Walter White's Breaking Bad

Throughout Breaking Bad, the portrayal of Walter White gains consistent sympathetic support for his past and present situations. This coerces viewers into giving generous amounts of empathy, even among the transition from protagonist to antagonist. In the beginning of season one, Walter White, a mild-mannered, innocent high school chemistry teacher, supports himself, his disabled son, and his wife, who is carrying their unborn child, on a teacher based salary of $45,000 a year. As flashbacks are shown from the perspective of White, viewers learn that White cofounded a company eventually worth $2 billion dollars. However, he had sold his share of the business to one of his cofounders for $5000 before the company reached the zenith of its success.
As he commits acts of crime and violence, the audience is willing to continue to support Walter and his actions because he truly believes that he is doing it for his family. White is even able to convinces viewers to believe the same thing. Gradually, White shifts from protagonist to antagonist in the story as he rises to power within the influential drug trafficking community of criminals. While Walter claims his family drives him towards his life of crime, it becomes clear that his ego and greed are the current focus. Even though Walter clearly has enough money for his family, he continues to produce and sell his blue meth in the pursuit of an ever-growing fortune. Scott Meslow points this out in his article: “But Walter’s interest in money isn’t about actual value anymore; it’s the validation that the money represents” (Meslow). As Walter, the underdog, rises to power, his ego begins to grow and consume his conscience. His morality and judgment begin to fade away as his lust for power takes over. For example, a bit of conversation that takes place between Walter and Skyler in season 5 demonstrates evidence that White has become enamored by his own power: "You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in: I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No! I am the one who
The values of our own mind demonstrate how we are all “breaking bad.” David Koepsell is the author of Breaking Bad and Philosophy: Bladder Living through Chemistry,” which discusses themes and topics over Breaking Bad. The key topics in this book lie on page 113, titled “If Walts Breaking Bad, Maybe We Are Too” (Koepsell 113). Koepsell uses an intriguing quote: “We judge our decisions, in large part, by the consequences we should expect to result from them-and deem decisions as better or worse relative to the desirability of their consequences” (Koepsell 114). Through Koepsell’s research, the ethics of what is “good” and “bad” are explained as he dishes out facts. “We judge our decisions, in large part, by the consequences we should expect to result from them and deem decisions as better or worse relative to the desirability of their consequences” (Koepsell 114). The entertainment of these ideas revolve around the conceptualizations of Breaking Bad. Overall, Breaking Bad uses the sympathy for the character of Walter White and his actions to influence the viewer’s moral compass and inner desire to “break