The Man Who Was Almost a Man by Richard Wright Lterary Analysis Essay Sample

In “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”, Richard Wright utilized numerous elements to convey a story about a character desperately trying to prove his manhood. The diction Wright chose for the narrative plays a key role in establishing the setting in addition to the various visuals he portrayed. He also went into great depth when explaining the protagonist's motives, preventing the story from being two-dimensional or illogical.

The entirety of the story is written in somewhat of a broken English often associated with illiteracy in African-Americans during the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. The time frame along with the references to working in a field for low wages implicate the main character, Dave, was either a sharecropper or in a similar workforce. Knowing this information makes it understandable why the mother is hesitant to spend money, and only agrees to her son's proposition to buy a gun when it is marked at a cheap price.

Another way the author established the storyline beyond the setting was by providing justification for the character's actions. For instance, Dave who is now seventeen years old wants to prove to himself and others that he is growing up and practically a man. He believes the most efficient and tangible way to achieve that is by purchasing a gun. Following this conclusion, Wright incorporated the sequence of events that lead up to him obtaining the weapon and the negative aftermaths that occurred afterward. The mother's feelings expressed earlier in the story were also shown to be warranted after the son's attempt to use the gun backfired.

Despite the main character's initial attempt to display manliness failing horrifically, he insisted on trying to redeem himself. At the burial for Jenny, the mule he shot mistakenly several people were snickering at him for the act of carelessness and immaturity. The community veined him no differently, if not worse than before he had a gun, this brought him to the naive conclusion that in order to truly attain the self-image he wants, fleeing to an entirely new environment would help.

In conclusion, the short story "Atmos a Man" is a representation that being a man is not something that comes overnight, nor can it be reached with the possession of certain belongings. As exhibited by the writing, attempting to do such can have detrimental and potential consequences. Furthermore, trying to escape the consequences of an action as observed in the last scene is not a proper resolution to a problem, hence the cliffhanger in the story being symbolic of such.