In Richard Wright's "The Man Who Was Almost a Man", seventeen-year-old Dave is a black plantation worker who plows fields for Jim Hawkins, a white man. Oppressed by his community and boss for his young age and race, Dave is desperate to feel powerful. In his mind, possessing a gun is all Dave needs to prove he is a man to all those who "talk to him as though he were a little boy" (92).
Craving respect from his family and fellow plantation workers, Dave ventures to Mr. Joe's store and inquires about a gun, who dismisses Dave as "nothing but a boy" (92). Eventually, Mr. Joe offers to sell one of his own pistols to Dave for two dollars, who, elated, hurries home to borrow money from his mother. In a similar pattern, however, Dave's mother claims that Dave "ain nothing but a boy yit", and that if Dave was to purchase a gun from Mr. Joe, it would be given to Dave's father (93). Dave complies, clearly having no intention to give up his pistol without using it first. With the pistol finally in his hands, Dave feels "a sense of power" for the first time in his memory - he fantasizes about the fact that he "could kill a man with a gun like this... black or white... and if he were holding his gun in his hand... they would have to respect him" (94). Dave is unable to keep his excitement at bay, and while on the plantation fields with Mr. Hawkins' mule, fires the gun. Dave's inexperience with the pistol shows - he fires without looking, accidentally piercing the mule with a bullet and killing her. When confronted about the situation by Mr. Hawkins and his men, Dave initially lies, but the truth is eventually uncovered. In order to pay Mr. Hawkins back for the death of his mule, Dave must continue working on the plantation, paying back two dollars a month. |
Dave has already revealed his immaturity several times throughout the story, from the endless stream of lies and excuses he tells in order to avoid confrontation, to firing a pistol with no knowledge of how to use it. Unfortunately, he does not mature by the end. Instead, he continues to avoid his problems by catching a passing train and running away from the plantation, searching for "somewhere where he could be a man" (97).
Dave's impulsive actions are a result of his oppression. A poor black boy working the fields, he is resentful towards those around him who are in more powerful positions. To Dave, the gun is the only thing that can make him feel superior. Dave does not realize that maturity and honesty will garner more respect from others than owning a weapon he does not know how to use, but he runs from the consequences of his actions instead of learning from them. |