Chapter 8: Surrounded

Theme 1: Overcoming extreme obstacles can cause someone to make a drastic choice.

 "Baltimore City was now averaging over three hundred murders a year, making it one of the per capita deadliest cities in America."

Many people in Baltimore City grew up having to overcome many obstacles.  People turned to crime in order to provide for their families and protect themselves. The choice of murder can come from the choice of selling drugs or being in gangs. Drastic choices are made when people have to overcome hardships that they have or have gotten themselves into. When faced with a difficult situation, people tend to make quick decisions that can impact their lives.

"Three days earlier, in broad daylight, two masked men had run into J. Browns Jewelry, waving guns at the customers, ordering them to the ground."

Robbery is a popular and easy crime to commit when someone doesn't have money. People commit these crimes in order to overcome obstacles like poverty. In many cases, people have limited options in bettering their life and our often left with no other options. Robbery was also popular because it helped people get out of the drug game which was a far worse, deadly crime. People needed to make these drastic choices in order to provide for their families and stay out of dealing drugs.

"Look, I just found out that my sons are wanted for killing a police officer. If I find anything out, I will tell you, and I will cooperate however I can."

This shows the drastic life choices that can be made when overcoming obstacles. Wes did not intend to shoot the police officer, but only to steal jewelry for money. The police in this situation were very prepared to find the two boys because crimes like this have been committed very often. When people are put in difficult situations they might have to get out of them with choices they are not proud of. Poverty can cause people to do anything in order help their situation. 

" Early losses condition you to believe that short term plans are always smarter."

Wes had many " early losses" in his life that caused him to make quick decisions. Since he was making little money and needed to provide for his family, he made the choice to rob a jewelry store. He did not think about the consequences, but only the wealth he was about to revive for his family. When people want to better their lives, sometimes they are stuck because of difficult obstacles in their way. People make quick choices in order to solve a long term problem.

" The hands of the state would stay on him for the rest of his life."

This quote shows how Wes's choice to commit a crime caused his whole future to fall. He did not think of his future when he made his poor decisions. Like Wes, many people make bad choices that put them in a poor situation. People give up their whole futures to the state because of one choice they made based on impulse. Drastic choices are also made in order to survive without thinking of the future consequences.