Chapter 2: In Search of Home

Theme 1: Single Mothers

1) '"Mom, if it's still all right, I think we need to move up there. I can't do this alone anymore." (37)
After Wes Moore Sr. died Joy was left with a broken and heart and three kids to support. Without her calm and caring husband to help raise their children, Joy was left with stress and worry as the neighborhood the Moore's lived in got more dangerous. Being a single mother brought on a lot more stress and responsibility to Joy's life and her only resolution was to seek help from her parents in the Bronx.
2) "It was years before Wes's mom found out her son had been arrested that day."(35)
By being a single parent, Mary Moore could not be as involved in her child's life. She had to work to support her two children and herself and in the meantime she lost some knowledge of what her kids were doing with her gone for the day. Because Mary Moore was a single parent, she was unable to focus on her children for most of the day and therefore the fact that Wes had been arrested was an easy thing to hide.

Theme 2: Absent Fathers

3) "Most of all Wes enjoyed the simple fact that Woody's father was there. Before he met Woody, Wes had never really seen a father around. Single-parent households were the norm in his world... He was genuinely happy for Woody, but he was also deeply envious." (30)
Even though Wes's father was still alive, he was still absent in his life. The person who picked Wes up after being arrested wasn't his own father but his half-brothers father. By having Woody as a friend, Wes got to experience a new definition of family and affection and a new feeling of jealousy started to appear.

Theme 3: Overcoming Obstacles

4) "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." (45)
The Basketball court was a neutral zone; a place to escape from the drugs and crime. The courts didn't judge you on your appearance or your background, only on how you played. Basketball was a way to overcome all the tragedies on the streets and to bring your all on the courts. Basketball helped these guys get along with each other but it also freed them of being hyper aware of all the danger and crimes around them.

Theme 4: Drugs and Crime

5) "Fear and apathy had become the new norm in what had once been a close-knit community. They had also talked about something I had never heard before. Crack."
A diverse and eclectic community was damaged and torn apart by drugs such as crack. Wes and his family was warmly greeted by vacant buildings and shady drug dealings. This was Wes's new home and he was now surrounded by drugs and crime. That is a true test to ones character and ability to see if they can survive a toxic area such as that and get out of it successfully.