*Real life issues
As we all know that the issue of discrimination and poverty cannot be separated from the life of mostly black African American people. From generation after generation, they have been undergoing a lot of social and racial discrimination. In the past, they were treated as slaves, they were put in laborers: they had to work for the white people without proper payment, they were not given the basic rights like voting, doing certain jobs, attending schools and so on. No public transportation, no right for freedom of speech, no life safety and guarantee for the blacks. They were suffering so much because they did also have to live under the line of poverty. No proper foods and homes, they were forced to live in segregated lands, each of their movements were watched and limited. Even in the present time, many years after the fall of apartheid and the increasing number of black african american movements, some black people in America still become victims of social and racial discrimination.
Well, the relatable life issues are also revealed in this short story since Dave, as the lead character also experienced a kind of discrimination. Since he was just a young boy who came from a poor black African American family, the discrimination he should experience was unbearable and chained, it was like a devil circle of oppression which trapped him tightly. First, he was oppressed emotionally by his parents and peers who did always see him as a kid. He didn't get much freedom to do what he really wanted since his parents especially mom did dominate and take control over his life activity. He was told what time he had to leave home for work (at Mr Hawkin's plantation) and what time he was supposed to be back at home). Second, since his family was poor, he had to work for a white master in his cattle farm. He did work all day long but what he got was only tiredness. His youth time was stolen because there's no privilege for such a black boy like him as if he was destined to be inferior: always under the control of superiors.
Furthermore, even if deep down inside his heart, he knew that he wanted to do and be more but he could not even get opportunity to grow and develop since people in his community were so unsupportive. He could feel really well how they (working peers, friends and the master always looked down upon him, they kept underestimating him no matter what he did). In other words, in this short story it shows the contradictory life conditions of black and white African American people at that time. Black people like Dave's family had to work for the whites because they were racially less privileged, they were poor and had no social power compared to the whites who at the very first beginning benefited from the privilege they had
*The use of authentic language
As we all understand that black african american people especially in the past spoke English with less normal standard and with different accent from the white Americans. The author includes this element in this short story by using the local language of black African American (unique dialect) for every dialog or monolog among the black characters like Dave and his parents while at the same time he uses standard English for the white characters like Joe and Mr Hawkin. It is aimed to give an accurate description of commonly black African American speech patterns which is surely different from the white ones. It also shows how this difference indirectly helps to separate these two groups, which not only reflect varying degrees of their education but also highlight the inequalities in their divergent lifestyle and standards of living.
Now let's see the difference between the language style used by the black and the white people in this story:
This is a dialogue between Dave and his mother in which both of them spoke English with their local dialect:
Ma, ef yuh lemme buy one Ah'll never ast yuh fer nothing no mo."
"Ah tol yuh t git outta here! Yuh am gonna toucha penny of tha money fer no gun! Thas how come Ah has
Mistah Hawkins t pay yo wages t me, cause Ah knows yuh am got no sense."
