IV Chapter 4

Themes:
1. Parallel Biographies
2. Crimes
3. Life Choices

Quotes

Parallel Biographies
1. "Mary was not the least bit concerned about her son's new dilemma... 'I don't want to hear your sob story about how much money you owe"(P. 74). (Wes 2)
"'Well your grades obviously aren't bad because you can't pick this stuff up or because you are stupid, you are just not working hard enough" (P.76). (Wes 1)

• In the first quote, Wes 2's mother is scolding him for bringing drugs into their house and telling him that she does not care about how much money he owes people, since she flushed the drugs down the toilet. In the second quote, Wes 1 also finds himself in trouble with his mother because he is doing poorly in school.
• These quotes reflect the theme of parallel biographies because both of the Wes Moores are beginning to disappoint their mothers, who used to always be on their side and support them.
• Both of them are screwing up and their mothers are getting tired of it. 
• Right now both of the Wes Moores are going through the same thing and we will have to see if they eventually shape up and begin to behave well.

Crimes

2. "He owed money but had no drugs to sell- he had to figure out how to make that money back quickly. The only way to do that was to go see his connects and hit the street again" (P. 74). (Wes 2)

• This quote is talking about how Wes 2 is trying to figure out how to earn the money he lost back, as a result of his mom flushing his drugs down the toilet.
• Wes 2 figures that the only way for him to earn the money back is to hit the streets and sell more drugs.
• This ties into the theme of crimes because doing drugs and selling drugs is a crime. If Wes were caught, he could get in serious trouble with the law.
• Him getting involved with selling drugs at an early age, could seriously damage his future because he could be arrested or end up in the violence that comes with being in the drug game.

3.  "Now I understood what was going where this was going. I was being arrested" (P.81). (Wes 1)

• This quote is talking about how Wes 1 was being handcuffed after he vandalized a city wall with graffiti.
• This ties into the theme of crimes because Wes 1 was being punished for a crime he had just committed.
• In this case, Wes was let off the hook, but if he keeps misbehaving and committing crimes, he could get into serious trouble one day. He could actually be arrested and face worse consequences for breaking the law.

Life Choices

4. " 'You have the potential to do so much more, go so much further. You can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink, right?' "(P.72) (Wes 2)

• Here, Wes 2's brother Tony, is trying to tell him that he could do so much more with his life than getting involved in the drug game. However, Tony recognizes that he cannot make his brother's choices for him.
• No matter how hard Tony tries to steer his brother away from drugs, it all comes down to the choices Wes 2 makes and whether he will get involved in the drug game.
• This relates to the theme of life choices because now Wes 2 is left with a decision to make. He must decide whether he will get out of the drug game and start turning his life around or if he will remain in the drug game and endanger his future.
• By the end of the chapter, it seems evident that Wes 2 chooses to stay involved in the drug game, and this could again, jeopardize his future because he could get involved in the violent cycle that comes with the drug game, get arrested, or even die.

5. "The cops gave us a gift that day, and I swore I would never get caught in a situation like that again" (P. 84). (Wes 1)

• After Wes 1 was nearly arrested for vandalizing public property, he reflects on how he was lucky to be let off the hook by the cops and vows to not get into another situation like that again.
• Unlike Wes 2, Wes 1 seems remorseful of his actions and realizes that the trouble he is getting into is serious. 
• This relates to the theme of life choices because Wes 1 decided that he would never get caught in a situation like that again, which shows that he might try to shape up and get his life together. 
• At the end of the chapter however, it suggests that Wes began vandalizing public property again, so it is questionable whether Wes actually did learn from his mistake.
• Hopefully Wes 1 will shape up and will not go down the wrong path, as a criminal.