Chapter Two

The theme of chapter two is escaping negative situations. Here are five quotes that support that theme:

"The first [move] was from Pennsylvania Avenue to Cherry Hill to get away from Wes's father." (Moore 28)

This one is pretty self-explanatory: Wes's father had become an extreme problem with drug and alcohol issues, and Mary didn't want her family to be exposed to him. So, she moved her family out of the neighborhood where Wes's father had a lesser chance of influencing the family.

"Mary... was plotting her escape from Cherry Hill almost as soon as she got there." (Moore 29)

Cherry Hill was a dump. Moore calls it a "breeding ground for poverty, drugs, and despair." So, similarly to the way Mary moved to Cherry Hill to escape Wes's father, she moved from Cherry hill to Northwood to escape Cherry Hill.

"Wes broke into a sprint, running right past the kid.... Wes was running home." (Moore 32)

This one is on a more immediate level, because once he got home he grabbed a knife and chased back after the kid who hit him. However, as soon as he gets hit, one can imply from Moore's language that the immediate sprint home was to get away from the scene that angered him.

"'Mom, if it's still all right, I think we need to move up there. I can't do this alone anymore.'" (Moore 37)

Switching to the author Wes Moore. This is a quote of Moore's mother, Joy, speaking to her mother about moving to the Bronx to live with Wes's grandparents. This move was to escape the memories associated with Wes's recently deceased father.

"I got permission to play basketball at a park five blocks from our house." (Moore 43)

Wes played basketball to escape his troubles upon arriving in the Bronx. After realizing his grandparents are very strict, Wes gets antsy and uses basketball as an escape. This chapter as a whole was about a series of moves, all with the intent of escaping troubles.