Chapter 6: Hunted

Theme 1: Drugs and Crime
1) "All that mattered was that he was here. He had accomplished his mission of completing high school... But only eighty-seven seats were filled that spring morning." (109)
- In Woody's perspective, school was the big challenge that he had overcome and a challenge in which many of his peers had failed to face and to defeat. People like Daemon, White Boy, and Wes were only a few of Woody's friends who dropped out of school due to complications or in search of a real life job. If Maryland had the highest rate of high school graduates, one might wonder how in Baltimore only 38% of people who started high school actually graduated. A place overcome with poverty, crime, and drugs only produces 38% of high school graduates. To people like Wes and his crew, a head set and frightening credentials was more meaningful than a high school diploma. People who grow up in a drug and crime filled environment have a hard time trying to keep their head above water let alone graduate from high school. In a place were drugs and crime is the every day norm, the aspiration to learn decreases.
2) "It was a risk, and Wes knew it. But taking risks is at the heart of the drug enterprise, and scared money didn't make money." (113)
- Wes was suspicious of the man wanting to "buy some rocks," and his instincts were correct. However, because of the pressures from the drug enterprise, Wes decided to risk his freedom for the sale of $20 worth of crack cocaine. How brave. Wes became a soldier, along with many other boys, for the drug business and was arrested multiple times because of it. However, Wes had doubts about how much he was really making from selling drugs and he realized that his bosses were the real money makers of the whole thing. By this point, the drug dealers, such as Wes, are too caught up in the business to call it quits and it becomes a burden. Educations, good relationships, financial and physical safety, and morality are all sacrificed for the selling and buying of drugs. Selling drugs starts as a profession and turns into a lifestyle that people are willing to be arrested and killed for.   

Theme 2: Life Choices
3) "Should I have stayed there in the middle of the street, waiting for the boys to come back, somehow gotten them out of their car, and tested them blow for blow? Part of me was aghast when I decided the answer was no." (121)
- After being called a nigger and violently hit in the mouth, the initial response is to be angry, hurt and hungry for a fight, all of which Wes was but he subdued those feelings and strategically retreated. This thought out action is a sign that Wes was responsible and knew how to react in maddening situations. Somewhere between the time Wes started military school and the moment when he was hurt by the drunk college, he decided to make a change. The decision to make peace with attackers and to make a non-violent solution is much less costly than one that would have been made if this had happened in the Bronx, a crime filled neighborhood. If this had happened in a rougher area which has gang violence, shootings, drug raids, and muggings Wes's decision to not fight back would have been unheard of. But this decision kept Wes from being further hurt by his attackers and it kept him and his friend safe.
4) "Not surprisingly, without a high school diploma or job training - and with a criminal record - Wes found it almost impossible to find a job to support his growing family." (110)
-Wes's decision to shoot a man and participate in the drug business hurt not only his chance at a better life, but also his family's. In most cases, Life does not give too many ultimatums. Instead, people make choices that are stringed together and that impact each other. Wes's first decision to try drugs, eventually landed him into the decision of wanting a headset to help the drug dealers and then eventually he chose to be a drug dealer. Small choices overtime can either become one big burden or positive things.

Theme 3: Overcoming Obstacles
5) "I was now a platoon sergeant, a cadet master sergeant, and the youngest senior noncommissioned officer in the entire corps. Three years ago I'd been one of the insubordinate kids first entering the gates of Valley Forge." (115)
- The obstacle that Wes faced was finding motivation in school. In the Bronx, he was bored with school, torn between his community and the people who went to his school, an also more interested in hip hop and basketball. This transformation from wanting no responsibilities to being in charge of a platoon and so on, shows how much Wes wanted to succeed. Although this may have been a gradual choice for Wes to take on more challenges and strive to do better at school, this change will drastically help his future. People who show a tremendous amount of growth in character and responsibility set themselves up better in life and are models for overcoming their own faults.