Commentary on The Man Who Was Almost A Man Essay

The Man Who Was Almost a Man: The Gun

The Man Who Was Almost a Man, a short story by Richard Wright, depicts a character who journeys toward maturity. His desire to be treated like an adult causes a twist considering . Richard Wright depicts his character as a curious teenager trying to discover his identity through fulfilling his desire to own a gun. Wright portrayed the maturity of the young man through the ownership of a gun. What Dave does when he becomes the owner of the gun builds the path to either maturity or annihilation. The story starts off with the protagonist going into the local convenience store with his purchase of interest in mind. After the storekeeper makes Dave an offer for a gun, the young protagonists journey through his search for his own maturity begins.

Dave, a self-conscious seventeen year old field worker, grows a passion to own a gun. Richard Wright describes this characters desire in a way that amplifies the aspect of self- consciousness. The other field workers look down on Dave because of his age. The store keeper in the beginning of the story who introduces the weapon of interest to the protagonist also looks down upon the boy. You aint nothing but a boy. You dont need a gun(Wright 373). In this particular quote, Wright seems to point out that the desire of the boy is not the gun itself, but the legality of him owning one. Since owning a gun is the fantasy of the boy, because others do not approve of the idea, it seems as if he pushes for it even more. The store clerk offers the boy two dollars for the gun. With this thought in mind, the boy begins his journey towards an unexpected fate.

When the boy leaves the store, he heads home with high hopes. If only he could convince his mother to let him purchase the gun with two dollars from the money he had worked for, he could then become a man. When the protagonist introduces the idea to his mother, even she does not agree with this transaction. Ah don care what Ah promised! Yuh ain nothing but a boy yit!(Wright 375). Finally, after much convincing and a promise that the gun will belong to his father, the boy comes face to face with his nemesis. Wrights describes the gun as the only way that Dave can prove his manhood to the town. Therefore, he portrays the gun as the boys maturity.

However, the protagonists notion of his maturity diminishes when he breaks his promise to his mother and hides the gun immediately after he purchases it. The boy then sneaks out early the next day to the fields to try out his newfound glory. He tells the farmer that he only wanted to take the mule, Jenny, out to the fields. When the boy arrives to the fields, he feels the urge to fire the weapon once. However, Wright depicts the boys test of power as a bridge between actual maturity and mature instincts. Little did the boy know that his one selfish action could lead to loss of his credibility and respect from the people the boy tried gaining respect from. Then he saw the hole in Jennys side, right between the ribs. It was round, wet, red. A crimson stream streaked down the front leg, flowing fast. Good Gawd! Ah wuznt shootin at the mule. He felt panic (Wright 378). At this point in the story the boy finally feels the maturity and power slip from his fingers. Once holding the power to his maturity he lets that go by making a mistake that will leave him to make a choice with his destiny. After the evidence was clear that the boy had finally did the crime, there was no choice but for the boy to make the most immature decision of his life.

Deciding to take the gun and leave his familys side to save his own pride, Wright no longer portrays the gun as a representation of his maturity, but more the nemesis of his destiny. By leaving his family he leaves the responsibility and the debt of killing the farmers mule to his parents. He started down the road, toward the tracks. Yeah, here she comes! He stood beside the track and held himself stiffly. He had his hand on his gun; something quivered in his stomach (Wright 383). In this quote, Wright is gaining the boys credibility back with the reader by saying that the boy actually felt a quiver in his stomach. Whether that quiver be from guilt or fear, it is the result of making the biggest mistake he could ever make.

Even after the fact that the boy killed the farmers mule, the gun still made him feel like a man. When he reached the top of a ridge he stood straight and proud in the moonlight, looking at Jim Hawkins big white house, feeling the gun sagging in his pocket. Lawd, ef Ah had just one mo bullet Ahd taka shot at tha house. Ahd like t scare ol man Hawkins jusa little Jusa enough t let im know Dave Saunders is a man(Wright 383). Despite all that has happened the boy is still clouded by his own idea of manhood.

The protagonist was thrown one more chance and finally dove in to get the final decision made by himself. The only one that would keep him from trouble and the only way he knew how to deal with himself. He was immature to himself and needed to learn on his own how to grow into his own maturity. If by chance he couldnt do that the chances of him succeeding regardless of his age will diminish greatly in the world he lives in apart from the parents he left and the life he lived. Even to the last moment on the train, the only thought that runs through his mind is escaping the town where he couldnt be a man to a place where his manhood is accepted. By describing this Wright is trying to tell the reader that though the protagonist is still clouded by his own idea of maturity. He hesitated just a moment; then he grabbed, pulled atop a car, and lay flat. He felt his pocket; the gun was still there. Ahead the long rails were glinting in the moonlight, stretching away, away to somewhere, somewhere where he could be a man.(Wright383). Wright ends the story leaving the reader to wonder whether the boy will find a place he could become a man, or if he will still be clouded in his perception of becoming a man.

A mature person is one who is does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably. This quote by Eleanor Roosevelt best describes the protagonist. When the time to be objective came about, instead of taking of the task, he ran away. The way he left his town was neither humble nor charitable. The protagonists strive to be treated maturely by his surrounding townspeople and parents back-lashed. He definitely was the man who was almost a man, but dues to his self-consciousness and selfish behavior; he took a step back from manhood.

Word Count: 1272

Works Cited

Wright, Richard. The Man Who Was Almost a Man. The Oxford Book of American Short Stories. Joyce Carol Oates. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Pages 607-619.