Topic > The construction of Walter White's character in Breaking Bad

Walter White: family man, Meth Cook or both? The pilot episode of AMC's Breaking Bad tackles a variety of economic, social and political issues. When Walter White is diagnosed with cancer, he faces a financial crisis, which then leads him to an intense moral dilemma. Walter knows that the medical expenses he will soon face due to his diagnoses will bring hardship and family problems. When Walter resorts to cooking meth to make money to pay his medical bills, it becomes clear that there are too few good-paying jobs and too high medical bills in America, resulting in an abandonment of basic morals. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Walter White is a man who loves chemistry. He went to school to become a chemist, but when he married and had a handicapped son, he faced a decision: settle for a job that took less time, earn less money, and be there for his family, or work as a chemist. , earn more and not be there for his family. Naturally, Walter, a family man with good morals, chose to become a high school teacher to help his wife raise their son. Now that she has cancer and is reaching the end of her life because she is having a new baby, she knows that her current income is not enough to cover medical expenses and leave her family wealthy after her death. This reveals the issue of work versus family in America. In America, many families are torn apart due to financial problems or stressful work schedules; if it's not the first problem, it's the second. Life in America is a game of trade-offs: you can work hard, long hours and cause stress in the family, or work fewer hours and make less money, thus causing stress in the family. Walter White's wife expecting a baby only adds to the financial issues the White family will soon face. Walter knows that because he lives in America, where every individual in 2008 had to pay for healthcare, he will have to incur extremely high medical expenses to survive his battle with cancer. This demonstrates the controversial issue of healthcare and the show illustrates this, due to the fact that the expenses are so high that people have to resort to unethical ways to pay for medical bills. This aspect of the show reveals that medical expenses are a problem that also causes a lot of problems in people's lives. The moment a dying man considers not receiving treatment for a terminal illness due to high costs, there is clearly a problem with health care in America. Walter, a family man, high school teacher with his morals on the line would do anything to protect and take care of his family. This embodies the stereotypical idea of ​​a "good guy" American family man, revealing the ideal American husband. However, the twist in the show is that he justifies his unethical action of cooking meth by saying that it is all for the good of his family. This shows that in America, immoral actions can be justified to the family. Even though viewers of the show know that what Walter is doing is extremely wrong, while watching the show, most viewers like Walter White. This reveals that Americans consider actions aimed at caring for one's family to be justified, at least to some extent. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay While Walter.