Discovering Wes Moore

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | YA | Published in 2012

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-11

Epilogue

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

The Importance of Support Networks

Writer Wes Moore is able to achieve success in his education, career, and political pursuits through the support of his mother, grandparents, and mentors. Having the validation that there are people who care, love, and support you when hopelessness sets in can change everything for a young individual feeling aimless.

Moore was unaware of the amount of work, time, and money his mother Joy spent pushing him to finish his education and stay on track. He writes, “Military school is not free. It’s not even cheap. My mother had written to family and friends, asking them to help her however they could. Weeks later, she was still thousands of dollars short” (66). Even without knowing how much his family was rooting for him, their efforts and faith in him helped him achieve incredible things at a very young age.

Although the struggles in those lonely moments felt endless, small moments of encouragement have the greatest effect on Moore. He recalls one moment in particular: “I will never forget the phone call I had with my mom after I ran away from Valley Forge Military Academy. The one where she cut me off to tell me that she was proud of me, and that too many people had made sacrifices for me to be there and not try” (148). Joy reminds Wes how much she loves him and believes in him. They mend their relationship as Wes grows into a respectful and humbled young man. He realizes that they want him to achieve his own dreams, but he must put in the effort to reach those goals.

Identity as a Young Black Man

Poverty, crime, drug use, and the crumbling infrastructure of the housing projects in Baltimore and the Bronx set a depressing tone for the environment Wes grows up in. He feels the absence of his father, who was turned away from the hospital due to his appearance and neighborhood address. From a young age, Moore realizes men who look like his father have a very different kind of struggle despite their achievements.

Class and race are discussed throughout Discovering Wes Moore and shape how each character sees their identity in the context of the country and world. Moore learns about the different dynamics of race politics when he visits Cape Town. Mama warns that the color dynamic in South Africa is different from what he’s accustomed to: In South Africa, he is regarded as “colored” rather than “Black” because of his skin. She explains that the idea of being “colored” emerged during apartheid and that this group, being lighter than “Black,” had more freedom. This caused the Black community to divide from within. Characters like Justin’s father, Eddie, remind Moore that being proud of your identity as a Black man is vital. Moore sees a brotherhood in safe spaces, such as the basketball courts where issues of race seemingly disappear for a while, which inspires his pride for where he comes from.

The other Wes Moore describes his friend who is nicknamed “White Boy” as only having his skin white. He says, “Everything else is black. He’s a real black dude.” White Boy would just shrug and say, “It’s not my fault. I was born this way” (119). He remains friends with him after moving from Northwood, as the neighborhood leaves an imprint on his identity. Being from specific locations breeds pride, which can also breed division among similar groups of people, especially from an economic standpoint. Writer Wes Moore hopes that by explaining the damage this division in identity causes, there can be a unity formed for progress moving forward.

Caught Between Two Worlds

Moore finds himself at a crossroads, feeling unable to truly settle in one part of his life at least three times in the book. The most notable example is when he struggles to fit in completely at Riverdale Country School while making friends who attend public school in the Bronx: “I found in hip-hop the sound of my generation talking to itself, working through the fears and anxieties and dreams—of wealth or power or revolution or success—we all shared” (44). Music, sports, and political figures eventually become inspiration for Moore to challenge himself.

Two other examples of this theme are when Moore feels guilty for remaining at Valley Forge when his family and Justin’s family are suffering back home. When Moore attends Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, he can’t help but wonder what life could have been like for the other Wes Moore. The other Wes Moore expresses to him through letters and visits that he understands he made a horrific mistake that he can’t take back, but he too is suffering from it by missing out on his family.

Suffering and Endurance

The woods at Valley Forge are a symbol of the theme of suffering and endurance in the book. Moore wants so badly to give up, escape military school, and go back home. When he pleads with his mother on the phone after being tricked by his company, she tells him he can’t keep running. Moore realizes the only way out is through, so he abandons his perspective that there is nothing to offer in military school and realizes all of the opportunities that have been right in front of him.

Moore is aware of the issues in the Bronx and Baltimore. When living there, he sees it nearly every day:

In 1990, there were 2,605 [murders]. Those murders were concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods, and the victims were mostly from a single demographic group: young black men. You would’ve been safer living in a war zone than in some of those neighborhoods. We laughed at the panhandler outside Ozzie’s house that day, but there were thousands of people like him throughout the city (35-36).

The stumbling man, or panhandler, is a symbol of the suffering that the majority of people in the community were dealing with at that time.

Aggression as Power

The need to be strong and tough as a young man causes aggression when emotions cannot be expressed in a productive way. The writer Wes Moore realizes he can tame his fears by being brave rather than aggressive. He keeps himself collected and pushes through the fear, knowing it’s unavoidable, such as when he is about to jump out of the airplane. He writes,

Usually I started my prayers with ‘Dear most heavenly father’ and ‘Most gracious and everlasting God.’ This time it was just ‘Help!’ and ‘Please don’t let me die like this.’ Before I finished praying, the yellow light disappeared and a bright green one lit up right above it (91).

Moore becoming a paratrooper is a symbol of growth for him, spiritually and mentally. He must have faith in the training he’s had and the struggles he has endured.

The character of Tony is symbolic of the theme of aggression as power. Tony represents the side of these neighborhoods where young men become influenced by the adults around them. When Tony is upset upon learning that Wes is dealing drugs, he reacts by beating him: “Tony cocked his arm and punched his brother dead in the face. Then Tony pinned him down and punched his face and ribs again and again. Mary broke them apart and demanded to know what was going on” (121). It’s the example that’s been established for Tony, and he is repeating it as an example for Wes.