28 pages • 56 minutes read
Richard WrightThe Man Who Was Almost a Man
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1940A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Vernacular
The author uses vernacular to characterize all of the Black characters and create a sense of time and place in the story. The dialect is used in dialogues but also Dave’s internal monologues, further establishing the character’s background and social status. Words like “[y]essuh” (12), “[s]hucks” (12), and “lemme” (12) create an authentic and unique voice for the Black characters that directly connects to the African American experience. The vernacular emphasizes the character’s point of view while contrasting against the authorial voice and the use of standard English by the white characters. The differences in language among the white and Black characters also highlight the differences in education in the South and relate to the racial segregation and poverty that historically thwarted African Americans’ participation in education.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is used to describe the mechanical sounds of the gunshot and the train’s arrival. The words “[b]looooom!” (25), and “[c]lick, click” (26) make the shooting scene more vivid and immediate for the reader. The gun’s sounds highlight its significance as a symbol throughout the story and dramatize the scene, which is a turning point in the protagonist’s life and development. The description of the gun’s sound also makes the object more real. Its exaggerated booming noise, combined with the physical shock of shooting the gun–“he thought his right hand was torn from his arm” (19)–emphasizes that this quest for masculinity is too much for Dave to handle.
At the end of the story, the culmination of Dave’s journey on the plantation and the beginning of his new one, the words “hoooof-hoooof” (26) represent the sound of the departing train. The description of the “gray and brown boxcars rumbling and clicking” (26) enlivens the scene, and the character’s emotions foreshadow the narrative’s resolution. By invoking the sound of the train, the author creates a vivid scene, a siren call toward a better future. Dave climbs on the train and escapes, hoping that he can ultimately find a sense of self and freedom.
Point of View and Monologue
The author uses monologue to express the main character’s thoughts. In this manner, Dave’s perspective becomes part of the narration. The authorial voice uses the third person in formal English, while Dave’s monologues are written in the first person and vernacular. The narrative alternates between the authorial and the character’s voice, providing the reader with perspective by establishing two different points of view. Throughout the story, Dave is preoccupied with his own thoughts and never connects to others. His thoughts describe his distress, his motivation, and his individual crisis in the quest for manhood. The distinction between two different voices makes the reader connect and sympathize with the main character, and, simultaneously, view his motivations and personality from a critical distance. The monologues add a dramatic dimension to the narrative and the character, making Dave alive and relatable. Furthermore, they highlight his isolation from his environment and his loneliness in his journey to find individuality.
Naturalism
The narrative includes elements of naturalism, a philosophy that emphasizes the societal causes behind a protagonist’s actions and the external forces that define his character. The story’s setting (a plantation in the rural South), Dave’s African American identity, and his social class as a field worker are all factors that illustrate the hero’s struggle with his surroundings. Dave’s identity crisis and inner turmoil are depicted against external forces, namely economic, social, and political circumstances that he is unable to control.
By including naturalistic elements in the narrative, the author depicts the reality of the Black workers’ lives in the post-emancipation South and provides socio-political commentary. The story emphasizes how social factors like racism and poverty impact individuality and the collective lives of the Black community. A central naturalistic element is that despite his struggle, Dave lacks the agency to counter the forces that oppress him. The impact of the external environment limits Dave’s ability to achieve freedom. The story’s ending, however, represents an attempt at resistance. Dave realizes that he has to escape from the South and find his identity outside this society. The ending alludes to the ongoing struggle for racial equality, as well as to the historical migration of African Americans who escaped from the rural South to Northern cities.
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By Richard Wright
