'The Man Who Was Almost A Man'

652 Words3 Pages
The main character Dave of the short story “The Man Who Was Almost A Man,” feels as though he needs to own a gun to reach manhood. Dave then purchased a gun, which gives him a feeling of power and maturity. Owning this gun and his feeling of power represents his belief that he has reached manhood. However, when Dave tries to shoot the gun, he gets knocked over falling to his knees. Firing the gun caused his hand to be in excruciating pain, and giving him the feeling that his hand was detached from his arm. This action proves that he was not ready to handle the gun and symbolizes he was not mature enough to handle the challenges that come with becoming an adult. Although Dave did have a gun in his position, he was never really able to become a mature and independent adult.…show more content…
Some characters even found it humorous that a seventeen year old boy would make such an unusual request. They felt a boy of his age was not ready to handle the responsibilities that came with owning a gun. For example, Joe, a worker in the local store, was surprised that Dave’s mother had finally allowed Dave to handle his own money, “Your ma lettin you have your own money now?” His mother did not allow her seventeen year old son handle the money that he had worked for. By doing this gave the impression to other characters that she believed Dave was not capable of handling the difficult responsibilities of growing up. Another factor that demonstrated Dave was not ready to handle the responsibilities of growing up, was his father reaction to his son's recent purchase. His father threatened to beat Dave because he purchased a gun and disobeyed his mother. Dave’s mother did agree to allow him to buy a gun, but the gun needed to be turned over to his father after being purchased. Instead he chose to lie about having the gun, which caused major problems later in the
Open Document