Also Dave's judgement about mule and African Americans in the fields are somehow similar, he underestimate them saying "Whut's the use talkin wid em niggers in the field? Them niggers can't understan nothing "(Wright, 779) and he also thinks about the mule in similar way and says to him, "Know whut this is, Jenny? Naw, you wouldn know! Yuhs jusa ol mule!"" (783)
He underestimates his people without noticing he is one of them.
No matter how an individual thinks or behaves, it is impossible to isolate himself from society completely, especially if one lives in that society. Although Dave consider African Americans as somehow fool and lack of ability to understand certain things which he thinks he can do, he is still a worker in the fields just like them. In this perspective, the mule can be considered as the side of himself in society which still works under the order of his boss although his notions about life is opposite to it. After killing the mule, in other words when his exploited labor was dead, he realizes that he has been treated for long time just like a mule, he says "Dam em all! nobody ever gave him anything. All he did was work. They treat me like a mule, n then they beat me," "(787) and he also realizes that he does not want to be Jenny anymore. From that point on, the dead mule is not enough for him, he feels like he should also kill the mule lives inside him which leads him to run away from plantation when he learns to how to use the power in his hands.
Other than his position in society, Dave's position in his family is also significant in the terms of his parent's behaviours towards him. Even if he is trying to be a man outside, his family treat him if he is a mule and they expect him to obey all their orders without considering what Dave wants and even they make decisions for him. "Lawd know yuh don need no gun "(782). The other thing his family do is that they does not aware of that Dave is just a young boy with dreams, all they think about that he should and has to work just like a mule to get some money to his family.
