Theme: Role Models
"Paralleling my mom's insistence that I attend Riverdale because John F. Kennedy had once gone to school there, she was won over to Valley Forge when she heard that General Norman Schwarzkopf was a graduate. This was right after the first Gulf War and General Schwarzkopf was seen as the second coming of General MacArthur. There was military history in my family, but for them, as for many immigrant families, American heroes-- and the schools they attended-- carried a certain cachet." (page 91)
The importance of role models in Wes's family is introduced for the first time in the chapter "Lost." Wes's mother feels that because she comes from an immigrant background, the people with military history in her family are not good enough to be role models for her son. Her choices for his education are entirely based on people who she thinks are sufficiently accomplished for this role, Americans like John F. Kennedy and Normal Schwarzkopf. It is clear in the above passage that her hope is that by attending a school that such an American hero has attended, Wes has potential to become an American hero too. She wants him to go to a school where the students are positive role models of courage, justice, and Americanism as opposed to the negative role model of a typical inner-city school student.
"The five minutes went fast, and Colonel Batt signaled it was time for me to hang up and go to bed. "I love you, and I am proud of you. And, Wes, it's time to stop running," my mother said as I hung up." (page 96)
Wes's mother is an important role model for him throughout the book. After the death of his father, she has had to carry the family all by herself, and constantly acts to do what is best for Wes. Here she acts as a role model by convincing Wes that he should stay in military school, telling him that the way he is currently living will never be successful. Without Wes's mother's actions, it is very possible that he could have grown up to be exactly like the other Wes and spend the rest of his life in jail-- or, as his mother says, keep running forever. His mother ensures that he will have a better future by making him stay in military school. Unlike the other Wes, who has no positive role models in his life, she is a beacon of strength and love that inspires him to keep trying and not to give up on his future.
"I had never seen a man, a peer, demand that much respect from his people. I had seen Shea demand respect in the neighborhood, but this was different. This was real respect, the kind you can't beat or scare out of people." (page 96)
One of the first positive role models in the chapter is the military captain Ty Hill, who goes to Wes's military school. Wes has grown up in bad neighborhoods with kids who get respect by being gang leaders and drug dealers. At military school he is able to get a new kind of role model: someone who commands respect because they deserve respect, not because everyone is scared of what they will do if they aren't respected. Having Ty as a role model is instrumental in changing Wes's future, because he realizes that he has more that he can aspire to be besides a gang leader. There are better ways that he can command respect, like doing well in military school and becoming a captain like Ty. Learning that there are other, more positive role models besides the neighborhood kids helps Wes become a better person and avoid a troubled future like the other Wes Moore.
"Wes's nonexistent relationship with his father probably contributed to his seeming indifference about becoming a father himself. All he knew was his mom. He had no idea what his role would be in this new situation-- he wasn't even sure he had a role." (page 101)
Here the other Wes's father acts as a negative role model. As a young boy forced into the position of being a father, Wes doesn't have an example of what to do because his own father has never been there for him. His mother is the only one who has had a role in bringing him up; his father is remembered only as an alcoholic and negative force in Mary Moore's life. Because Wes doesn't have a positive role model of a father to look up to, he instead spends his time going out with different girls instead of staying loyal to and taking care of Alicia, who he has gotten pregnant. The lack of a positive role model not only affects Wes and his actions, but also Alicia's well-being; now she too must be like Mary and raise her family by herself with an absent and disinterested father.
"As he left his room, he shoved a clip into the gun and cocked the slide hammer back, fully loading the weapon... Wes could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony's words rang through his mind. Send a message." (page 104)
As his older brother, Tony is one of Wes's biggest role models. The fight training that Tony gave him as a young child in Baltimore has a dramatic impact on his life choices: here, in a pivotal moment of his life, Wes uses his brother's advice to justify killing a man. Tony is one of the only role models Wes knows, although ironically he tries as hard as he can not to be one, constantly attempting to give Wes the life that he didn't have and dissuading him from following in his own footsteps. The attitude that he has given Wes about fighting for your honor is one that Wes has taken to heart, as is seen in the above passage. Tony's role as a model for Wes's behavior is ultimately a negative one that leads to Wes shooting Ray and going to jail-- despite all of his efforts to change his brother, he ends up becoming just like him.
