<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article possibly contains original research . Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . Statements consisting only of original research should be removed . (July 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article possibly contains original research . Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . Statements consisting only of original research should be removed . (July 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" also known as "Almos' a man", is a short story by Richard Wright . It was published in 1961 as part of Wright's compilation Eight Men . The story centers on Dave, a young African - American farm worker who is struggling to declare his identity in the atmosphere of the rural South . </P> <P> The story begins with the protagonist Dave Sanders walking home from work, irritated with the way he has been treated . Dave works for a farmer on a cattle farm and as he walks across the fields he begins thinking of ways that will prove to the other workers that he is a grown up . He decides that the perfect way to prove that he is a grown up is to purchase a gun . Instead of going home, he goes over to a local store to have a look at the guns in a Sears Roebuck catalog . When he enters into the store, Dave encounters the owner Fat Joe . Dave requests the catalog, leading Joe to ask him if he is planning on buying something . Dave responds with a "yessuh," so Joe then inquires whether or not Dave's ma is letting him have his own money now, to which Dave responds with a "(s) hucks . Mistah Joe, Ahm gittin t' be a man like anybody else,"! Joe asks what exactly it is Dave is planning on buying; a question Dave is reluctant to answer unless Joe promises not to say anything . Joe promises and Dave tells him he's looking to purchase a gun; Joe states that Dave "ain't nothing but a boy," and that he does not need a gun, but if he's going to buy one he might as well buy it from him and not from some catalog . Joe offers to sell Dave a left - hand Wheeler, fully loaded and in working order for only two dollars if he can get the money from his ma . With his excitement and interest aroused, Dave leaves the store vowing to come back for the gun later . </P>

When does the man who was almost a man take place