Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Concrete Rose, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Masculinity and Fatherhood
Identity and Individuality
Loyalty, Gang Affiliation, and Family
Poverty
Summary
Analysis
Two days after visiting Pops, Maverick is ready to kill Red. He’s in his bedroom; Seven is fast asleep while Ma and Moe watch a movie. Maverick pulls his gun out of a shoebox and tucks it into his waistband. He plans to catch up to Red at the park—no one else will be there, since it’s a Sunday night during basketball season. He’s going to hide his face, shoot Red, and then toss the gun and his hoodie in the nearby lake. Then he'll move on with his life. Though Maverick reminds himself that he has a plan, his legs won’t stop shaking. He dials Lisa’s number but stops himself—she’d know something was up.
Maverick has presumably decided that killing Red is the right thing to do—yet he’s clearly nervous and upset about the prospect of murdering someone. This suggests that Maverick might be pretending to be okay, when really, he’s still struggling with this decision. It’s also significant that Maverick thinks about his whole family as he prepares to go out—he knows that shooting Red will put him at risk of not being able to support them.
Themes
Maverick steps into the living room. Ma and Moe are watching TV and eating popcorn. Maverick asks if they’ll listen for Seven while he takes Lisa some food; she’s having pregnancy cravings. Ma and Moe agree, and Ma tells Maverick to be careful out there. That makes Maverick choke up. He considers kissing Ma’s cheek, but that seems like an acknowledgement that he might not come back. That’s not an option.
Ma’s warning to be careful would be a normal thing to say under any other circumstances. But because Maverick is the only one who knows that he’s heading out to kill someone, it seems even more significant. He has to be careful—or he might not make it back.
Themes
Maverick walks outside—it’s so quiet tonight that the whole neighborhood will be able to hear gunshots or sirens. Maverick hopes that Dre can hear when he pulls the trigger. It’s totally dark by the time Maverick gets to the park. He stares at the one working streetlight on the basketball court and thinks he can see himself, King, Shawn, and Dre not that long ago. It feels like that summer day was a lifetime ago.
As Maverick imagines younger self on the basketball court, it becomes clear how much he’s grown up since that day. That day on the court represents a time of innocence, before Maverick knew he was a father and before he decided he needed to avenge Dre’s death. He was a boy then; now, he’s becoming a man.
Themes
Maverick watches Red whistle as he loads his merchandise into his car. He reminds himself he’s meant to do this, wraps a bandana around his face, and pulls his gun out. The gun feels heavy and cold, like the feeling in Maverick’s stomach—but there are rules on the street. They’re not written down anywhere, but it’s stuff everyone needs to know to survive. But if there was a book, the most important part would be about family, and the most important rule would be that you have to kill anyone who kills your family.
This mention of the rules on the street contrasts to the opening of the novel. Months ago, Maverick was a relatively innocent teenager trying to save face during a basketball game—now, he’s trying to avenge Dre’s death by killing someone. As Maverick has matured, his understanding of what the rules mean has changed. Now, he knows that family is more important than anything else.
Themes
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Maverick comes up behind Red and puts his gun to Red’s head. Shakily, Red says he’ll give Maverick anything and that he has a kid. Maverick tells Red he should’ve thought about that before he killed “the homie” (he can’t say Dre’s name, or it’ll give his identity away). He also notes that “the homie” had a kid, too. Maverick tells Red to take off the watch and give it to him, and Red complies. Red shakes, cries, and begs. Maverick prays that God will let him forget this and puts his finger against the trigger. He knows he can do it—he just has to be his father’s son and squeeze. But “Even killers can get their prayers answered.”
All three people involved here—Maverick, Red, and Dre—have or had children. Being fathers binds them together, and perhaps this will convince Maverick to not kill Red. Importantly, Maverick also shows that in this moment, he associates being his father’s son with killing Red. He knows that Pops was many things—a dealer, a father, and a killer. But in this moment, Maverick feels he has to focus on the fact that Pops has killed someone in order to justify his actions.
Themes
