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Dave's Dream
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In Richard Wright's short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," Dave, a seventeen year old African American male has a strong desire to prove that he is a man. He works with other black men in the fields owned by a white man, Jim Hawkins. At seventeen Dave believes he's ready to be his own man and that having a gun would make him a man. The gun acts as a symbol of Dave's dream of manhood. As the gun evolves in Dave's life, Dave becomes more of a man. The presence of the gun is a powerful one in Dave's life. The gun begins its existence when Wright tells us, "One of these days [Dave] was going to get a gun and practice shooting, then they couldn't talk to him as though he were a little boy." It's clear that Dave believes that the gun is his bridge to adulthood when Wright said that if Dave had a gun, he wouldn't be regarded as a child. Dave seems to think being a man is a result of having power. Wright refers to Dave's physical size inhibiting his advancement to manhood and reducing his power. "Shucks, Ah ain't scareda them even ef they are biggern me!" (Man, 1396) He also tells us that Dave isn't even in charge of his own affairs, and hardly even his own life: "Mebbe Ma will lemme buy [a gun] when she gits mah pay from ol man Hawkins. Ahma beg her to gimme some money" (Man, 1396). This statement clearly tells us that Dave doesn't manage the money he earns from working as a field hand. Finally, Wright also implies that Dave isn't regarded as a man because of the way people talk to him. "Whut's the use in talkin wid em niggers in the field... then they couldn't talk to him like he was a little boy" (Man, 1396). Dave thought that the gun would solve all three of these problems. Dave believed that after solving these problems, he would finally be seen as a man. Having the gun would make him more physically powerful: "[Dave] could kill a man with this [gun]. Kill anybody, black or white" (Man, 1399-1400). The increase of physical power would make him more of a threat to the other black fieldhands as well as his white boss. They would respect him as a threat: "If he were holding his gun in his hand, nobody could run over him; they would have to respect him" (Man, 1400). With the respect would come equality; they wouldn't talk to and treat him like a little boy, but a man with enough power to be a man. At this point owning the gun is only a dream. Dave had thought up a quick plan to try and obtain his dream: "Ah know whut Ahma do. Ahm going by ol Joe's sto n git that Sears Robuck catlog n look at them guns" (Man, 1396).
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