owning a gun
Wright mentions Dave under the impression that owning a gun makes him a man. Dave’s mother warned him “having a gun is trouble defining his mother he suffers the consequence of being in debt to Mr. Hawkin 50 dollars for the dead mule (Jenny) and 2 dollars for the gun” (Wright,1939/2017, p.1066). Wright writes about how later that night “Dave dug up the gun and fired multiple shots out of frustration. contemplated on shooting at Hawkin to scare him instead he hopes on train escaping from his master (Wright,1939/2017, p.1067). Dave learns that the burden of the gun comes with great responsibility when wielding it. He realized shotting at Mr. Hawkin would cause more trouble and decided to start new life and thinks twice about his actions. Dave is limited to society because he is a man of color during slavery era.
