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Catherine Hanes ENG 266 Ms. Bennett 18 April 2012 Struggle for Power Power is an ability that has been craved and fought for by millions and millions of people throughout history. It has also been said that power has led to corruption and false pretenses. In the story The Man Who Was Almost a Man, there is a slave that constantly feels he has no power or respect from anyone. Dave, an eighteen year old who has only wanted respect from other people, goes to desperate measures to try to obtain power. In the end, this does not get him very far and Dave ends up leaving town as his last attempt to acquire power in his life. Dave has been a slave his entire life and is finally about to turn eighteen. As an eighteen year old, you are becoming a grown up and with that title comes responsibility and freedom. One must show maturity, respect, and honor. Many people confuse freedom with power, Dave included. He feels that because he is getting older he should receive more power and respect from others. However, he is never given that because he is a slave and his job is to do work for other people. Therefore Dave creates his own power; he buys a gun. He believes that with this gun, he will receive great amount of power and will have control in his life. The story explains: The first movement he made the following morning was to reach under his pillow for the gun. In the gray light of dawn he held it loosely, feeling a sense of power. Could kill a man with a gun like this. Kill anybody, black or white. And if he were holding his gun in his hand, nobody could run over him they would have to respect him (1116).

The quote clearly illustrates how he feels powerless in his life. Once he feels the gun in his hand he instantly feels power and it no longer means anything that he is a slave, he can kill white or black, and will gain respect from everyone. However, just because he owns a gun, that doesnt mean that he is responsible enough to own it because he doesnt know how to use it. This lesson is quickly learned when he accidently shoots his owners mule, Jenny. Once it happens, he instantly begins to deny it. When his owner, Mr. Hawkins, asks him about the death, Dave just denies it. He says, Ah wuzn shootin at the mule, Mistah Hawkins. The gun jumped when Ah pulled the triggerN fo Ah knowed anything Jenny was there a-bleedin (1119). So instead of owning up to shooting Jenny, he folds to Mr. Hawkins power and protects his own power (the gun) and denies the entire death. Even the narrator illustrates that no one believes him by saying, Dave took a deep breath and told the story he knew nobody believed (1118). With the power of that gun that Dave felt he had, came responsibility with accepting the consequences of his actions. But because he was afraid of the power that Mr. Hawkins had over him, he didnt own up to it. This action only increases the lack of respect and power that Mr. Hawkins will have with Dave. During the entire conversation with Mr. Hawkins, his mother, and everyone else, Dave is constantly treated like a child and looked down upon. This too decreases the amount of power he has. When he is trying to convince the others that he has done nothing wrong and blame it on something else, they come back with parent like responses. The story reads, Dave turned and walked slowly. He heard people laughing. Dave glared, his eyes welling with tears. Hot anger bubbled in him. Then he swallowed and stumbled on (1120). He constantly struggles to both stand up for himself and to be a man in the situation with the way they treat him.

In the end, Dave jumps on a train with his gun in the middle of the night and heads up North. Because the next day he was to hand over his gun and start working for Mr. Hawkins to work off Jennys death, he decided to try and obtain power somewhere else. He struggles so much on the plantation to gain power and once he finally felt that he did with buying his own gun, it was quickly lost. If he had stayed he would have had to fight something that would never change and he would never gain the respect and power that he craved so much as a black slave. The narrator describes the run away as: He hesitated just a moment; then he grabbed, pulled atop of a car, and lay flat. He felt his pocket; the gun was still there. Ahead the long rails were glinting in the moonlight, stretching away to somewhere, somewhere he can be a man...(1121). The quote illustrates his craving for being a man and having that power and respect that comes with it. Even though he still believes the gun will give him that power, he also craves a new life so much that he is hoping that that too will help him finally obtain the power he wants. In conclusion, over time many people have tried to obtain power however many of them have gone about it the wrong way. Our countrys history is built on the idea of power struggle and Dave is just another person that falls into that category. His attempt to gain power by purchasing a gun was almost instantaneously ended by consequences. Therefore he took his future into his own hands and went for a new life.

Wright, Richard. The Man Who Was Almost A Man. The Norton Anthology: American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym et al. New York: Norton, 2008. 1113-1121.