Chapter 5
Chapter 5 first begins with Wes Moore, the author, awakening in the bunker of a military school. Sergeant Anderson enters Wes’s room to drag his “ass out of the rack” (Moore 86), but Wes faces him with a nonplussed countenance and, basically, threatens him. However, rather than becoming enraged, the sergeant simply smiles devilishly and leaves.
Wes had originally been sent to military school due to his academic and disciplinary probations at school. Wes had also been sent there due to Shani’s accusation of Wes of punching her in the lip. In response to her disappointment and rage at Wes, Wes’s mother slaps him twice in the face before leaving the room Wes was in. The two of them hadn’t known at the time, but they had both begun crying once alone.
After the brief flashback, the scene switches back to the military bunker/Wes's military room. He's briefly smug since he was able to get the sergeant to leave so easily, but his smugness is quickly wiped away when a group of teens enter his room to flip his bunk. For the next few paragraphs, Wes describes the monotony and repetition of military life and how his squad leader, Sergeant Austin, appears to dislike him more than the others.
He also describes his emotions from being left at military school. In the beginning, Wes had felt furious and livid. He had also felt betrayed by his mother because of her decision to send him to military school. For the first 4 days of military school, Wes admits to running away 4 times. He had been trying to run back to his home by finding a supposed station in Wayne. However, he could never find the station.
The situation (supposedly) changes one morning when Sergeant Austin hands Wes a guidon which contained an aeriel map of the Wayne area. Happy and elated, Wes begins to plan his escape. His happiness and elation quickly turns into terror and defeat once he realizes that he's lost. But, it's revealed that the directions given to Wes were fake once the members of his chain of command reveal themselves.
Wes is led back to the campus and is presented in front of Colonol Batt. To his surprise, he's allowed a 5 minute phone call with his mother. When Wes is on the phone with her, he pleads with her to go home, but she says no because "too many people [had] sacrificed in order for [him] to be there" (Moore 95).
At the time, Wes had no idea as to what that had meant, but he later discovers that his grandparents had given up decades of savings and mortgage payments in order for him to attend military school.
As the phone call draws to a close, Wes's mother tells him that she loves him and that it's time to stop running.
The next day during lunch, Wes sees the F Company. He's impressed by the F Company, particularly by the way they demand respect without using pain or fear. As he studies the F Class, Wes begins to come to the understanding that he's in a "different psychological environment" (Moore 96).
At the end of Wes Moore's section, it's revealed that Wes's mother had requested Captain Hill to keep an eye out for Wes.
~~
On the bus to his new school, Wes and his stepbrother, Red, often spend their time flirting with girls. Due to Wes's athletic physique, laid back style, and various other traits, he is very popular with the ladies and has a dozen girlfriends.
As Wes and Red ride the "cheese" bus, they spot 2 girls and approach them in the hopes of obtaining their numbers. Wes is successful in his endeavor, but Red is not.
In a short amount of time, Wes and the girl from the bus, Alicia, quickly become far more than friends. Within 2 months from the first time they met, Alicia and Wes discover that they're going to have a child together. Wes first reveals it to Tony, who begins laughing at the idea that Wes is going to have a nephew, brother, and son all around the same age as each either.
Wes isn't terribly enthused by the idea of becoming a father because he feels as though it's something he isn't prepared to handle.
Later on, at Wes and Tony's little brother's first birthday, Tony accidentally reveals that Alicia is pregnant to their mother. Mary freezes for a moment before continuing on.
Despite Alicia's pregnancy, Wes continues to have relations with other girls. One girl he met soon after discovering Alicia's pregnancy.
While walking the girl to the door after a night at his house, a teenager confronts them and begins an argument with the girl.
While they're fighting, Wes attempts to escape, but he's dragged back by the teenager and gets beaten up. In a moment of reprieve, Wes escapes back to his home, only to grab his gun and his hunt of Ray, the teenager who had beat him. His friend from his drug operation chooses to join him in the manhunt, so they chase after Ray together.
