Since that time, hunting has been considered a manly sport. Thus for a young boy like Dave, having a gun conjures of all those images of masculinity and he feels that once he is powerful, others would respect him more. In this story, Dave is completely oblivious of the link between age and respect. He doesn't want to be ordered around but he fails to understand that people don't treat him like an adult because he is not one yet. He associated gun with power ("In the gray light of dawn he held it loosely, feeling a sense of power") and fails to understand the importance of personal power that comes from achievement, experience and age. His lack of experience is what gets him into trouble when he accidentally shoots a mule. The last thing he had wanted was to hear people laughing at him: "He heard people laughing. Dave...
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