The Man Who Was Almost a Man

How does Dave feel about his position in the community of Black workers? How does his perspective relate to the idea of Black masculinity more broadly?

Dave desperately wants to be treated as a “man” and not as a “boy.” How do those two words interplay, and how do they connect to Dave’s experience as an African American man in the Jim Crow South?

In the story, Dave only interacts briefly with his father. How is their relationship described, and how does it impact Dave’s ideas on masculinity?

Analyze the symbolism of the gun in the text. How does it reflect the story’s themes? Does Dave achieve a sense of identity by owning it?

This story was originally published in 1940 but was republished in 1961 after Richard Wright’s death. How does the text relate to the social context of the 1960s? Do the political developments of the Civil Rights Movement imbue the story with different meanings?

Richard Wright frequently wrote from a Marxist perspective. What are some of the anti-capitalist critiques present in this story? How does Wright illustrate a connection between racist and classist oppression?

Describe the ways that Jim Hawkins holds authority over his Black workers. How does he embody the intersecting oppressions of the Jim Crow South?

What does the killing of Jenny the mule signify for Dave? What significance does Jenny carry as a mule specifically as opposed to a horse or another farm animal?