The Man Who Was Almost A Man
Angelica Sawan
Professor North
October 27, 2017
Essay 1, The Man Who Was Almost A Man
“The Man Who Was Almost A Man” by Richard Wright is a coming of age story about a 17 year old kid named Dave who lives with his family and works on a farm. He desperately wants to own a gun because he feels like he doesn’t get the respect he deserves and he wants to prove to everyone that he isn’t a child anymore. The main question that kept appearing in my head was whether or not objects and material things often define a person?
Many characteristics in the story point to Dave still being a child, including him still being in school, and him having to work to provide him with school clothes and books. In which I believe is a huge mistake, Dave’s mother gives him the money despite knowing that he only wants it to prove his adulthood and get the respect that he believes he deserves. The main point that sticks …show more content…
Being the coward he is, Dave fires the gun with his eyes closed and kills the mule he has with him. He lies to everyone about how the mule died, and then tells the truth about killing the donkey. Despite thinking that the object in his hands would create masculinity, it in fact makes him seem more of a child and irresponsible. He is scared and weak when all he wanted in the beginning was to be strong and was hoping that his gun would accomplish that.
What I don’t understand is why after all of this he shoots all of his bullets into the night and hops onto a train. What is the point of that ending? It makes me kind of mad. Where does he go? Is he planning on coming back? Since this story was written during the civil rights movement, the racial injustices take away from the social construct of the story. Dave flees to somewhere he can be a man and where he can be
Professor North
October 27, 2017
Essay 1, The Man Who Was Almost A Man
“The Man Who Was Almost A Man” by Richard Wright is a coming of age story about a 17 year old kid named Dave who lives with his family and works on a farm. He desperately wants to own a gun because he feels like he doesn’t get the respect he deserves and he wants to prove to everyone that he isn’t a child anymore. The main question that kept appearing in my head was whether or not objects and material things often define a person?
Many characteristics in the story point to Dave still being a child, including him still being in school, and him having to work to provide him with school clothes and books. In which I believe is a huge mistake, Dave’s mother gives him the money despite knowing that he only wants it to prove his adulthood and get the respect that he believes he deserves. The main point that sticks …show more content…
Being the coward he is, Dave fires the gun with his eyes closed and kills the mule he has with him. He lies to everyone about how the mule died, and then tells the truth about killing the donkey. Despite thinking that the object in his hands would create masculinity, it in fact makes him seem more of a child and irresponsible. He is scared and weak when all he wanted in the beginning was to be strong and was hoping that his gun would accomplish that.
What I don’t understand is why after all of this he shoots all of his bullets into the night and hops onto a train. What is the point of that ending? It makes me kind of mad. Where does he go? Is he planning on coming back? Since this story was written during the civil rights movement, the racial injustices take away from the social construct of the story. Dave flees to somewhere he can be a man and where he can be