Chapter 5: Lost

Chapter 5: Lost

Theme 1: Importance of Education

Theme Statement: Education plays a key role in a child's life because it not only allows the child to grow academically, but most importantly, to grow morally.

Quote 1: "Bad grades, absence from classes, and an incident with a smoke bomb were just some of the reasons he rattled off as my mother sat silently on the couch with the phone to her ear."

Analysis: This the description of Wes' academic career at the prestigious Riverdale School. Wes was struggling to find himself and was stuck between being either a "educated nerd" or a "gangster thug". The problem was that he decided to be both but he couldn't manage either. His mother was smart and knew that the only solution was to send Wes to Valley Forge Military School. Although his mother knew that he was going to be mentally and physically abused for next couple of months, it was going to correct his stubbornness. This quote is important because it marks the turning point of separating his life from the other Wes Moore. From this point on, their lives will become very different and all because of the lack of education that the other Wes Moore will receive in the future and the disciplined, and rigid education that Wes will receive. 

Quote 2: "That’s when I started to understand that I was in a different environment. Not simply because I was in the middle of Pennsylvania instead of the Bronx or Baltimore. It was a different psychological environment, where my normal expectations were inverted, where leadership was honored and class clowns were ostracized."

Analysis: This quote is important to the progression of the plot because its the first time that the readers have heard Wes say something about good about the importance of respect and education. Before this, Wes and the other Wes Moore have only made negative comments about education and this foreshadows to the readers that Wes may flourish at Valley Forge. 

Theme 2: Coming of Age

Theme Statement: Coming of age marks the transition from boyhood to manhood and learning and understanding all of the responsibilities that comes with the perks of growing up.

Quote 3: “She turned around and walked out of the room. She was devastated. She was losing her son, and she was not sure how to turn the tide. We didn't know it at the time, but once alone, we both started to cry...”

Analysis: This quote is important because it shows that Wes is growing up and is not handling his responsibilities and his mother is finally giving up on him because she thinks it is too late to correct. Wes is a well-built, muscular man that has his own set of morals and rules that may contradict everything his mother has taught him; This scares his mother very much. If he wasn't sent to Valley Forge, this could foreshadowed his future and would have matched the other Wes Moore's life. 

Quote 4: "He reached up to the top shelf and pulled out the shoe box that held his 9mm Beretta and a few full clips."

Analysis: This quote is significant because it shows how the change of "weapons", going from his innocent fists and words to a deadly loaded gun. His emotions had taken over and just because of a few bad thoughts, he knew after he shot Ray that he had done something very bad that would affect his life and most importantly his mother's life. Also his punishments are going to progress from a slap of the wrist and yelling to jail time; adult responsibilities come with adult consequences.

Quote 5: “'It’s too late,' she told him. 'Wes is already gone.'”

Analysis: This quote is significant because it not only tells the readers that he was taken away in a police car which shows his adult consequences for his rash decisions but more importantly that he is gone from his old childish self that his mother once knew. He is no longer a child but a vicious killer that his mother has never met before.