Theme: Fitting In and Feeling Accepted
"There was one other thing that helped us bond quickly: he was one of the few other black kids at my new school." (page 47)
Wes is immediately drawn to his new friend, Justin, because they share the same situation: they straddle two worlds, the black urban side of New York and the preppy white-majority private school. Here a major factor of acceptance is seen-- common experiences are something that draw people together. However, Wes brings another layer into the mix when he says that he and Justin bonded the first moment they met. While fitting in can be difficult with some groups, Wes becomes friends with Justin quickly because they have so much in common: the same neighborhood, friends, and affiliations. Because they are part of the same community, they instantly feel accepted by one another and don't have to go through the complicated ritual of "getting to know you." The theme of acceptance thus is first seen in a positive light in the chapter, where fitting in is as easy as sharing a neighborhood and life experiences.
"In the hood, your school affiliation was essential. Even if you weren't running with the coolest clique, you still got some percentage of your rep from your school, and the name Riverdale wasn't going to impress anyone. If anything, it made my crew kind of suspicious of me." (page 49)
Just as common experiences can make people feel as though they fit in, having different experiences often leave them on the outside looking in. Although Wes shares many things with the kids in his neighborhood-- they live in the same place, do the same things after school, share the same race-- he doesn't go to the same school as them, and for this he is labeled as 'other.' Here, being in the same community isn't enough to help Wes fit in-- although he probably would feel accepted right away by the neighborhood kids if he walked up to play a game of basketball, once he told them what school he went to they would be more wary of him. Affiliations outside the community, in Wes's world, matter just as much in order to be accepted as being a part of the community in the first place.
"I was becoming too "rich" for the kids from the neighborhood and too "poor" for the kids at school." (page 53)
Here not just different experiences, but class differences are highlighted in the issue of learning how to fit in. Though Wes's mother probably has just as much money as the other kids in the neighborhood, and is in fact at a disadvantage because she is a single mother and has no other working parent to contribute to the household income, she chooses to spend it on a private school for Wes instead of other things. Thus Wes is seen as "rich" by the kids in his neighborhood, not for where he lives-- because his house is just the same size as all of theirs, and he lives with his grandmother instead of in a house of his own-- but because of the choices his mother has made about his education. However, he is seen in a different way at school, where "poor" is very clearly seen in the clothes he wears and the neighborhood he lives in. Wes has trouble fitting in not because he is actually "too rich" or "too poor," but because he lives between two different worlds that see wealth through very different lenses. If they both saw wealth in the same way, he would be accepted either in the neighborhood or at school, but instead he doesn't have enough material wealth to be considered rich at school and too much symbolic wealth (seen through going to private school with the rich white kids) to fit in with the kids back in his own neighborhood. This demonstrates the complications of fitting in when one is caught between two different groups who view the same characteristics in different ways-- oftentimes it leaves one without having anywhere to feel accepted.
"Aside from the carbon-copy houses, there was nothing uniform about this working-class neighborhood; it was filled with people of all shapes, colors, and backgrounds. The only thing most of them had in common was that they came from somewhere else, and for most of them, Dundee was a better place to be." (page 56)
This quote shows a different way of fitting in and feeling accepted in the other Wes Moore's neighborhood. Although the people who share the streets with him may not have the same ethnicity or background, they are united by the fact that Dundee is a step up for them-- it's not where they were born, but a place they have worked for. Here, Moore tells us that race, class, and background are not the only thing that binds people together. Sometimes it can be something as simple as a shared goal or aspiration; just like the first Wes Moore, common experiences are one of the most important factors. Just the fact that they live in the same place, though it may not be enough for the first Wes Moore who finds himself having trouble being accepted by the neighborhood kids, is good enough to draw together the community of Dundee.
"It seemed like a sweet setup. Simply wear a headset, hang out with new friends, notify people when you see police coming, and get paid at the end of the day." (page 58)
The other Wes Moore also has trouble fitting in, but he deals with his difficulties in a different way. Instead of attempting to straddle the world that his mother wants to be a part of and Tony's more dangerous world of gangs and drug dealing, he chooses to align himself with Tony by helping in a drug-selling operation. This quote is telling because it shows one of Wes's major motivations to make this choice: "hang out with new friends." The only role model that Wes has ever known is Tony, who taught him to fight and stand up for himself on the streets of Baltimore. He wants to be accepted by Tony and his crowd-- even if it's just because he doesn't know anyone else he could possibly be accepted by-- and so he does what he can (perhaps even unconsciously) to follow in his cousin's footsteps.