"Paralleling my mom's insistence that I attend Riverdale because John F. Kennedy had once gone to school there, she was won over to Valley Forge when she heard that General Norman Schwarzkopf was a graduate. This was right after the first Gulf War and General Schwarzkopf was seen as the second coming of General MacArthur. There was military history in my family, but for them, as for many immigrant families, American heroes-- and the schools they attended-- carried a certain cachet." (page 91)
The importance of role models in Wes's family is introduced for the first time in the chapter "Lost." Wes's mother feels that because she comes from an immigrant background, the people with military history in her family are not good enough to be role models for her son. Her choices for his education are entirely based on people who she thinks are sufficiently accomplished for this role, Americans like John F. Kennedy and Normal Schwarzkopf. It is clear in the above passage that her hope is that by attending a school that such an American hero has attended, Wes has potential to become an American hero too. She wants him to go to a school where the students are positive role models of courage, justice, and Americanism as opposed to the negative role model of a typical inner-city school student.
"The five minutes went fast, and Colonel Batt signaled it was time for me to hang up and go to bed. "I love you, and I am proud of you. And, Wes, it's time to stop running," my mother said as I hung up." (page 96)
Wes's mother is an important role model for him throughout the book. After the death of his father, she has had to carry the family all by herself, and constantly acts to do what is best for Wes. Here she acts as a role model by convincing Wes that he should stay in military school, telling him that the way he is currently living will never be successful. Without Wes's mother's actions, it is very possible that he could have grown up to be exactly like the other Wes and spend the rest of his life in jail-- or, as his mother says, keep running forever. His mother ensures that he will have a better future by making him stay in military school. Unlike the other Wes, who has no positive role models in his life, she is a beacon of strength and love that inspires him to keep trying and not to give up on his future.
"I had never seen a man, a peer, demand that much respect from his people. I had seen Shea demand respect in the neighborhood, but this was different. This was real respect, the kind you can't beat or scare out of people." (page 96)
One of the first positive role models in the chapter is the military captain Ty Hill, who goes to Wes's military school. Wes has grown up in bad neighborhoods with kids who get respect by being gang leaders and drug dealers. At military school he is able to get a new kind of role model: someone who commands respect because they deserve respect, not because everyone is scared of what they will do if they aren't respected. Having Ty as a role model is instrumental in changing Wes's future, because he realizes that he has more that he can aspire to be besides a gang leader. There are better ways that he can command respect, like doing well in military school and becoming a captain like Ty. Learning that there are other, more positive role models besides the neighborhood kids helps Wes become a better person and avoid a troubled future like the other Wes Moore.
"Wes's nonexistent relationship with his father probably contributed to his seeming indifference about becoming a father himself. All he knew was his mom. He had no idea what his role would be in this new situation-- he wasn't even sure he had a role." (page 101)
Here the other Wes's father acts as a negative role model. As a young boy forced into the position of being a father, Wes doesn't have an example of what to do because his own father has never been there for him. His mother is the only one who has had a role in bringing him up; his father is remembered only as an alcoholic and negative force in Mary Moore's life. Because Wes doesn't have a positive role model of a father to look up to, he instead spends his time going out with different girls instead of staying loyal to and taking care of Alicia, who he has gotten pregnant. The lack of a positive role model not only affects Wes and his actions, but also Alicia's well-being; now she too must be like Mary and raise her family by herself with an absent and disinterested father.
"As he left his room, he shoved a clip into the gun and cocked the slide hammer back, fully loading the weapon... Wes could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony's words rang through his mind. Send a message." (page 104)
As his older brother, Tony is one of Wes's biggest role models. The fight training that Tony gave him as a young child in Baltimore has a dramatic impact on his life choices: here, in a pivotal moment of his life, Wes uses his brother's advice to justify killing a man. Tony is one of the only role models Wes knows, although ironically he tries as hard as he can not to be one, constantly attempting to give Wes the life that he didn't have and dissuading him from following in his own footsteps. The attitude that he has given Wes about fighting for your honor is one that Wes has taken to heart, as is seen in the above passage. Tony's role as a model for Wes's behavior is ultimately a negative one that leads to Wes shooting Ray and going to jail-- despite all of his efforts to change his brother, he ends up becoming just like him.
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