The Man Who Was Almost A Man By Richard Wright

"The Man Who Was Almost a Man," by Richard Wright is a short story about Dave Sanders. Dave Saunders is a young black seventeen year old male who is a worker on the plantation. Dave feels that since he is seventeen that he needs to prove everyone that he is a man. Dave thinks that if he get a gun people will respect him. But after all, the gun only causes many complications for him.Richard Wright uses symbols in the short story to show the complexity of Dave coming of page. Firstly, Wright uses the catalogue as a symbol for the story. Dave is thinking about getting a gun, but he is unsure which gun is best for him. So one day,he went to the gun store and ask the owner for his catalogue. The catalogue is like a wish list for Dave. Dave uses it to look at all the types of guns that was available at Joe 's store. Dave made sure that he kept the catalogue in his vision at all time, which shows that he is being very responsible like a mature adult. Another way Dave is being responsible like an adult when he tells his mother to "Gimm ma catlog,Ma"(Wright pg.4). This also shows that he know how to handle business like a man. The catalogue is the only symbol that made him look like a very responsible young man. Next,the gun is another symbol Wright uses in the story. Dave thinks the gun represents power, respect, and independence. Dave thinks that the gun will fix all of his problems. Dave wants the people in the fields to stop treating him like a child and