Free Empowerment In Richard Wrights The Man Who Was Almost A Man And Langston Literature Review Sample

People are either given or seek empowerment from various sources. Some situation that offers empowerment can be viewed by society as morally wrong. Other types of empowerment could be seen as a source of inspiration. In Richard Wright's "The Man who was Almost a Man" and Langston Hughes' "Mother to Son," readers are presented with two very different views on empowerment that they can compare.
In "The Man who was Almost a Man," the reader is introduced to Dave, who is seventeen years old. He lives in a world that is dominated by other people who do not view him as a man. Like many children, Dave must obey his parents' authority over him. They do not treat him with the respect a young man deserves. Furthermore, his parents do not view him as being responsible enough to handle his money. Therefore, while Dave works as a field hand, he does not see any of the money which is paid directly to his parents by his boss. If these actions were not enough, the other field hands would tend to give Dave a very hard time while he is at work.
After work, Dave thinks that owning a gun would earn him respect among the other workers. He wants the workers to view him as a man who is equal to them. These actions force Dave to find a way to show others that he was powerful. After thinking it over, Dave believes that owning a gun would show the world that he was a man who was powerful in his right. It is the gun that would give him the courage to follow his dreams. Unfortunately, Dave accidently shoots and kills the mule, Jenny. The source of his empowerment, the old pistol, had become yet another obstacle which prevents Dave from following his dream.
Since Dave had killed Jenny, he is forced to be a man by owning up to his wrongful deed. Moreover, even though Dave shot and killed Jenny accidently, Mr. Hawkins demands that Dave pay $50. By making Dave pay for the wrongful death of the mule, Mr. Hawkins is forcing Dave to become responsible for his actions in a way a man would. The payment would come out of Dave's earnings. While Dave is forced into manhood, he reverts back to being a child from the reader's point of view when he lies about the location of the gun. The lie could be interpreted as Dave refusing to give up the object that gave him empowerment and allowed him to feel briefly like a grown man.
Richard Wright used a tool of violence to invoke a sense of empowerment in his character, Dave. Langston Hughes' "Mother to Son" uses a different approach altogether. In the poem, the mother is giving her son words of wisdom to help empower him. This is quite an unusual approach since it is often a father giving advice to his son. On the other hand, the mother is giving her son a female perspective on life that may be helpful to him in the future.
In the poem, there is no description of the son. Since the reader does not know how old the child is, one can assume the child is old enough to understand the mother's words. Furthermore, the conversation in the poem is about hardship and how to overcome. Many young children do not face such hardships in their lives. The structure of the poem is conversational. Hughes does not use any fancy language within the poem. Instead, the poem is written exactly how it would sound if the mother were dictating it to Hughes.
The mother starts off by telling her son that life was difficult for her. She uses the "crystal stair" as a metaphor that evolves throughout the poem. Symbols such as tacks, splinters, no carpeted floors, and even dark, unlit corners give the reader as well as the son some insight about how hard it was for the mother throughout life. While her life was hard, she points out to her son that she is still going. She tells her son never to turn back and never to "set down" because he found life to be kind of hard.
Her words are not only a source of inspiration and empowerment to her son but to the audience as well. Oftentimes, life can seem hard to many people. Some people can continue on despite their hardship. Others give up when they encounter difficult situations in life. The mother's words could be that of any number of mothers throughout the world, urging their child to continue on.
The story and the poem give readers two very different approaches to empowerment taken by two males. In "The Man who was Almost a Man," Richard Wright's character used a gun for empowerment as he stands up to those who have authority over him and those who degraded him. However, in Langston Hughes' "Mother to Son" the reader is shown that empowerment can come from the experience of others rather than from a tool of violence. The hard life that the mother had lived seems much worse than what Dave has gone through. Despite the hardship, the mother continues to move forward with her life. She tells her son to do the same when he encounters hardship in life. Unlike Wright's story, readers can use Hughes' poem as a source of empowerment for themselves since the poem is a reflection of many mothers' thoughts for their children.
Everyone look to someone or at a situation for empowerment. Some people use objects like Dave and the gun. Other people get empowerment from hearing about another person's life experience similar to the poem "Mother to Son." With the use of symbols, the mother was not only able to convey empowerment but inspiration as well. In reality, most people would rather gain empowerment from a positive conversation rather than with the use of a gun. The different approach that both stories had taken gives readers two empowerment options with two very different results.