Analysis Of The Man Who Was Almost A Man By Richard White

Richard White’s “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”, is about a young black man named Dave who is an indentured servant in the deep South around the 1930’s. In this story, Dave is continuously trying to prove to others that he is a young man close to being an adult while others around him only see him as a child. He is the only person who believes he is a man instead of a child. This theme is proven throughout the book. During this time around the 1930’s racism was still very much alive in the South and even though slavery was abolished black people were still looked down on. No white man would look at a black man equally and definitely not a young black man. Given the times, the location, and the segregation of the southern society, black people often thought of themselves as inferior to white people. Throughout the story Dave is forced to rebel against the stereotypes of others and the societal standards in order to prove his manhood. …show more content…
Dave has to go against his parents treating him as younger than he truly is throughout the story. You can see this through ”Thas how come Ah has Mistah Hawkins t pay yo wages t me, cause Ah knows yuh ain got no sense." Dave’s mom says he is irresponsible with his money. He is almost legally an adult and just wants to have some control over his life with this big purchase; however his mom believes it is a waste of money. Dave’s father also treats him as a child through "Yuh wan me t take a tree n beat yuh till yuh talk!" Parents usually punish younger children not seventeen year olds. Even those people closest to Dave, his parents, do not respect as a young