Richard Wright s The Man Who Was Almost A Man And William...

The Most important relationship throughout a male’s life is that of his father. While there is no doubt the relationship of a mother also plays a critical role, the father takes a special meaning in that of a developing male child. This relationship ultimately influences a boy and every single relationship for the rest of his life. The father figure helps a boy mature into a male of strong moral fiber, creating a respectable citizen with a sense of responsibility. A father plays a delicate role of mentor and authoritarian while balancing emotion. Great father’s can cultivate common ground with their son’s, as they are impressionable at an early age. Father figures play a critical role in the development of the main characters in both Richard Wright s The Man Who Was Almost a Man and William Faulkner s Barn Burning. Moreover, both stories focus on adolescent males who are running from their past in search of a better life. Wright wrote about an African-American bo y who tries to grow up too fast, while Faulkner’s is the story of a white kid growing up with a the moral dilemma of right from wrong. While the Northern victory of the Civil War in 1865 may have given approximately four million African-American’s their freedom, it wasn’t until almost 90 years later they would see any of those rights that were promised under the United States Constitution. The Southern American States were in complete shambles for almost forty years after. Both stories are set in the late