Theme Of The Man Who Was Almost A Man

Improved Essays
In all three of the following stories- The White Heron; The Man Who Was Almost a Man; Dead Men’s Path- the immaturity of the main character has a decided impact on what happens and why. Choose one for discussion and explain the connection.

In the short story, The Man Who Was Almost a Man by Richard Wright, a young, black sharecropper struggles to gain respect in the deep south during the early 20th century. Dave Saunders is a seventeen year old boy who desperately wants to be treated as a man by the adults in his life. In his immaturity, Dave believes owning a gun will earn him the respect that he feels he deserves, never considering the responsibility that comes with owning a gun. Moreover, Dave’s immature behavior has a significant impact on those around him.
Dave feels particularly disrespected by his co-workers at Mr. Hawkins plantation and is anxious to prove to them that he’s a man. “ One of these days he was going to get a gun and practice shooting, then they couldn’t talk to him as though he were a little boy”(113/5). This indicates that Dave, in his immaturity, believes once he owns a gun his co-workers will begin to treat him as a man. It seems Dave is under the impression that the gun makes the man instead of vice versa.
…show more content…
Hawkins’ mule, Jenny, to the fields with him to avoid suspicion. After plowing two rows, Dave stops the plow and prepares to test the gun. When Dave fires the gun he closes his eyes, pulls the trigger, accidentally shoots Jenny and Jenny dies. A mature, responsible man would own up to the mistake and deal with the consequences of his actions. However, Dave does quite the opposite. He buries the gun and concocts a tale of how Jenny stuck herself with the point of the plow. It doesn’t take long for Mr. Hawkins and company to figure out what Dave had done, especially after Mrs. Saunders asks what Dave did with the gun. The ridicule begins immediately. “ Well, boy, looks like yuh done bought a dead mule!

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Richard Wright’s Story Native Son is based on the racial situations in the 1930’s. The novel is focused on the life of Bigger Thomas, a poor 20 year old Negro, living in poverty in the poor black area of Chicago south side. The setting emphasizes the effect that racism restricts blacks in value and opportunity. In response to which, Bigger commits multiple and progressively violent crimes including rape, murder, and a couple atrocities that seduced him with hint of freedom in return, up until the aftereffect restricted his freedom when his crimes are revealed and he is captured and put to the ultimate trial to determine his termination.. Initially, a crime provides sense of freedom, but eventually consequences torment the criminal.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    True Self In the 1930’s in South Harlem, New York, segregation was a way of life. African Americans were seen as lesser than human beings, or not seen at all. To begin, in Ralph Ellison’s book, Invisible Man, the unknown narrator writes this story as a memoir of his life. The narrator moves from North to South and comes across many changes which he is infatuated by.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Rod Ewdish 12/13/16 English 120 Professor Progar Men in Society Men go so far to prove what they fear than acquire what they truly desire. Throughout life, men are taught to be tough and to not express their true thoughts or emotions. The article “Bros before hoes,” written by Michael Kimmel, an American Sociologist specialized in gender studies, goes along and asks a number of men from different campuses and states what it simply means to be a man. What sorts of phrases or thoughts come to mind when someone instructs them to be a man. Richard T. Evans, a researcher of interdisciplinary studies, in “Faggots, Fame and Firepower” describes how most male shooters have been dismissed by their classmates/peers, both before and after their crime,…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When it comes to the “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”, Dave had a father figure, who he dare not cross wrong, but his dad do not seem to show him the ropes of being a man. According to John Loftis who wrote (Domestic Prey: Richard Wright’s Parody of the Hunt Tradition in “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”), suggests that Dave has no adult black males to guide him or even to serve as modes that could allow him to define his manhood…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Symbols are commonly used in writing and some authors have a special talent for applying them. Zora Hurston uses many symbols in her book Their Eyes Were Watching God. I believe her use of living organisms as symbols allows her to convey ideas about people. For example, she uses mules, buzzards, and a pear tree to symbolize complex ideas including her idea of a perfect relationship. To start off, the mule in Their Eyes Were Watching God represents hardworking people who deserve a break in their lives.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    What was he saying about the black man’s need to protect himself, about his own proclivity to violence? I realized as I was reading the book how little I knew about the sixties, and the history of the Black Power Movement. Revolution was the trademark of the decade. My parents referenced the sixties frequently—they spoke of it as an era of social change. Yet, I have never fully understood what things changed.…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The choices that a person makes in their life has the ability to greatly impact the lives of the people around them. These choices can be insignificant, or they can be major but overall they cause some sort of change. A person must always be aware of the choices they make because it could lead to something completely unexpected. One decision has the ability to not only impact the life of himself, but the lives of others around them. Throughout The Color of Water, “The Interlopers”, “The Most Dangerous Game”, and “The Scarlet Ibis”, The decisions that the main characters make not only affected themselves, but the others around them as well.…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The protagonist of “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” named Dave faces the obstacle of buying a gun, even though his parents are against the idea. Joe’s parents time and time…

