"Ahm seventeen. Almost a man."

I thought the total contradiction between Dave's words and his actions was interesting. He kept insisting he was almost a man, but clearly acted like a child. He felt the need to prove to everyone that he was an adult instead of  being content with what he knew about himself. I feel like that's a huge sign of immaturity. He continues to show immaturity throughout the rest of the story. He can't see the necessity of saving money for winter clothes over his want for a gun. He manipulates his mother to get the gun in the first place and then lies about it and sneaks off with it. When he actually shoots it, he does it with his eyes closed. Even I know a person shouldn't shoot a gun with closed eyes. When he realizes he shot the mule, he tries to stop the bleeding with clumps of dirt. This boy is not destined for the medical field. I think he would have gone to get help if he really was "almost a man". Instead of admitting to his mistake, he makes up a wild story. When he gets caught in his lies, he won't take responsibility for his actions and tries to shift the blame to everyone else. The ending is similiar to the end of Huck Finn or Barn Barning in the sense that he decides to take off on his own. Unlike the characters in the other two novels, who were actually much younger, Dave shows no signs of maturing. When trying to decide whether to run or not, he thinks to himself "Ah betcha Bill wouldn't do it!" and decides he's going to go "somewhere where he can be a man". Neither thoughts are good reasons for a boy to try to make a life on his own. If he can't learn to be a man in the middle of the mess he made for himself, he probably won't be one anywhere else either.