Free Essay About “The Man Who Was Almost A Man”

Once Dave was in the train car, he focused on all the fields that he would no longer have to plow for Mr. Hawkins and how he was now free to be the man he was supposed to be. Dave woke up once the train had stopped and he quickly jumped off before anyone could see him. He must have fallen asleep for awhile because he had no idea where he was, but he was excited to move forward on his journey. As he walked toward the train stop he spotted a bulletin board and saw that a Mr. Higgins was looking for some help around his farm. The next thing Dave knew he was asking a man for the directions to Mr. Higgins farm.
Dave got to the farm right at sunrise and as he was walking down the dirt driveway he saw a figure in the far distance. The man yelled out to him and asked him what he wanted and Dave yelled back, “a job sir.” As the two walked toward one another Dave felt an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, but kept his cool. The man asked Dave what he could do and then told Dave to start plowing that, pointing to the right, part of the field. Dave did as he was told and after about two hours of working the plow he saw Mr. Higgins walking toward him yelling for him to come get something to eat.
After washing up, Dave sat down at the table to eggs and a bowl of grits. Dave started thinking of his ma and pa and even Mr. Hawkins and how he would never see them again. Mr. Higgins notice Dave was in a trance and asked him what he ran away from. Dave snapped back to reality and played it off as if he was not thinking of anything important. After eating Dave went back to the field and continued to plow, but he could not stop thinking of old Jenny and how it was his entire fault that she died.
When it was time to eat again, he washed up and sat down at the table when Mr. Higgins told him he should go back and make things right with his family. Dave could not even think about how Mr. Higgins knew that he ran away, but it all started to sink in and Dave’s eyes began to well with tears. The next thing Dave knew he was getting out of Mr. Higgins truck at the end of his dirt driveway. Tears began to well up again until he wiped them off and told himself that he was a man. He was a man who was taking responsibility for what he had done and so he paid Mr. Hawkins the two dollars a week for two years.