Amy Todd Feb. 6, 2002

English Ms. Gokturk

In the play "Hey Little Walter" written by Carla Debbie Alleyne there are aspects that take place which occur on a day to day basis in the life of a teenager. The story takes place in a "ghetto illusion" where an innocent, loving and family oriented teenage boy, transforms into a hard core cold-hearted teen. I enjoyed this story and if I were to rate it I would say it was a play people would "rave" about. I enjoyed seeing the different opinions of the different characters in the story; and when they thought they were making the "right" decisions. I liked comparing them to ones I would make.

The story is based on a family, where two brothers who are the main characters of the play, make poor decisions the result in the same way.

The family is faced with hard decisions. Ones that seem so helpful when you originally think but can be and usually are extremely harmful in the long run. The older brother Walter, is given a choice by one of his friends to make some quick cash, by drug dealing. At first Walter is completely against even the thought of drugs, but by the end of the peer pressure by what he thinks of as a

"friend" he becomes convinced that this will get him the money he and his family need so badly.

One of the most significant scenes in the story is when the results start showing from his decision on dealing. When his girlfriend leaves him and his family realizes what he is getting into, they become greatly disappointed. But don’t necessarily know how to deal the situation. They show how much Walter has revolved as a person. He now has no concern for what anyone thinks until the last scene in the story where you see he still had that innocent Walter in him.

The captions of scenery help the story a lot. It gives the reader a taste for what the surroundings of the characters appear to be. Without showing the background the reader would be lost in its interpretation of the revolution of the characters.

After reading this play, I would recommend it to any teenager. All teenagers will face this at some point, it is the reality of our times, and if them themselves don’t face it one of their close friends or family members can. This play can give them an idea on what the outcome would be to a decision like. It is a wonderful way of describing the result of one action that you think could be positive, ruin not only your life but the ones that love you too.