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- The Man Who Was Almost a Man - Wikipedia
- The Man Who Was Almost a Man Themes
- by Richard Wright
You have to earn respect to get it,it isn't given to you. Dave's mother and father Mrs. Sauders are somewhat different than each other. His mother is caught between her son's happiness and doing the right thing. The father is the more strict figure.
He is violent and seems more concerned at what he wants for Dave. He wants to make the choices for him. Kind of like the stories and films my class discussed. He does whatever he wants in the house to maintain discipline like Troy.
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I know for me this would be a tough task and very disturbing to focus. If he is to keep up with this, he'll end up just like his father. If I were in Dave's shoes i'd come up with a better solution and think through what he has planned. It is not a good idea,he is trying to take the easy way out. Thinking that he is making a point,when everyone is really laughing at you.
Dave is a pretender, is what I'd call it. He is more in the situation of running away rather than solving his problem. I learn from experience. He life is based on a whole lie, little does he know that it isn't bringing nothing but more frustration and stress.
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- The Man Who Was Almost a Man: a Study Guide?
- The Man Who Was Almost a Man Summary.
- The Man Who Was Almost a Man Themes.
He is like a premature adult on the outside, but a little toddler boy inside. He feels as if since almost his entire life has been based on humiliation, taken as a joke, and hatred, How a lot of insecure people look at life, their is no hope. He has the potential but is not willing to do the right thing. He isn't showing commitment,and is going down a path he can't follow. His foolishness escalated to an incident where he fired the gun at his boss's mule Jenny and killed it.
Here he lies about what happen both the death and where the gun was at. He finally confessed what I would've done from the jump and emptied out the bullets and got rid of the gun then escaped on a train leaving everything behind. I had to find out the hard way that if you want to be something in life you have to work for it,it is what you make of it,there are obstacles, it takes time,motivation, sacrifices, you can't be impatient if your not ready.
That's how I look at it, you have to begin from the bottom,and then work your way up, not skip ahead. I recommend this to teens who are unsure on how to mature and grow up into a intelligent Adult. This is a lesson if you don't be smart about your decisions, it will only make your life a whole lot harder.
The Man Who Was Almost a Man - Wikipedia
Mar 31, Athena rated it it was ok. The man who was almost a man was really a boy named Dave Saunders. Dave worked on a farm for Mr Hawkins, and when he got paid his Ma took his paycheck to use it for the household. This didn't bother Dave so much except for the fact that he wanted a gun believing he would then be considered a man. Little did Dave know. He begged his Ma for money for a gun, he is relentless, saying that they didn't have a gun in the house with which Pa could protect them.
Against her better judgment Ma finally giv The man who was almost a man was really a boy named Dave Saunders. Against her better judgment Ma finally gives in, but she implores him to be careful. Let's suffice it to say that once Dave Saunders got the gun he didn't heed his Ma's warning, and he certainly didn't become a man. Dave Saunders has much in common with another of Wright's protagonist Bigger Thomas who also makes bad and impulsive decisions until he has reached the point of no return.
Jun 02, Mark Sexton rated it it was ok. So he decides to buy a guy. Dave is really just trying to show that he a real man.
The Man Who Was Almost a Man Themes
He hides the gun from his mom and dad. He really needs help to understand that people will start respecting him. Just not in that way. H "A young sharecropper learns that having a gun gives one power, but it does not make one a man. He fires a few shots without looking accidentally hits a mule. After being teased, babied, and downright disrespected , our young hero decides that the only way he can make things right is by buying a gun.
Not the smartest move, as it turns out. One dead mule, fifty dollars of debt, and an angry boss later, Dave is challenged to finally prove that he's a man once and for all. And that's just scratching the surface, loyal Shmoopers. Although the story focuses on Dave's coming-of-age experience, we end up learning a lot about society at large. We learn about the importance of parenthood; we learn about the way that wealth and class can control our lives; we learn how the legacy of slavery continued to limit the potential of African-Americans decades after the institution ended.
That's a lot of stuff for such a short story—not that what we're complaining. Whether you're interested in personal truths, broad social critiques, or even just some good old-fashioned storytelling, you'll find it in "The Man Who Was Almost a Man. The gun becomes an equalizer in Dave's eyes when he says "Could kill a man with a gun like this. Kill anybody, black or white. And if he were holding his gun in his hand, nobody could run over him; they would have to respect him.
When it comes down to it, Dave is bound to his debt and has no choice but to pay Jim Hawkins. The mention of skin color makes this about more than just that debt , but about the ideas of bondage. The gun symbolizes several things in the eyes of Dave from the achievement of power or control, to independence, and the desire of masculinity, while in reality it symbolizes his struggle and failure to achieve such aspirations. In purchasing the gun Dave feels he has acquired masculinity, giving him a newfound sense of independence. With the gun Dave feels invincible, like no one can pass judgment upon him, tell him what to do, or harm him in any way.
In the scene in which Dave kills Jenny, Dave exposes his immaturity and lack of control by misusing the weapon. His misuse of the gun and the killing of the mule demonstrated to those around him that he was in fact still an irresponsible boy.
by Richard Wright
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