He realizes he cannot trust everyone. Life is full of those who take and those who are taken. He admits to being "mixed up bad" (2258). His dream was short-lived and so was the money. He learns to keep his "eye on what counts in this world" (2258). This experience is good for Walter because it forces him to grow up. It forces him to realize the fly-by-night ideas he had are generally bad ideas and hard work may be the way to get what he wants from this world. At least with that, he can have the satisfaction knowing he worked hard and tried to earn an honest living. Walter becomes a man when he realizes Willy swindles him. This is important to the play because up until this point, Walter is not a likable person. He wants to take the easy way to do things and he fails to understand Lena's desire for her family. After Willy takes the money, Walter understands family. Lena is more forgiving than Beneatha but both women gain some respect for him after he stands up to Linder. He even goes as far as to tell Linder the Youngers will move to Clybourne Park and do so with pride because his dad "earned it" (2261). He even says the family will be good neighbors. We see Walter become a man in this scene and even Beneatha come to respect him. This is important not only for Walter's sake but for the family's sake as well. Walter can now be the man in the family, which is something he failed to do until this point.
Beneatha, too, realizes the world is not all it seems to be. She wanted to be a doctor for most of her adult life before the incident with Walter. She wanted to help people and she took college classes to help her move toward this goal....
She was being proactive where Walter was not. She was putting some hard work into her dream where Walter was just all talk. She tells Joseph being a doctor is the "most marvelous thing in the world" (2253). Beneatha is idealistic but her dream is noble. After the incident with Walter, she loses some of that idealism and begins to question the world. She realizes no one can cure "what ails mankind" (2254). Man's biggest problems run deeper than sickness or disease. She matures and while she is angry with Walter, she recognizes the change in his personality and realizes he learned a painful lesson.
Everyone learns from Willy's actions. In fact, we could even say that Willy's behavior should come as a shock to no one. Lena is perhaps the one character that can actually believe what has happened. Certainly, what happened to the Youngers was not deserved but from that tragedy, comes Walter's rebirth. He would have never reached this point had things gone in another direction. For this, the family can be grateful. They may never express thanks for being ripped off but they have taken the high road in acknowledging something good came from the ordeal. In the end, they were able to move and were are left with the idea that they will be fine because Walter has become the man he needs to be to stand up for them. They may never have all the money in the world but they have each other and, in some ways, that is priceless.
Work Cited
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Vol. II.
Lauter, Paul, et al., eds. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company. 2202-63.