They eventually kill Ray, to the horror of the girl who was Ray's cousin. She calls the police and they soon arrive to arrest Wes. When Tony arrives, Mary informs him that "it's too late. Wes is already gone" (Moore 107).
Chapter 6
After the attempted murder of Ray, Wes's case was sent to juvenile court, and he returned back to school after the juvenile detention facility. However, due to the time he missed and the lack of adequate teaching for him, he soon dropped out after the birth of his first child.
Because of his lack of job training and highschool diploma and having a criminal record, it was hard for Wes to obtain a job. When given the options of working or going to school, Wes found an alternative. He oversaw his drug organization instead, and he managed it fairly well.
During one outing, Wes runs into a suspicious character. Despite the red flags thrown up in his mind, Wes is unwilling to let a potential buyer escape, so he sells the drugs to the man, who is, in fact, an undercover police officer.
After seeing that the man's hand is too neat to be an actual customer, Wes attempts to escape by walking away. However, Wes is caught by 10 officers in total and throughout the proceeding, Wes continuously pleads his case.
~~
The scene begins 3 years after Wes Moore's last POV. In the 3 years time, Wes has evolved from his disruptive teenage self into a well-disciplined sergeant.
During his summers, Wes attends basketball camps in the hopes of being recruited for a basketball team. One day, he hopes to enter the NBA. However, he's revealed to be overconfident in his skills, and he loses a game against his uncle, instilling the knowledge that he still has things to learn.
Later on, Wes gets a letter from his friend, Justin. He discovers that Shea had been arrested on drug charges and that Justin's mom was dieing due to Hodgkin's disease. He finds this news to be particularly devastating.
After the letter, he and another sergeant, Dalio go into town and they're confronted by several drunk teenagers. Wes is harassed by the racist teenagers and after a while of harassment, Wes is struck by a glass bottle and he and Dalio retreat behind several bushes.
They later return back to the campus through the woods that Wes had once gotten lost in.
Chapter 5 first begins with Wes Moore, the author, awakening in the bunker of a military school. Sergeant Anderson enters Wes’s room to drag his “ass out of the rack” (Moore 86), but Wes faces him with a nonplussed countenance and, basically, threatens him. However, rather than becoming enraged, the sergeant simply smiles devilishly and leaves.
Wes had originally been sent to military school due to his academic and disciplinary probations at school. Wes had also been sent there due to Shani’s accusation of Wes of punching her in the lip. In response to her disappointment and rage at Wes, Wes’s mother slaps him twice in the face before leaving the room Wes was in. The two of them hadn’t known at the time, but they had both begun crying once alone.
After the brief flashback, the scene switches back to the military bunker/Wes's military room. He's briefly smug since he was able to get the sergeant to leave so easily, but his smugness is quickly wiped away when a group of teens enter his room to flip his bunk. For the next few paragraphs, Wes describes the monotony and repetition of military life and how his squad leader, Sergeant Austin, appears to dislike him more than the others.
He also describes his emotions from being left at military school. In the beginning, Wes had felt furious and livid. He had also felt betrayed by his mother because of her decision to send him to military school. For the first 4 days of military school, Wes admits to running away 4 times. He had been trying to run back to his home by finding a supposed station in Wayne. However, he could never find the station.
The situation (supposedly) changes one morning when Sergeant Austin hands Wes a guidon which contained an aeriel map of the Wayne area. Happy and elated, Wes begins to plan his escape. His happiness and elation quickly turns into terror and defeat once he realizes that he's lost. But, it's revealed that the directions given to Wes were fake once the members of his chain of command reveal themselves.
Wes is led back to the campus and is presented in front of Colonol Batt. To his surprise, he's allowed a 5 minute phone call with his mother. When Wes is on the phone with her, he pleads with her to go home, but she says no because "too many people [had] sacrificed in order for [him] to be there" (Moore 95).
