Analysis Of The Man Who Was Almost A Man

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Recommended: Race and ethnicity in America

Culture and race have been a topic of discussion in America for centuries. Many American writers have taken on the undulling task of writing about culture and race in their novels or short stories. Richard Wright, who was an African American writer, wrote a short story entitled “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” which focused on the ideas of race and culture of African Americans in the south. Wright is known for his works that confirm stereotypes about black men held by white culture and in this short story he confirms these stereotypes like the dialect of African Americans in the south. The main character in Wright’s short story, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”, is Dave Saunders, who is an African American 17-year-old boy. Dave wants to buy himself a gun since it would make him into a man in his own mind. He believes if he has this gun and even if he does not use it, it would somehow make him into the man he is supposed to be. Throughout the short story the reader gains an understanding of who is talking by the switch in dialects. Dave has a very different way of speaking than the narrator does. For example, Dave would say, “Ahm going by ol Joe’s sto n git that Sears Roebuck catlog n look at them guns”. When the reader reads this sentence out loud they do not necessarily do it justice as it would actually be said by a southern African American. Dialects in the south are huge aspects of this short story. Dave has a strong dialect and it helps represent the culture of southern African Americans. …show more content…

Dave, the main character, helps establish a culture or southern African Americans, but also helps paint a bigger picture of the race of African Americans and the stereotypes White Americans put on them. Dave’s dialect and word choices help establish the culture found in the short story and Dave’s actions help establish the bigger picture of African American

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