Dave thinks having a gun will make him more of a man. As critic Sarah Hardy Madsen expresses in her literary criticism, she states, “he ends up further entrapped in a situation that made him feel diminished-something less than a man and maybe even less than a person. The symbol of manhood in which Dave has invested so much, financially and emotionally, fails him.” This is proof that a gun is not needed to feel like man.

By Dave being naïve, he has taken an innocent life. Dave doesn't have the guts to stand up and be a man and accept the consequences for his faults. Critic Sarah Hardy Madsen states, “Every result that Dave had wished for is ironically reversed.” I feel that she is right.

Dave did not purchase the gun for violence, he merely purchased it so he could have the power that he always wanted. I doubt if Dave wanted to put anything or anyone in physical danger. As critic Sarah Hardy Madsen states, “He seems to have no concept of the practical use of the gun at all. He never refers to needing a gun to defend himself or wanting to shoot someone out of a sense of anger, vengeance, or justice. He wants to possess it.” The fact that Dave doesn't think about what is for proves that Dave is naïve. He has allowed himself to purchase something that he has little understanding of.

Dave isn't ready to be a man. He knows not what a man is or what a man is to do. A man stands up for what is right, and accepts the consequences for what he has done wrong. Dave did not want to accept his consequences for shooting the mule, so he ran away. As critic Charles Hannon expresses, “Dave's two year indenture to Mr. Hawkins is not an affect o race or class discrimination, but a matter of Dave's compensating for the economic injury his own irresponsible behavior has caused Mr. Hawkins.”

When Dave asked his mother if he could buy the gun, he did not state that he was buying the gun for himself, but stated that the gun was for his father. Dave bribed his mother into letting him buy the gun. So no only is Dave being naïve, he is also being a liar. Critic John E. Loftis states, “Dave's finale argument is that the gun is really for his father. To this his mother finally relents, telling Dave, “Yuh bring it straight back t me, yuh hear? It be fer Pa.” In a literal sense, Dave never receives permission to own a gun.” So in actuality, The gun never really belongs to Dave, therefore Dave has stolen the gun.

Dave is indeed not ready to be a man, because in the manner of which he asked his mother for the gun was very childlike. Instead if asking in a civilized way, Dave begged as if he were a young child begging for candy. John E. Loftis states, “ Dave's attempts to get money from his mother to buy the gun reveal that he is in fact still a child; he whines, wheedles, and begs, and his mother responds as if he were a child.” Dave still has the mind of a child, therefore is not ready to possess a gun that in actuality is made for an adult who can handle the gun. Critic Sarah Madsen Hardy also states, “Dave is childish in his strategy for getting the gun.”

As I have stated earlier in my writing, Dave has allowed himself to buy something he has very little understanding of. Dave has never had a gun before and for all we know, he has never even shot one before. When Dave shoots the gun, it backfires and kills Jenny. This happens because Dave does not aim for anything in his shooting and is not aware that a bullet that a bullet has the ability to backfire. John E. Loftis states, “The shot itself was a disaster before it was even fired, because Dave closed his eyes, then pulled the trigger.”

We know that Dave has done a lot of wrong doings in this book. For instance, he disobeyed his mother when she told him to bring the gun straight to her after purchasing it. He snuck into the house late so he wouldn't have to give up the gun. He snuck out the house early in order to play around with the gun. He shot an innocent mule, he lied about it, and he ran away from home. Dave has done a series of disobedient thing for his actions, but is not man enough to stand up and accept the consequences for his own actions.

Why should Dave own a gun? Its definitely not because he is almost a man, because he doesn't act like he is. When Dave is old stops acting so naïve and start acting his age, maybe he can then have a gun. In the meantime, I feel that Dave should continue to be a child as long as he can, because being a man or and adult is not a fun as it may seem.