Almos' a Man story
The story centers on Dave, a young African-American farm worker who is struggling to declare his identity in the atmosphere of the rural South. It is based on the 1961 Richard Wright short story of the same name.
14 total · 1 choice · 5 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coming of age | choice | At every turn, David bristled at being perceived as a child instead of as a man. David shouted toward Mr. Hawking's farm that he was a man before he ran away from home. |
| lying | major | David lied to his mother repeatedly. He also lied to the other workers about not focusing on his work and to Mr. Hawkings and his father about the quality of his work. Most notably, David lied to everyone about accidentally shooting and killing Jenny the mule. Joe lied to David about the quality of the pistol he sold him. |
| mother and son | major | Mrs. Saunders came to regret giving her teenage son $2 to buy a pistol. Mrs. Saunders finally gave in to David's pleas for her to let him buy a pistol. Mrs. Saunders repeatedly chastised David for not listening to her. Mrs. Saunders questioned David about where he had gotten a catalog and asked him if he had stolen it. |
| personally irresponsible character | major | David avoided taking responsibility for his actions at every turn. Most notably, he lied about having accidentally shot dead Mr. Hawkins' mule, and then he ran away from home rather than face the consequences of his action. |
| teenage rebellion | major | David was a stereopytical rebellious teen. |
| the need to prove one's self | major | The teenager David wanted above all else to prove to everyone that he was a man, and saw owning a gun as a path to achieving this end. |
| Christianity | minor | Mr. Saunders said grace before the family meal. |
| embarrassment | minor | David was muttering to himself about everyone laughing at him for having accidentally shot dead Mr. Hawkins' mule. This was particularly hurtful to David because he wished to be treated like a man, but people's reaction to him shooting the mule dead was to belittle him like a child. |
| family dispute | minor | Mr. and Mrs. Saunders squabbled before dinner. |
| father and son | minor | David's father gave him a whoopin' after it came to light that David had accidentally shot dead Mr. Hawkins' mule. David's father chastised him at the dinner table for being absentminded. |