1. The Man Who Was Almost a Man
Richard Wright

2. Richard Wright Wright was the first major African American novelist in the twentieth century

3. Author
born September 4th , 1908, near Natchez, Mississippi and he has one young brother.
During his childhood , Richard suffered a lot because his father left them and his mother was ill.
He married twice and has two daughters :Julia and Rachel 1949

4. Wright travels to many cities :
Memphis : the city’s library
Chicago : began publishing his stories
New York : he published his most famous novel, Native Son (1940), and memoir Black Boy (1945)

5. Paris : became part of Paris’s vibrant literary circle.
London .
Paris: where he died on November 28, 1960.

6. The Man Who Was Almost a Man
"The Man Who Was Almost a Man" also known as "Almos' a man“.
It is a short story and was published in 1961 as part of Wright's compilation Eight Men

7. Wright was a naturalism in his life &in his work as "The Man Who Was Almost a Man"
The story is about a young boy's desire to have a gun in order to be a man.

8. Summary : Field Back to home and thinking about buying a gun
Asks his mother to agree
Store
Lack of confidence
Asks Joe to lend him the catalog
Home
His mother sees the catalog and tell him to back it tomorrow

9. Buying
a gun
He isn’t sure about using the gun
Hide it instead of giving to his mother
Field
Dave and the mule called jenny in the field.
Dave shouts and hurts the mule .
End
Mr. Hawkins will take the money from Dave's salary each month
Dave tries the gun for the last time but without closing his eyes .

10. Characters

11. Saunders’s  family
Mr. Saunders 
Mrs. Saunders
Dave Saunders 

12. Joe
- owner of the gun stor
- careless and care only about money .
Mr. Hawkins
- the owner of the farm
- Fair with all workers  

13. Themes

14. Themes The Search for Power
- World care about personal and economic power.
- He works for nothing .

15. - He wants to transfer from adolescence into real man .
Coming-of-Age Struggles
- He wants to transfer from adolescence into real man .
- Extra responsibility .

16. Symbolism

17. The Gun:
- power or control, independence and the desire of masculinity.
- With the gun Dave feels invincible

18. The Mule :
- Dave’s failure in life
- Dave is not ready to be a man

19. Motifs

20. Lies and Lying Dave lies on his mother all the time
Wrong idea about how to be a man
Lying indicate lack of responsibility .