Essay Questions

What two vital lessons does the reader learn from the story 'The Man Who Lived Underground'?

This story talks about Fred’s encounters in the cave. He is wrongly accused of killing a white woman and he decides to hide in the cave. During his hideout, Fred makes several stopovers and he discovers two disturbing things. When he makes a stopover at the church to spy on Christians, he realizes that people are making confessions for the various crimes they have committed. While leaving the church, Dave comes across a dead body of an infant floating on the sewage. He later notices a black man washing a body of the white man in a mortuary. The first lesson is that there is no human being who is innocent and this is evident from the confessions made by the churchgoers. Secondly, there is no racism in death because the white man's corpse is being washed by the black man. Lastly, people can be inhumane because they can go to the extent of killing an innocent baby and though him in a sewage line.

What is ironic about Fred’s death?

When Fred finds a floating dead infant on a sewage line, he never thinks that such an event can happen to him in the future. After his escapades in the tunnel, he finally surrenders to the police even though he has been wrongly accused of the murder he never committed. The police are depicted as corrupt people and incapable of conducting a proper investigation without being bribed. They demand to know where Fred has been hiding. When he takes them there, they shoot him dead and leave his corpse floating on the sewage.

What is satirical about the story 'The Man Who Was Almost A Man'?

This story is about a black American man called Dave who is trying to prove his manhood. The urge to prove his manhood forces him to make wrong choices. Dave is working for Mr. Hawkins who indirectly pays his salary through his mother. Dave thinks that he is not a man enough and that is why even his employer cannot trust him. He purchases a gun to give him confidence as a man but while trying to use it, he accidentally kills his employer's mule. He is forced to pay a fine of fifty dollars and directed to return the gun. However, he decides to run away with the gun. Therefore, the satire of the title of this story is that despite all his efforts to prove his manhood, Dave fails miserably.