Chapter 5: Lost

Theme 1: Absent fathers can have an impact on the choices their children make in the future.

Quote 1: "The idea of becoming a father depressed Wes, but he wasn't sure why...he wasn't overly stressed about the responsibilities of fatherhood - he didn't even know what that meant. But in some unspoken way, he did sense that he was crossing a point of no return."

This quote shows how the other Wes has never known what a father figure truly is. Wes did not know about the responsibilities of a father, which caused him to feel confused. He also felt “ depressed” because he didn’t know how to be a father since there was no one ever there to set an example for him. Wes’s reaction to becoming a father was a cause of him having no father figure in his life. This shows how the absence of a father can affect their child’s ability to parent, as they get older. Wes’s reaction to becoming a father was a cause of him having no father figure in his life.

Quote 2: "Wes's nonexistent relationship with his father probably contributed to his seeming indifference about becoming a father himself...he had no idea what his role would be in this new situation - he wasn't even sure he had a role."

In this passage we see that Wes does not believe that he has a role as his parent because he has only know his life growing up in a single-parent home. His choices to be not as careful with his girlfriend impacted his life because they are now having a baby. Wes’s decision to be an active parent is conflicting because he doesn’t know his role as a father. This shows that life choices are impacted greatly by the people who raise or do not raise you.

Theme 2: Early life choices can change your future.

Quote 3: “Welcome to military school.”

Wes was negatively impacted by the absence of his father, by impacting where he went to school and where he moved. As a kid, Wes made some bad life choices, which caused him to move so much. Wes’s mother made some tough sacrifices in order to send him to military school in order to get some guidance and help. If Wes had a father figure, his schooling options and where he lived might have been different. This shows just how a couple of choices can a have a big impact on your future.

Theme 3: Pride can affect your decisions.

Quote 4: “Ray was a fool for stepping to him like that; he’d started something that Wes had no choice but to finish.”

This quote shows how pride can impact someone’s choices on how to deal with things. When Wes got beat up he did not think of the consequences he would face if he killed Ray. Wes’s ego manliness was being questions and he knew he had to end what Ray started. Wes would rather get arrested than have someone make a fool out of him. Pride can affect decisions because the person is not thinking of what will happen after the action is done.

Theme 4: The environment when someone is grown up can impact their ability to warm up to someone.

Quote 5: “ I was from the Bronx, after all, maybe these country jokers were intimidated.

This quote shows Wes’s tough outer exterior because of where he was raised.  He wasn’t raised in an intensely strict environment so military school would be tough to adapt to. He also thinks that people should fear him because that means they respect him in the Bronx. It is hard to listen to someone if you have not gotten enough time to “ warm up” to someone. In Wes’s case it is also challenging to take orders from a strong military leader since he hasn’t had a father figure in a long time. The theme shows the environment that somebody grows up in affects how they interact with people they are meeting.