Oedipus and Walter.
Oedipus and Walter are the main characters in Oedipus, the king, and raisin in the sun, respectively. The play raisin in the sun is set on a black family’s life experience in Chicago. The family has encountered a loss of the father of which the family resorts to pursuing the insurance to bail them out from the payout to improve the living standard in the family. On the other hand, the play Oedipus the king is set on a family that has been cursed through an unborn child. The child is destined to grow u and kill his biological father marrying his biological mother. The name of the child is Oedipus. Both characters Oedipus and Walter, have managed to showcase their challenges and weaknesses, leading them to fail terribly instead of being heroic. This essay will address the comparison and contrast between Walter and Oedipus in the context of their weaknesses leading them to struggle and fail terribly in life.
The status quo aspect in society has been depicted differently in both Oedipus and Walter. Walter is working in a rich man’s establishment. He works there as the chauffeur. He is working for a rich white man who has made him stay in his cocoon and embrace the status quo. He is in a comfort zone that he is wallowing in the miasma of poverty and self-pity. This is why it has made him be stuck and not doing any advancement in his family. On the other hand, Oedipus has managed to get rid of the status quo. He has decided that he will not continue staying in Corinth. He has managed to run away from his rescuers, where he is determined to avoid his father’s killing. Unfortunately, he was running to the real evil fate when he thought he was avoiding it. This mistake of running from the Corinth leads him to the beginning of his tribulations.
Not taking advice has seen both Walter and Oedipus face dire consequences. Walter is being warned and reprimanded on his intentions of putting up a liquor business. His siblings and mother have tried to warn him about the business is a bad idea of investing. His mother is a Christianity who is not ready to compromise her beliefs by allowing Walter to start the liquor business. But Walter has managed to win the battle, and he has been given money to start the business. He gives all the money to his friend Willy who vanishes with the money, leaving Walter frustrated and embarrassed. On the other hand, Oedipus has ignored his destiny and gods when he resorts to killing his biological father and goes ahead to sleep with his biological mother. This is a terrible sin in the society which has made his destiny to be full of flaws.
Both Oedipus and Walter are naïve. Oedipus has made a mistake of being conditioned to believe that Polybius is the biological father. This has made him leave the Corinth to protect the family since if he stays, he is going to kill his father as it has been envisioned. This has landed him to his birth parents, where he kills his father and sleeps with his mother. On the other hand, Walter is too naïve that he has trusted his friends with money to the extent he gives them money to run the liquor business of which the friend goes missing.
Walter is fond of arguing and disagreeing with his siblings. This has hindered him from helping his family members. He does not want to listen to the advice from his siblings. He fights his sisters and is very entitled since he is the only son in the family. He is not ready to sympathize with the suffering of his mother, Lena. This has created a bad image of the family; even the Whiteman, who happens to be the neighbor, has resorted to manipulating the family. On the other hand, Oedipus has been lured by his biological mother, Jacosta, to sleep together. After a series of inquisitions concerning his mother, Oedipus has managed to sleep with Jacosta. Which later lead to Jacosta killing herself upon learning that she had slept with her biological son. Out of shame, she has no option other than to kill herself.
By agreeing to sleep with his own mother and killing his own father, the city has been struck by a massive plaque, and people are suffering. Oedipus has learned that suffering results from the punishment from the gods for having committed incest and manslaughter crimes. Had it not for the fact that Oedipus committed those crimes, then the city could be living in harmony without any economic challenges. On the other hand, eventually, Walter is given money to pursue his dream business of starting a liquor store. His mother has warned him and wants him to spend the money well to save the rest to cater to his sister Beneatha who is anticipating joining medical school. Unfortunately, Walter goes ahead to give all the money to his friend Willy Harris who goes missing compromising Beneatha’s education.
Oedipus has despaired and betrayed his own instincts. At a point, he feels what he is about to do is not right, but he goes ahead and commits the unthinkable. His mother is schooling him about the possibility of him being her biological son. Oedipus doesn’t seem to care about it at all. H is not ready to investigate; instead, he sleeps with her. Walter is not a strong man whom the family can depend on. He has despaired when he learns that his mother will not give him the money to start his business; instead, she has gone ahead to make a down payment for a house in a white neighborhood establishment. This makes Walter go for a drinking spree without bothering to work, which creates panic in the family.
In conclusion, the tribulations and struggles that Oedipus and Walter passed through are due to their own making. However, some mistakes were unavoidable to correct. For example, It was envisioned earlier enough, even before his birth, that Oedipus was destined to sleep with his mother and kill his father. Some mistakes could easily be rectified, for example, the case with Walter trusting his friends so much to the extent of giving them all the money. This could be avoided and the best approaches to establishing the liquor business embraced.