since the money isn't available, Walter must work long hours as a chauffeur for a hotel. The hours are long and the pay is little, and gradually Walter becomes disillusioned by the desperate situation at home.
He spends less and less time talking with his family, and more and more time scheming for get-rich schemes. This, in turn, destabilizes the same family he seeks to protect.
Walter's pride and moral responsibility engender an immovable fixation on money. To him, if you don't have money, you aren't happy.
Environment
Walter makes a comment to his mother, "These men are young, younger than me mama." The environment in which he works and sees these activities are a long shot from his current social strata. However, for Walter, constantly seeing all of this business and money forces his mind to fixate on the one thing he can't, but everyone else can have, money.
Moreover, coming home to his dilapidated apartment every night just to see his wife washing other people's clothes, Beneatha and his mother sharing a room, and his son sleeping on the couch, has a chilling effect on his state of mind.
The omnipresent display of wealth versus poverty combined with Walter's inherent pride serves to place money at the peak of Walter's importance scale.
Change
The day Walter hears the bad news from Bobo is the day his entire life changes. Walter returned to the apartment, a defeated man, a man willing to prostrate himself in front of his entire family. As the head of the family, he feels that he has just betrayed everyone's hopes and dreams.
However, almost to his disbelief, his family forgives him. The moment they do so is the moment Walter learns the truth, that money is not everything.
Walter makes the decision to turn down John Stamos' offer to buy their house, and in doing so, relinquishes once and for all, his belief in money. Money, it turns out, cannot buy everything. The human spirit is indomitable.
The End Result
When he loses the money, he also loses his faith in the power of money. His sentiments now lie with personal relations, and the pursuit of happiness through it.