At the time, Wes had no idea as to what that had meant, but he later discovers that his grandparents had given up decades of savings and mortgage payments in order for him to attend military school.
As the phone call draws to a close, Wes's mother tells him that she loves him and that it's time to stop running.
The next day during lunch, Wes sees the F Company. He's impressed by the F Company, particularly by the way they demand respect without using pain or fear. As he studies the F Class, Wes begins to come to the understanding that he's in a "different psychological environment" (Moore 96).
At the end of Wes Moore's section, it's revealed that Wes's mother had requested Captain Hill to keep an eye out for Wes.
~~
On the bus to his new school, Wes and his stepbrother, Red, often spend their time flirting with girls. Due to Wes's athletic physique, laid back style, and various other traits, he is very popular with the ladies and has a dozen girlfriends.
As Wes and Red ride the "cheese" bus, they spot 2 girls and approach them in the hopes of obtaining their numbers. Wes is successful in his endeavor, but Red is not.
In a short amount of time, Wes and the girl from the bus, Alicia, quickly become far more than friends. Within 2 months from the first time they met, Alicia and Wes discover that they're going to have a child together. Wes first reveals it to Tony, who begins laughing at the idea that Wes is going to have a nephew, brother, and son all around the same age as each either.
Wes isn't terribly enthused by the idea of becoming a father because he feels as though it's something he isn't prepared to handle.
Later on, at Wes and Tony's little brother's first birthday, Tony accidentally reveals that Alicia is pregnant to their mother. Mary freezes for a moment before continuing on.
Despite Alicia's pregnancy, Wes continues to have relations with other girls. One girl he met soon after discovering Alicia's pregnancy.
While walking the girl to the door after a night at his house, a teenager confronts them and begins an argument with the girl.
While they're fighting, Wes attempts to escape, but he's dragged back by the teenager and gets beaten up. In a moment of reprieve, Wes escapes back to his home, only to grab his gun and his hunt of Ray, the teenager who had beat him. His friend from his drug operation chooses to join him in the manhunt, so they chase after Ray together.
They eventually kill Ray, to the horror of the girl who was Ray's cousin. She calls the police and they soon arrive to arrest Wes. When Tony arrives, Mary informs him that "it's too late. Wes is already gone" (Moore 107).
Chapter 6
After the attempted murder of Ray, Wes's case was sent to juvenile court, and he returned back to school after the juvenile detention facility. However, due to the time he missed and the lack of adequate teaching for him, he soon dropped out after the birth of his first child.
Because of his lack of job training and highschool diploma and having a criminal record, it was hard for Wes to obtain a job. When given the options of working or going to school, Wes found an alternative. He oversaw his drug organization instead, and he managed it fairly well.
During one outing, Wes runs into a suspicious character. Despite the red flags thrown up in his mind, Wes is unwilling to let a potential buyer escape, so he sells the drugs to the man, who is, in fact, an undercover police officer.
After seeing that the man's hand is too neat to be an actual customer, Wes attempts to escape by walking away. However, Wes is caught by 10 officers in total and throughout the proceeding, Wes continuously pleads his case.
~~
The scene begins 3 years after Wes Moore's last POV. In the 3 years time, Wes has evolved from his disruptive teenage self into a well-disciplined sergeant.
During his summers, Wes attends basketball camps in the hopes of being recruited for a basketball team. One day, he hopes to enter the NBA. However, he's revealed to be overconfident in his skills, and he loses a game against his uncle, instilling the knowledge that he still has things to learn.
Later on, Wes gets a letter from his friend, Justin. He discovers that Shea had been arrested on drug charges and that Justin's mom was dieing due to Hodgkin's disease. He finds this news to be particularly devastating.
After the letter, he and another sergeant, Dalio go into town and they're confronted by several drunk teenagers. Wes is harassed by the racist teenagers and after a while of harassment, Wes is struck by a glass bottle and he and Dalio retreat behind several bushes.
They later return back to the campus through the woods that Wes had once gotten lost in.
- Written by Julie Liu