PLEASE HELP “the basketball court is a strange patch of neutral ground a meeting olace for every element of a neighborhoods cohort of young men we were all enclosed by the same fence bumping into one another fighting celebrating showing one another our best and worst revealing ourselves even our cruelty and crimes as if that fence had created a circle of trust a brotherhood”

what is the theme?

based on this quote what are three open ended questions you can ask?

The desire to fit in and sense of belonging are themes that shape and form the experiences in The Other Wes Moore. For both Wes’ there are several situations that shape the boys’ lives. Each one has a central focus; the boys’ yearning to belong.

Both Wes’ begin to find their places through sports. Wes (the author) chooses basketball, the other Wes loves football. Two different sports, but so much in common. Wes (the author) has just moved to a new place and started a new school, he finds comfort on the basketball court, “The basketball court is a strange patch of neutral ground, a meeting place for every element of a neighborhood’s cohort of young men. The other Wes finds belonging in football with his good friend, Woody. “Even if he was just going out to play in the streets with Woody and some other friends, he wore his football jersey like a badge of honor. It gave him a sense of pride, a sense of belonging.

Later, Was the author is challenged by one of his basketball buddies, “How y’all like it up there at that white school?” Initially Wes felt embarrassment because “in the hood, your school affiliation was essential. A few weeks later Wes is suspended for what really was an accident. He takes this opportunity to impress his basketball friends with an exaggeration of what really happened. Another tactic at fitting in. The other Wes is also forced to relocate as well. He too is concerned about fitting in amongst his new surroundings. He desperately wanted to look nice, dress to impress if you will, “he’d pleaded with his mom earlier in the week for an upgrade to his wardrobe. Wes realizes a solution to this problem is to follow in his brother, Tony’s footsteps, selling drugs. Both of these periods are turning points in the boys’ lives. Each one makes poor decisions in an attempt to fit in and impress their peers.

Wes’ (the author) mother makes a decision that very well changed the outcome to her son’s life, she sends him to military school. While he struggles to fit in initially, Wes finds great success here. He sees how respected his mentors are. He associates this respect with success. In turn he realizes his own self respect. On the other hand, the other Wes find success “holding down the corner (selling drugs).” He admits to the risks he was taking, “But taking risks is at the heart of the drug enterprise, and scared money didn’t make money.” For the other Wes, money equated respect and success. Even when he got his GED and became a carpenter the amount of money did not compare to his career as a drug dealer. Unlike Wes (the author) honest, legal work was not sufficient.

Eventually the paths each Wes took determined the outcomes of their lives. Wes (the author) learned to be comfortable in his own skin. He learned to accept himself for who he was and took pride in this. The other Wes only felt respect for himself with tangible material measurements like money, jewelry and appearance. Because he focused so much on instant gratification and not success in the long run, he ended up in jail for life. Both Wes’ strived for acceptance and belonging. The path’s they chose determined how they found this acceptance and where that acceptance lead them