He sees the liquor store as an investment for the future to get the funds that his family deserves. The money that he will earn will also provide Walter Lee and his family with property that will finally belong to him. They have lived in the same rented apartment for years, Walter, his wife and son, his mother, and his sister. They all view the insurance money as a great opportunity, but disagree on how to spend it. One conception of honor is when men jump into the rights of property (Cohen 69). The property that a man receives gives him power over others and gives him the right to his manhood. This is the honor that Walter Lee imagines he will feel when the money is his.
In African tribes, games of adolescent boys are always rooted around having a definite role in the survival of society (Cohen 64). This teaches them that honor lies in a leadership role in the community. Walter is searching for this dominant role in his family. He sees the liquor store as the only way to do this. Having that role would also give him control over his family and would grant him with the concrete ability to protect his family. All of these traits play a large role in collecting the honor of his name. The games of the African boys are meant to prepare them for the future when they have to nurture an entire family. Honor is found in the "personal prestige" that goes along with building a homestead on is own and keeping up with the work that goes along with it. Walter can see this prestige coming with the dream of the liquor store. When he explains to his son Travis that one day, "you name it , son and I hand you the world!", Walter can see the wealth and prestige coming his way and the honor that goes with it (Hansberry 109).
Along with the honor that the liquor store will provide for Walter Lee, it will also give him the fulfillment of the ideal sense of manhood. In most contexts, manhood seems to be a self made goal, a challenge that should be defeated (Gilmore 17).