Chapter 1: Is Daddy Coming Home with Us?

The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

Theme Tracking
Chapter 1: Is Daddy Coming Home with Us?

Theme 1: Absent fathers can impact a child no matter what the circumstances.

1. “Your father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, my father wasn’t there because he chose not to be. We’re going to mourn their absence in different ways.” page 1

This quote from page one of The Other Wes Moore shows the idea that regardless of what circumstances a father is absent, the child is affected in some way. Moore writes that someone's father wasn't there because he couldn't be, but his father wasn't there because he chose not to be. Moore says that the two circumstances will still cause mourning for the child left behind. Even if a kid knows why their father isn't in their life, they will still mourn their father's absence. 

Theme 2: People are capable of overcoming obstacles.

2. "He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her down... One month later, Joy and Nikki were packed up. Together, they left Bill for good." page 10

This quote shows how one character was able to overcome an obstacle. Joy's obstacle was her husband who was physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive on account of his drug and alcohol addiction. On the day that her husband came home and pushed Joy around, Joy's only thought was making sure her child would not be waken. Joy defended herself and realized that the only safe option she had was to leave her husband. Once she did, her obstacle that was her abusive husband was overcome.

3.  "She'd always pull back enough in her interactions with her classmates to give herself room to quietly observe them, so that when she got home she could practice imitating their accents, their idiosyncrasies, their style." page 8

This quote shows the theme of overcoming obstacles by showing another circumstance where a character overcame an obstacle. Being an immigrant from Jamaica, Joy wanted "desperately to fit in". To do this she studied her classmates talk, mimicked what she heard on the radio and TV, and tried to assimilate to American English and life. Her obstacle was being a foreigner. She overcame this obstacle by learning how to get rid of her Jamaican accent. 

Theme 3: People make life choices that impact more lives than just their own.

4. "By the end of the riots... Mary was only a kid, but she made a pact with herself at that moment: she would get her education and leave the neighborhood no matter what it took." page 19

This quote shows the theme of life choices impacting others by showing why life choices are made. Mary's tough childhood involving a crowded household, a bad neighborhood, and riots caused her to make the choice to leave everything she had grown up with. Mary made the life decision to go to college and completely change her fate. She did this while taking care of her two children and in effect, Mary created a better life for her kids. 

5. "'It's Bernard's crazy ass out there. I ain't going out to talk to him. He's drunk and crazy'... That was the last time he tried to see his son." page 24

This quote shows another time that Mary made a life decision for the benefit of her kids. When Bernard decided to he wanted to see his son, Mary knew that to keeping herself and her two sons away from him was the only way to keep them safe from his drunk behavior. When Mary made the decision to not let him in, Mary made the decision to be a single mother. This choice meant that Mary's son Wes would not have a father but it also meant peace and safety for Mary's family. This is an example of a life decision affecting others because Mary's decision directly impacted her son's lives.