Dave is a seventeen-year-old boy who wants a gun. He thinks he is almost a man. He thinks that having a gun will make him a man and give him power. Toughness is a common perception of masculinity. A man is not someone who owns a gun, but someone who has knowledge of behaving like a man and owning a gun like a man. He thinks that only a gun will make him a man instead of his actions dictating hi

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In Dave's actions, he is like a young boy. A man who owns a gun knows how to shoot a gun and knows the right and wrong time to use a gun, unlike Dave. After Dave gets the gun, he shoots it, thinking that makes him a man. If Dave were a man, then he would not have shot the mule. Then, after he shot the mule, Jenny, he would have told Mr. Hawkins that he shot the mule. In addition, when Dave shoots his gun, he closes his eyes and turns his head. A man would hold his head high and shoot the gun the proper way.

Throughout the story Dave proves that he is not a man, and that he does not know what a man is. Dave needs a man to teach him the real meaning of a man. I think at the end of the story when Dave gets on the train, he will learn what it really is

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dave Dave, Richard Wright, owns gun, shot mule, taught gun, dave taught gun, , dave taught, story dave, shoot gun, dave gun, seventeen-year-old boy, dave's parents, gun dave,
Approximate Word count = 564
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)