Compare and Contrast the film Almos' a Man to the story A Man Who Was Almost a Man by Richard Wright - Essay Example

Compare and Contrast the film "Almos a Man" to the story "A Man Who Was Almost a Man" by Richard Wright Almos’ a Man and The Man Who Was Almost a Manare some of the most famous works of art. The storyline that they bear is very much similar and offers much information regarding the United States culture. In the modern world, many complications happen in a person’s life. Many times a person may feel inclined to harm the other but does not and this is owing to self-control. Both the film and the story discuss Dave’s struggle in society to gain an identity and be respected, consequently their roles, and the requirement of a gun.

The film and story have many similarities as will be discussed in this paper.The setting of the film and story is a vital aspect to consider when going through the various aspects they bring forth. In both of the works, the setting or rather the conditions that the two live are very deplorable and are why they go through the suffering that they do. The setting in the story depicts poor conditions people were subjected too and the same is seen in the film, where Dave had to work and struggles to have an identity as he was treated like a child.

In earlier days, people did not have any compassion and treated people that they thought were of ancient decent poorly (Brignano). Dave in the film and in the story by Richard Wright seems to have a common decent provided they were white. The only issue that made them different is the fact that they did not live in as appropriate conditions as their employers. Character is another important factor to incorporate in the analysis aiming at understanding the concept that the film and story bear.

In the story and in the film, Dave has an attitude problem. This is depicted in both the film and story where Dave thinks that owning a gun will get him respect from people. In the film and story, Dave struggles with finding his purpose in the world and this can be explained further by the social differences that existed in society where whites were deemed superior and he felt that he had to have a purpose in the world. Symbolism in the story is that of poverty. Both the story and the film depict how Dave and others like him used to work for rich families in the fields so that they could have a place to live and support themselves.

That was the time that slavery was at its peak. Many of the people that used to work at that time were very poor and did not have a place to live. This led to them getting work from the rich so that they could get enough money to go by. These rich families were very influential and rude to workers and thus the reason many of the workers went through the various problems mentioned in the two features. Some of the kids were not understanding to the conditions that prevailed and thus the reason they are portrayed to have acted the way they did.

Through racial criticism depicted in both the film and story, Dave represents the struggle many African Americans and the problems they underwent while trying to find their place in society but were looked upon by the whites. Dave’s character in both the film and story is similar, and the reason for this is the fact that they point towards the various problems that people had during the slavery period. The children in the story portray a different reaction than that which contemporary children normally act.

Understanding the various issues that the children had gone through to result to violence is an important factor to consider for it offers one a clear perspective of the conditions that people lived in.Works CitedBrignano, Carl. Richard Wright: An Introduction to the Man and His Works. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2009. Print.Lathan, Stan. Almos’ A Man. 1976. Web http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074122/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl