Buying A Gun Analysis

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1. Dave’s gun serves a solution that will turn Dave’s adolescent into manhood. Dave believes that by owning a gun he can be a man. As mentioned on page 1220, “Shucks, a man oughta hava little gun aftah he done worked hard all day.” Dave’s parents treat Dave as a child who should be punished for his mistakes and that too harsh punishment like beating. Dave believes a gun will make him old enough to be saved from the beating of his father. Mr. Hawkins is rich and employer of Dave. Dave works very hard and yet is not paid. For Dave, a gun is a symbol of power and he believes this gun might make him more powerful than Mr. Hawkins. Therefore, he wants to fire his gun at Mr. Hawkins’s house. The blacks that work in the fields treat Dave as a little boy. Dave does not like this fact. He is seventeen and thinks he is almost a man and the workers should treat him as a man. Owning a gun would solve this problem, as workers then will respect him.

2. …show more content…

Dave’s accidental shooting of Jenny the mule can be viewed as a subconscious act of rebellion. Buying a gun and shooting was a way for Dave to display his power. Dave wanted this power to prove that he is a man. Thus, when he shot the mule, subconsciously he knew he exercised his power. Hence, mentioned on page 1227, “ He had an itch to fire it again.” Yes, the story contains other signs of Dave’s rebelliousness. For instance, he buys a gun at first place just to show his masculinity. He does not give the gun to his mother and lies about it. In addition, after shooting the mule, Dave did not surrender his gun. Moreover, he went back to the woods and started shooting again. Most importantly, he shoots at the Mr. Hawkins house to scare him. Finally, he left his parents, hometown and ran away. Dave’s attitude in this story represents rebellion. However, rebellion is common in adolescent age

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