Coming of Age in The Man Who was Almost a Man by Richard White Dave

“Be a man” is the message that many young boys grow up with, but what does being a man truly entail? The idea that a boy must be a man and fit the heteronormative model of what a man should be, is so engrained in society that it affects many aspects of boy’s lives. James Baldwin writes an entire novel Giovanni’s Room about the idea of what being a man is, and what these teachings can do to a boy.

Dave thinks he is almost a man because he buys himself a gun and by having this gun he thinks it will gain the other men's respect. He is tired of getting grief from the men he works with. He believes he will be transformed into a real man by having a gun, but he quickly realizes that it is only bringing him problems and more responsibility. Dave sees that he is not ready for adulthood because of the responsibilities and obligations that come with it. He wants the freedom that he is led to believe that adults have. I do not think that his actions are those of an adult because I think that his mind set is childish since he thinks that a gun is going to make him seem more like an adult and not a child anymore. There is a lot more that comes with being an adult than just having a gun. Guns are dangerous and should be used in the right way. I do not agree with his action of shooting Mr. Hawkins' mule and it could have seemed that he was striking against Mr. Hawkins. I think the reason that he thinks that a gun will make him a man is because he feels it is a quick way for him to become powerful and manly. He believes that having a gun in his hand will give him more control over

In life, there are many decisions that everyone must make. And with decision-making comes consequences, some that we are ready for , and some that we may not be ready for. The author of ' The Man Who Was Almost a Man,' Richard Wright, portrays a young man who wants to be a man, but shows that he is clearly unprepared for manhood and the consequences that come with that responsibility. Through decision making based on self interest, wanting to gain respect from his family, and wanting to prove his dignity, Richard Wright brings forth the main character, Dave, a seventeen year old boy, whose actions show that he is only 'almost a man.'

Gerzon also persuades his audience, particularly young men looking to prove themselves, through emotional appeal that there is no defined rite of passage to becoming a man. Gerzon states “Young men cannot outmaneuver the Nazis as Indiana Jones did in Raiders of the Lost Ark, or battle Darth Vader, or outsmart. Dr. No with James Bond's derring-do. To feel like heroes they turn to the other sex. They ask young women for more than companion- ship, or sex, or marriage. They ask women to give them what their culture could not — their manhood.”(7) By stating

The first scene that introduces Dave was him sleeping in his car with a huge mess and he gets woken up by a bunch of kids hitting his car, he got up and the first thing that you hear is bear bottles clanging around at his feet. This first scene of Dave just shows that his life is not going very well and that he is most likely an alcoholic. Dave then got out of his car with no pants on and walked into the

In the story he says "One of nowadays he would get a weapon and work on shooting, then they couldn't converse with him just as he were a young man" (306). Obviously this idea alone shows how upside down Dave is. Owning a firearm consequently turns into Dave's outlet, an approach to rapidly turn out to be effective and masculine. He trusts that a gun in his grasp will give him more control over others; nonetheless, Jenny's passing just restrains his future by compelling him to reimburse Mr. Hawkins the cost of the donkey. Now Dave is more baffled than any time in recent memory since now he supposes he will never shine. A considerable measure of young people have a faint confusion that Dave has. Many are being harassed and abused somehow and they feel that owning a firearm will give them more control over these uncomfortable

Who is to officially declare what makes a man? Who can simply imply that one has become a man? These questions can be answered with the support of three textual symbols found in the novella by Angela Johnson. The First Part Last goes into great details of how a rural teenager must take on the responsibilities of raising a child while finding his maturity as time progresses. Many symbols are given to represent such changes, for example, Johnson inserts the use of colours to show the emotions Bobby is expressing in the scene to give feeling while spray painting on a city building. "I spray black. Then red, mixed with some blue." (Johnson, 60) The use of colours is brought up again while Bobby is wishing to paint the same emotional colours all

In Richard Wright's story Dave Saunders, a young seventeen year old African American struggles to find the respect he needs to prove himself a man. Throughout the story he puts himself in situations that prove himself defiant of being a man he lies countless times and with a injury of a poor innocent animal. But this proves to show does buying a weapon really show the quality representations of a man? Dave's mindset of purchasing a weapon and leaving at the end of the story on a train to go “somewhere he can be a man” But do his actions really show the quality representations of a man? Dave goes through constant battles of trying to obtain respect and power. I view Dave Saunders still as, a boy because none of his actions of proves differ

