"The Man Who was Almost a Man"

Richard Wright did an excellent job in creating the character of Dave Saunders in “The Man Who was Almost a Man”. Dave was the perfect representation of a rebellious 17-year-old teenager craving independence, but more importantly, desiring respect. He wanted to be an equal amongst those in his community, and treated in such a manner; yet, due to racial issues prevalent during Dave’s time, the social and economic inequalities that African Americans faced crushed hopes and the personal belief amongst them that they deserved so much more than what they had. I sense that Dave was well aware of the inequalities surrounding him; however, I believe that he wanted more—he was a rebel because he did not want to be what everyone expected him to be. Society made clear its expectations of someone like Dave—they would work the fields from morning to evening, and make money for the family because perhaps society did not believe African Americans were worth anything more than that. However, maybe Dave knew there was more to life, or he could at least hope, and I respect that.

In regards to this throughout the story, I could feel Dave’s pent-up frustrations from his familial, work, and social situations. In these scenarios, Dave was not an individual, but rather a pawn used by others for he was just a child to them. Hence, this perhaps fueled Dave’s unyielding desire to gain a gun so he could feel empowered, where he “could kill a man with a gun like this. Kill anybody, black or white…if he were holding his gun…nobody could run over him; they would have to respect him.” For Dave, being a man was synonymous to respect. However, is this not true for all people, even today? Being a man, being an adult, means that you have respect to some extent, unlike children whose opinions are rarely valued or taken into deep consideration. Dave simply wanted to be valued by others— a desire shared by adult and child.   

Overall, although I do not agree with some of Dave’s decisions throughout the story, I sympathized with him, as I think most teenagers can as well.  I understood his fear of his father; I could see the child within him in his moments of weakness; I felt a part of me urging him to jump on the train. Nevertheless, we can all relate to some degree to Dave’s desires for respect and independency. For Dave, the solution was to own a gun, while for others, it may have been having their own car, receiving a driver’s license, doing drugs or alcohol, or dating someone in a serious relationship. For each individual in this particular age group, we find something that empowers us, which gives us a sense of security, respect, and power so we may feel equal within society. In some respect, we are no different from Dave.

  Hence, teenagers and children are often accused of being selfish, self-centered. Children spout out lies to avoid trouble rather than taking responsibility for their mistakes; teenagers at times do the same. Dave refused to take responsibility for his actions the moment that he jumped on the train; however, in the world in which he lived, was this so wrong? In the moment in which the train passed by, Dave saw an opportunity to escape the restricting community, the binding expectations of his family and his town; he saw an opportunity to go “away to somewhere, somewhere where he could be a man…”, or at least die trying. If he had stayed, I do not believe that Dave would ever be seen as a man because he would always be known as the boy who killed the mule, perhaps a mule himself. He would only be a punching bag for his father, a moneymaker for his mother, but not a man. Because of that, Dave was selfish, wanted more for himself, and thus took a leap into the unknown, perhaps into the beginning of adulthood. To be frank, I do not see what is so terrible about that. To see Dave leave, I was content.

Hence, it is true that Dave was “almost a man”; I think at the end of his story, he begins his journey to becoming a man. Critics may condemn his choice to leave, for in truth, it was indeed selfish as he neglects responsibilities and debts. However, does selfishness define him as a child, or are adults not selfish too? Hence, I am left to wonder what it means to be a man, an adult in the eyes of society. Perhaps even we do not understand what it means. Whether we truly are an adult, a child, or somewhere in between, who in this world has the right to determine that? Who has the right to make the judgment call of whether or not we are an adult, someone who is wise and mature? No one does.