    • 1422 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People”, both elude a comparable tone and mood consistent with her usual writing style. Both of these stories fit in with the Southern Gothic genre which has a very unique feeling. This type of literature often utilizes supernatural elements and irregularity of the grotesque focusing on people from Southern United States and their innate Christianity. Southern Gothic writing holds a focus on eccentric characters as well as moody and unsettling events. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” has become one of the most famous examples of this genre, holding true to its eerie feelings and dark tones.…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Imagine being in a society where the color of individual’s skin makes another person fear for their own well-being. Picture a place where people are judged because of their race, before even taking a look a one’s heart. This place is America. Every day, African-American men attempt to appear as normal as possible to make their lives easier, but stereotypes makes them stick out like a sore thumb. In “Black Men in Public Space” and “Black Men Quietly Combating Stereotypes”, these sources analyze the plight of African-American men in society.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Once they got to the campsite, John took the rifle and the men from the village took sawed off shotguns. The sheriff and the men went into the site slowly while John followed about 10 yards behind them to provide cover. Once the Sheriff got into the campsite, he yelled “it’s a trap.” Moments later gunshots came from all directions.…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While Dave had the gun in his position he felt superior; as though he was the “big” man in the field. When he was out in the field with Jim Hawkins mule Jenny, Dave was waving the gun around and bragging to Jenny about the damage he could do with the gun. Little did he know, he would end up accidentally shooting Jenny. Once he discovered the bullet wound on her left side, he began to panic and tried to make up stories of how this tragedy occurred. He did not want to take responsibility or admit he injured the mule.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Last Dragon Analysis

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As a minority, living in a world surrounded by racism and stereotypes can be very difficult to face. Many males believe that to become accepted by society, they must possess typical masculine qualities. According to modern culture these traits include strength, defiance, and assertiveness. These characteristics, however, are misrepresentations of black masculinity, and should not be a factor when defining men. A perfect example of how inequality deeply affects social interaction and developing adolescences can be found in John Singleton’s Shaft and Berry Gordy’s…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout history, humans have isolated one another based on what they consider defining characteristics; Americans frequently treated one another poorly due to race. Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man highlights the values of a culture or a society by using a character who is alienated from society because of his race. The narrator, or Invisible Man, feels as his name describes him, invisible, because he is African American and has been ignored, forgotten, disregarded, and overlooked throughout the novel. His white counterparts disregard his existence, worth, and humanity causing a sense of alienation to develop in the narrator. These isolating experiences the Invisible Man endures throughout his journey reveals the unjust morals of the novel’s…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the short story Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin, we see how a young, open-minded boy can grow into a full-fledged racist based on extensive conditioning. With aspects cultivating from his environment, jealousy and the resulting hatred, as well as the seeming normality behind accepting these beliefs, these are the major reasons that guide Jesse’s development. Through the process of racial conditioning, Jesse goes from a young man with an African American friend, to someone who is not afraid to target anyone based solely on their skin color. The largest attribution to Jesse’s hatred towards blacks can be found in his environment. In the post-Civil-War south, there is a great deal of anger and bitterness towards colored folk.…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics