Loneliness

Walter feels lonely in his family. Everybody else thinks that the insurance money is Mama's and she can do or not do whatever she wants with it. Walter is the only person with a scheme. He wants to invest it in a liquor store. Not a single person agrees with him. While there is a possibility that this pan could work, the fact still remains that the money is Mama's, and he wants to take all of it. Maybe if he only needed a thousand or two, but he wants to risk all ten thousand dollars.  He is so frustrated in the rest of his family that he walks out, even after he finds out that, not only is Ruth pregnant, but she is intent on having an abortion. Walter's love of money is clouding the love he has for his family. He spends the entire first act arguing with everybody. His stubbornness is causing a riff between himself and his family.