"There was one other thing that helped us bond quickly: he was one of the few other black kids at my new school." (page 47)
Wes is immediately drawn to his new friend, Justin, because they share the same situation: they straddle two worlds, the black urban side of New York and the preppy white-majority private school. Here a major factor of acceptance is seen-- common experiences are something that draw people together. However, Wes brings another layer into the mix when he says that he and Justin bonded the first moment they met. While fitting in can be difficult with some groups, Wes becomes friends with Justin quickly because they have so much in common: the same neighborhood, friends, and affiliations. Because they are part of the same community, they instantly feel accepted by one another and don't have to go through the complicated ritual of "getting to know you." The theme of acceptance thus is first seen in a positive light in the chapter, where fitting in is as easy as sharing a neighborhood and life experiences.
"In the hood, your school affiliation was essential. Even if you weren't running with the coolest clique, you still got some percentage of your rep from your school, and the name Riverdale wasn't going to impress anyone. If anything, it made my crew kind of suspicious of me." (page 49)
Just as common experiences can make people feel as though they fit in, having different experiences often leave them on the outside looking in. Although Wes shares many things with the kids in his neighborhood-- they live in the same place, do the same things after school, share the same race-- he doesn't go to the same school as them, and for this he is labeled as 'other.' Here, being in the same community isn't enough to help Wes fit in-- although he probably would feel accepted right away by the neighborhood kids if he walked up to play a game of basketball, once he told them what school he went to they would be more wary of him. Affiliations outside the community, in Wes's world, matter just as much in order to be accepted as being a part of the community in the first place.
"I was becoming too "rich" for the kids from the neighborhood and too "poor" for the kids at school." (page 53)
Here not just different experiences, but class differences are highlighted in the issue of learning how to fit in. Though Wes's mother probably has just as much money as the other kids in the neighborhood, and is in fact at a disadvantage because she is a single mother and has no other working parent to contribute to the household income, she chooses to spend it on a private school for Wes instead of other things. Thus Wes is seen as "rich" by the kids in his neighborhood, not for where he lives-- because his house is just the same size as all of theirs, and he lives with his grandmother instead of in a house of his own-- but because of the choices his mother has made about his education. However, he is seen in a different way at school, where "poor" is very clearly seen in the clothes he wears and the neighborhood he lives in. Wes has trouble fitting in not because he is actually "too rich" or "too poor," but because he lives between two different worlds that see wealth through very different lenses. If they both saw wealth in the same way, he would be accepted either in the neighborhood or at school, but instead he doesn't have enough material wealth to be considered rich at school and too much symbolic wealth (seen through going to private school with the rich white kids) to fit in with the kids back in his own neighborhood. This demonstrates the complications of fitting in when one is caught between two different groups who view the same characteristics in different ways-- oftentimes it leaves one without having anywhere to feel accepted.
"Aside from the carbon-copy houses, there was nothing uniform about this working-class neighborhood; it was filled with people of all shapes, colors, and backgrounds. The only thing most of them had in common was that they came from somewhere else, and for most of them, Dundee was a better place to be." (page 56)
This quote shows a different way of fitting in and feeling accepted in the other Wes Moore's neighborhood. Although the people who share the streets with him may not have the same ethnicity or background, they are united by the fact that Dundee is a step up for them-- it's not where they were born, but a place they have worked for. Here, Moore tells us that race, class, and background are not the only thing that binds people together. Sometimes it can be something as simple as a shared goal or aspiration; just like the first Wes Moore, common experiences are one of the most important factors. Just the fact that they live in the same place, though it may not be enough for the first Wes Moore who finds himself having trouble being accepted by the neighborhood kids, is good enough to draw together the community of Dundee.
"It seemed like a sweet setup. Simply wear a headset, hang out with new friends, notify people when you see police coming, and get paid at the end of the day." (page 58)
The other Wes Moore also has trouble fitting in, but he deals with his difficulties in a different way. Instead of attempting to straddle the world that his mother wants to be a part of and Tony's more dangerous world of gangs and drug dealing, he chooses to align himself with Tony by helping in a drug-selling operation. This quote is telling because it shows one of Wes's major motivations to make this choice: "hang out with new friends." The only role model that Wes has ever known is Tony, who taught him to fight and stand up for himself on the streets of Baltimore. He wants to be accepted by Tony and his crowd-- even if it's just because he doesn't know anyone else he could possibly be accepted by-- and so he does what he can (perhaps even unconsciously) to follow in his cousin's footsteps.
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