The man who was almost a man by Richard Wright - Essay Example

Topic: Is Daves decision to leave home the right one? The decision by Dave to leave home was not the right one. It showed his inability to control himself. Dave young black farm worker in the South went out and had a word with the other niggers of his intention to buy a gun. He has a history of not being able to control himself, thus making it wrong for him to run away. When he runs way, chances are that he would still cause more harm with the gun. “Feeling a sense of power. Could kill a man with a gun like this.

Kill anybody, black or white.” While working in the field, David Saunders also struggles to win some respect from the other fieldworkers, although he lacked he necessary maturity. Seeing that he was being controlled in almost every sphere of his life, David decides to establish his own identity. Due to the increasing resentful of his powerlessness, Dave thinks that moving out and owning a gun would instantaneously make him a man by using the gun. He has a higher likelihood of shooting. “Dammit, hed done it!

He fired again. Blooooom! He smiled. Blooooom! Blooooom! Click, click. There! It was empty”.Due to his inability to control himself, he decided to shoot Jenny (horse) just to prove to himself his not afraid. He says, "Lissen here, Jenny! When Ah pull this ol trigger, Ah don wan yuh t run n acka fool now!” and he run away. Additionally, his running away was wrong since he needed to pay for the mule that he killed which belonged to Mr. Hawkins. Mr Hawkins says, “Whut yuh pay fer it?" "Two dollahs.

"The other argument is that is it wrong for him to run away because he could be provoked and shoot people in the train considering that his gun was loaded, “Got a long strip of old flannel from a trunk, wrapped the gun in it, and tied it to his naked thigh while it was still loaded.”Since Dave was so engrossed in proving himself to be a man, wherever he runs to he will cause much more harm with the gun due to his attempts of trying to establish himself as a man “He felt his pocket; the gun was still there… stretching away, away to somewhere, somewhere where he could be a man.

” Therefore, is it important for people to know who they are in the world? This is the question Dave should have asked himself before making that decision of purchasing a gun. One needs to recognize himself to prevent serious problems from occurring. That is why Dave was not right by escaping with the train to move out of his home.Works CitedWright, Richard. “The Man Who Was Almost a Man.” The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.