The Man Who Was Almost a Man

Dave Saunders, the protagonist, describes himself as “almos a man” (11), caught somewhere between boyhood and adulthood. Dave’s perspective dominates the narrative, and his internal monologue constitutes part of the narration. His speech is articulated in the vernacular, the local dialect through which Richard Wright characterizes the Black, southern, working-class community. This vernacular offers Dave a unique and authentic voice. His speech contrasts that of the white characters, revealing inequalities in education and living conditions and representing different points of view in the narrative.

Dave is a 17-year-old Black man living with his family in the Jim Crow South. His status as a field plantation worker is central to his character. His family is controlled by Jim Hawkins, the white plantation owner who looms over the Black community. Dave is an individual in crisis, struggling to gain a sense of identity and independence. Treated by everybody as “a little boy” (11), he lacks autonomy and agency. His wages go directly to his mother, and he is expected to conform, like his father, to a life dictated by the dominant societal standards of Racial Discrimination and white authority.