What does it mean to be a man? How do you qualify for the title? The term "man" simply refers to male humans or has a greater meaning in society. To learn more about this topic, I consulted the "Tormont Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary". As I anticipated, the first definition of man was the following: "An adult human being distinct from a female." This definition did not surprise me, but what followed was what followed it, stating: A male human being endowed with qualities such as courage, strength, and fortitude, considered characteristics of manhood." Being a man in our society is a must possess such qualities, along with honor, reliability and endurance. These qualities may take a few years to acquire and escape from others as we read "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" by Richard Wright, we discover him especially character "Dave ", the desire to be a man is defined and based solely on his need for respect through fear. The reader learns early in the story about Dave's desire to break away from childhood and become a man. However, he is immediately misled into the perception of the journey to adulthood of the story, the narrator says, “One of these days he was going to get a gun and practice shooting, so they couldn't talk to him like he was a kid. ". At the beginning of the story, Dave's mentality becomes apparent. He connects others' respect for him, through their fears and ...