Realism In Richard Wright's The Man Who Was Almost A Man

On the eve of my twelfth birthday, my father sat me down to have a talk- He says, “Mary Amelia;” his using my full name and not what everyone usually calls me had me paying attention right away. “You’re my only daughter and you’re about to become a young woman. I don’t know much about what I, as a father, should tell you; however, with your momma gone, I feel it is my responsibility to say something in the way of trying to prepare you for womanhood…

The story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” was written by Richard Wright. Wright was born near Natchez, Mississippi. When Wright was five, his father abandoned the family so wright was raised by a series of relatives in Mississippi. Wrights education never went further than junior high school. Wright then moved to Chicago, where he joined the WPA Writes Project. Wright wrote many story’s in his time and was well known for them. “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” is about a kid who thinks is a man, so he goes out and buys a gun, then practice’s shooting it while working and ends up killing a mule then runs away. The theme of “The Man who was Almost a Man” symbolizes the coming of age, racism and self-deception of the kid.

In Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” Dave finds himself throughout the course of the story. Throughout the story, Dave is constantly seeking the pleasure of obtaining and then eventually shooting a gun in order to be a man and find himself. However, Dave does not expect the consequences that are to follow the pursuit of pleasure. The moral of the story pertains to the role pleasure and its consequences have in development and finding oneself. The story narrates a common, but little talked about problem, that runs rampant in today’s society. In the story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” Richard Wright illustrates Dave’s development, or lack thereof, through the symbols of the gun, the train, and the mule.

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.'

“Man of All Work” by Richard Wright takes place in the 1950’s in the rural south right before the events of the Civil Rights Movement that further shaped America for all races. We follow one man named Carl who takes his wife’s name and clothing for a day to interview for a domestic job meant for woman for the Fairchild family. This short story further displays the difficult race relations in the South during this time, as well as the lack of respect that the whites had for African Americans. Through the Fairchilds’ oblivion of Lucy’s true gender in ‘Man of All Work”, Wright demonstrates the lack of compassion had by the White Supremacists toward African-Americans via a lack of observation of characteristics and through their lack of

Richard was born, raised, and grew up in a difficult period of life. However, when Wright was sixteen, a short story of his was published in a Southern African American newspaper. After leaving high school, Wright worded a few odd jobs, but still showed his true love for writing. In 1927, Wright decided to pack up his belongings and head to Chicago. A short ten years later, Richard moved to New York City, where he was told it would be easier getting published. One year later, Wright’s first book was published. Since then, Wright has wrote a number of books, series and short stories until he died in 1960. With that being said, Richard Wright’s short stories, The Man Who Was Almost A Man and Big Boy Leaves Home were both written to show what coming with age and responsibility truly mean.

"Whenever I thought of the essential bleakness of black life in America, I knew that Negroes had never been allowed to catch the full spirit of Western civilization, that they lived somehow in it but not of it. And when I brooded upon the cultural barrenness of black life, I wondered if clean, positive tenderness, love, honor, loyalty, and the capacity to remember were native with man. I asked myself if these human qualities were not fostered, won, struggled and suffered for, preserved in ritual from one generation to another." This passage written in Black Boy, the autobiography of Richard Wright shows the disadvantages of Black people in the 1930's. A man of many words, Richard Wrights is the father of the modern

Dave throws his morals aside and cons his mother out of the money by telling her that his father needs a gun in the house. This action shows how far Dave will go to obtain what he believes will make him a man. After buying the gun, he then begins his next

starts school, which he begins at a later age than other boys because his mother

The Man Who Was Almost a Man, tells the story of a young seventeen year old teenager, named Dave Saunders, who finds himself struggling with the need to be taken seriously as an adult, while still being seen by his community, as merely a boy. Published in 1961 and written by Richard Wright, this short story focuses on the common struggle of young African American men in the South trying to find their identity outside of the box that the United States society put them in at the time. Dave felt that in order to prove that he was a man; in order to receive the respect he thought he deserved from Black and White Americans alike, he needed to purchase a gun. This, of course, proved to be of more harm than good, as Dave found himself incapable of using the gun correctly, and what resulted was the death of his employer’s mule. Dave then, after creating a nonsensical lie that does not convince anyone, decides to skip town in order to avoid the responsibility of taking up for his actions. When taking into consideration the story line and its relativity to the South during the 1920s, when the story is set, it’s clear to see that Dave Saunders’ story is more than what it seems to be on the surface. Dave Saunders’ story is a reflection of common coming-of-age struggles, and even more than that, the common African American struggle of trying to find power when everything surrounding you, and society as a whole, is telling you that you’re powerless; a struggle that is still very

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

However, Dave chooses to neglect his responsibilities once again by hopping a train to leave town. As long as he has the gun, he feels that he is a man. He leaves town, not thinking about how his family is affected by his actions. While Dave is selfish and unconcerned, James is selfless and compassionate. This can be attributed mainly to the boy's environment. Unlike Dave, James is exposed to the most impoverished conditions and can adapt to any situation. With six other family members in his household, there was little money to spare. However, Dave's environment was not impoverished. His family had the bare necessities and was even able to save money for winter clothes. They had food and never asked Dave to go out and hunt for them anything to eat. It is these circumstances that help to contribute to Dave's selfish desires when he wants to spend his work money foolishly on a gun instead of winter clothes, and again when he chooses to run away from his responsibilities.

When writing fiction, there are certain rules that authors need to follow in order to create good fiction. Good fiction would be one that follows these 3 rules: character’s behavior is consistent, character’s words and actions spring from motivation, and characters are plausible or lifelike. For a character to be lifelike or plausible it means that the character in the story is presented as someone who you could meet in the real world. In good fiction, the reader will be able to immerse themselves into the book so well that the reader will forget that they are even reading a story. An example of good fiction would be “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright. Wright’s main character Dave possesses the three necessities that would

The idea of double consciousness, termed by W.E.B. Du Bois, for African Americans deals with the notion that one’s self has duality in being black and American. It is the attempt to reconcile two cultures that make up the identity of black men and women. One can only see through the eyes of another. A veil exists in this idea, where one has limits in how he or she can see or be seen. This individual is invisible to the onlookers of the veil, and those onlookers may be invisible to the individual. This then alters how one can truly interpret their conscious. This concept is one that has been explored in various themes of literature,

Character development within novels with complex plot structures proves to be a difficult task necessitating the author to add their own inner thoughts and experiences to weave a more realistic story. The historical background of a writer helps glean on information about that person’s unconscious and subconscious processes that become apparent within an author’s literature. As the author develops their thoughts throughout a novel attempting to paint a clearer picture of their purpose, their own persona becomes a part of the literature. Psychoanalytic theory attempts to further this claim by taking information from one’s childhood, inner taboo thoughts and hidden motivations, and synthesizing them for a better picture of the author’s