Later in the book, Dave shows that he still possesses this deep desire for vengeance when he admits that he still felt like “The Boy Who’d Escaped the Wolves” at times (212-13). This demonstrates that Dave’s desire for revenge shaped his personality and that years after the incident, this urge is still a part of him. Sean constitutes an additional example of the past molding personality. As a child, Sean was relieved that both of Dave’s captors died and hoped that they both went “straight down to hell” (33). This is a demonstration of Sean’s desire for justice. This excerpt highlights that he rationalizes that the criminals, who have created an inequitable situation by kidnapping his friend, will be punished for their crime without the necessity for his intervention. Thus, Sean prefers to restore equity theoretically (through rationalization) as opposed to physically (through retaliation) in the exchanges he perceives. Later on, Sean reveals that since the day of Dave’s kidnapping “he hadn’t truly known what to make of his life” and that he was unsatisfied with his “insubstantial nature” (157). This demonstrates that since that day, Sean could not accept his failure to save Dave, leading him to feel incomplete because he

as a sign of strength, responsibility, and courage as well as the sarcastic results of achieving this hope. His further loss of self-importance and independence drove him to break from the setting that ridicules him to try to be more successful through gaining wisdom and independence.The story is well thought out Dave’s seek for a gun that he bought for only two dollars,

The film starts with the narrator, Jackson Katz, underlining the extreme notion of masculinity that is presented in our everyday lives. Contrary to popular beliefs, masculinity is a projection that is put up by men and not a fixed state of being. The ‘tough guise’, defined by Katz as “the front that so many men put up that 's based on the extreme notions of masculinity that emphasizes toughness and physical strength and gaining the respect and admiration of others through violence or the implicit threat of it”, becomes the main issue that affects people who identify as male. When Katz brought up the meaning of a man, the film intercuts to scenes of interviewed teenagers who used words like ‘tough’, ‘independent’, ‘muscular’, ‘strong’, and ‘powerful’ to describe their ideas of a man. When asked to describe a man who does not conform to these standards, the teenagers used words like ‘wuss’, ‘sissy’, ‘weak’, ‘bitch’, and ‘fag’ instead. This scene truly underlines the widespread binary gender roles that are seen as common and universal among adolescents. In a sense, this influential

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” (SOURCE). Manhood and being a “real man” is defined in many different ways depending on the person. However, most of these things that men are defined by can be done by any gender and there are people that make it their work to prove that. The social construct of manhood has overall negative consequences on society; however, not all men uphold this construct, and can prove to be advocates of change.

What does it mean to be a man? How does one qualify for the title? Is the term "man" simply referring to male human beings, or does it hold a greater measure of meaning in society. In order to get more insight into this subject matter, I consulted, " The Tormont Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary". As I anticipated, the first definition for man stated as following: "An adult human being as distinguished from a female". This definition, did not surprise me, but what did ,was what followed it , it stated: A male human being endowed with such qualities as courage, strength, and fortitude, considered characteristic of manhood". To be a man in our society one must posses such qualities, along with honor, reliability and endurance. This

When adolescent, inexperienced on the journey onward, it is the ambition of boys to become men. When physically mature, often deep into their journey of life, it is the aspiration of men to not lose their inner child. The 21 century, quite unlike any other century before, permits this progression to be an integral part of manhood. Arguably, the 21st century has embraced more tolerance than any other century before. Many identities have been redefined and some have been called to question. Nowadays, what it means to be a man is far more multifaceted than society understood it to be centuries ago. Even the definition of masculinity seems to have met its biggest resistance with gay rights. Authors like John Eldredge and Michael Kimmel both suggest

The most obvious symbol mentioned in this story is the gun. Throughout the story, the gun is constantly shown as a symbol for power, as well as masculinity and independence. Several times throughout the course of the story the narrator states, “If anybody could shoot a gun, he could” (Wright 222). In the fields, Dave is treated as a child, and he believes that he is an adult and should be treated as once, which includes owning a gun. Dave is disillusioned by the gun, and believes that it will solve all of his problems and strengthen his weaknesses, including granting him independence. Dave fails to realize that not being able to properly operate a gun only relinquishes freedom. This can be further evidenced when Dave accidentally shoots Jenny, the mule. This situation should have put an end to Dave’s obsession with power and guns, but instead he was still fascinated, demonstrating his lack of maturity and development. Overall, the gun demonstrates the maturity, independence, and developmental level that Dave wishes to achieve, but severely lacks.