Symbolism In The Man Who Was Almost A Man

In the short story The Man Who Was Almost A Man, Dave Saunders is trapped in a world where he doesn’t have a lot of power. He works on a field where he never sees his pay because his mom hides it from him. In addition, he is forced to obey his parents. Throughout the short story, a symbol that is shown significantly is the gun. Dave thinks that if he has this gun, it will change him and make him immediately a grown man. What he doesn’t realize is the big responsibility that comes with having a gun. The gun is a significant symbol because it represents power and respect which is what Dave desperately wants.
A example that clearly demonstrates the gun representing power is when Dave is in the field and he is aiming the gun with his head turned
Throughout the novel, one thing Dave desperately craves is respect. He feels like everyone treats him like a little child. Like I said earlier, his mom hides his money so he has to ask her to use the money. The guys who work at the fields also treat him like a child. But the example I will talk about is when he asks his mom about the gun and she says no right away. Even though Dave brought home a catalogue, his mom said there is no way he is getting a gun. When Dave asks his mom if Hawkins gave her his money, she said,”Yeah but you ain't gonna throw it away.” This quote set that scene because when she said that, I knew that it would be hard for Dave to convince her about getting the gun from Hawkins. Later when Dave said that we need a gun, she said that if we did have a gun, you wouldn't have it. Throughout this whole scene at the house, Dave feels like there is no respect because his mom doesn’t really here what he is saying. She keeps saying to go away because she doesn’t want to hear him talk about a gun anymore. I think this is when he realizes that his mom won’t allow him to be a grownup man because she doesn’t really respect him. The craziest part is that Dave is not even allowed to get his money after he is working hard in the fields because his mom doesn’t want him to spend on stuff that is not necessary. This scene contributes to the meaning of the story because his mom treats him like a teen, not a man. She doesn’t allow him to get his money unless he asks which was probably normal back then. He doesn’t have a lot of freedom and he wants more respect. He thinks that getting a gun will gain in more respect from everyone but that is not the case. In conclusion, the gun represents respect because without the gun, Dave believes that he will not have respect from everyone but if he would get the gun, he will gain more respect because he has a dangerous