The Most Irresponsible Character In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

The word irresponsible is adjective used to describe a person who lacks a sense of responsibility. There are various actions that lead to a person being portrayed as irresponsible. A person can be viewed as irresponsible for something as little as not completing their homework or something as big as leaving your front door opened. A lack of responsibility is a big factor in the book A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry as it reflects many characters. Walter Lee Younger, a father, and son is the most irresponsible character because he is immature, untrustworthy and selfish.
To begin, Walter is the most irresponsible character throughout the Younger family as he is immature. Moreover, Walter is immature as he did not think of the consequences

of engaging in sexual actions with Ruth. In an argument with Ruth and Mama, Walter is confronted with important news as Mama says “Son--do you know your wife is expecting another baby? (Walter stands stunned, and absorbs what his mother said)”(Hansberry 74). After Walter listens to the information brought before him, he stands there in shock. This makes Walter immature as he knows acknowledges his mistakes and should have taken precautionary measures before engaging in any sexual interactions. Walter knew that he is not financially stable and not in the right mindset to cope with the responsibilities of having another baby. Walter being immature and having a baby makes him irresponsible because he should have taken precautionary measures such as protection as he knew a baby may be the outcome of these types of interactions. In addition, Walter is immature because he does not face his conflicts up front and finds ways to avoid them.
Next, Walter is the most irresponsible character throughout the Younger family because he is untrustworthy.

Moreover, Walter is untrustworthy because he lost all of his family’s money that was trusted to him. Walter is forced to speak Mama about the money and says “Son is it gone? Son, I gave you sixty-five hundred dollars. Is it gone? All of it? Beneatha’s money too? ”(Hansberry 129). After Walter loses all the insurance money that the family had earned, Walter was forced to tell his family about the tragic event and Mama refused to accept that the money was gone. This event makes Walter untrustworthy because he promised his mother that he would place a portion of the money in the bank for his sister’s education, but he did not and lied to his mother. This shows that Walter is not truthful to his promises as he did not follow through with it and told his mother a lie to cover up his actions. This contributes to Walter being a overall irresponsible character because it shows that he is not capable of being responsible as he could not take good care of the money that was given to him. Furthermore, Walter is untrustworthy because he lied to his family about going to work. “Walter, you ain’t been to work for three days ...Where you been, Walter Lee Younger?”(Hansberry 105). When Walter’s boss called she revealed the information that Walter had not been to work for a while to the family. This event makes Walter untrustworthy because Walter told his family that he was going to

work everyday, but in reality he was wondering the streets of South Chicago and not at his job. This once again shows that Walter should not be trusted as he does not fulfill his promises and tell lies to his family. This shows that Walter is a irresponsible character as he cannot take on the responsibility to show up to work everyday and own up to his promises.

Finally, Walter is the most irresponsible character in the Younger family because he is selfish.
Walter is selfish because he only thinks about his own individual dream and nobody else's. After hearing the news of the new house Walter and Mama engage in a conversation where Walter says “So you butchered up a dream of mine—you—who always talking ’bout your children’s dreams”. Walter is angered by the purchase of the new house as he knows Mama used the insurance money to purchase it. This makes Walter selfish because he does not care about the house being beneficial to the family, he only cares about using the money to invest in a liquor store. Walter does not care about the new house and the dreams that his fellow family members have, as he only wants to accomplish his own dream. Walter being selfish about his dreams makes him irresponsible because he cannot take the responsibility of helping his other family members accomplish their dreams as well. Correspondingly, Walter is selfish because he does not care about the effect his actions have on the family. In an exchange between Ruth and Walter, Ruth says “Oh, let him go on out and drink himself to death! He makes me sick to my stomach”(Hansberry 71). In this scene, Ruth is angry with Walter as he has constantly been consuming alcohol and coming home drunk. These actions affect the family greatly as the family, as it leads to him spreading his negativity at home. Walter’s actions make him a horrible role model for his son Travis, as his son looks up to Walter and will do the same things as Walter. This makes Walter irresponsible because he lacks the responsibility of helping his son and his family have a successful life.