Richard Wright's The Man Who Was Almost A Man

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Recommended: Social changes in the 1920's

A defiant young man who only wants one thing and his coming of age story, is what Richard Wright tells in his short story “The Man Who Was Almost A Man”. This short story is about a young seventeen year old man named Dave. Dave lives in a house with his parents, he goes to the store to get a catalogue to look at guns he wants to purchase. Joe is the man at the store who lets Dave keep the catalogue, he then tells Dave he will sell him his gun for two dollars. Dave goes home to his mother, who receives Dave’s paychecks, and he begs her for money to buy the gun from Joe after he has been obsessed with the catalogue during dinner. He decides it is a better idea to ask his mother this daring question than his father. After much begging Mrs.Saunders agrees to letting him go to the store to buy the gun under a couple of conditions; Dave must bring the gun straight home after he makes the purchase and gun will go to Mr. Saunders, it will not be Dave’s gun. Dave decides that he will not go straight home after he makes his purchase, he waits until everyone in his home has gone to sleep to return home. His mother comes to his room during the night to ask for the gun and he lies about where the gun is. He leaves the house early so he can get to work early but he runs into his boss, Mr.Hawkins. He plans on shooting the gun so he grabs the mule, Jenny, and …show more content…

Dave tells his mom “Ma. Ahm almos a man now. Ah wans a gun” (Wright 209) he believes because he is the age a man should be man that he should own a gun; this entitlement is a problem in society today because it leads to young people getting into trouble because they believe they are grown. In the short story “The Man Who Was Almost A Man” Richard Wright presents a study of Dave Saunders, who comes of age in the early 20th century, and expresses how Dave’s feeling of entitlement inhabit his transition to

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