Discovering Wes Moore: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

Three years later, Wes is a platoon sergeant and “the youngest senior noncommissioned officer in the entire corps.” After his first year, Wes earned academic and athletic scholarships that eased Joy’s financial burden. She’s proud of the positive changes he’s made. Wes has come to enjoy military school and internalize their strict moral code, thanks to the support of the faculty.

One day, Wes gets a letter from Justin, with whom he’s kept in touch. Justin has bad news from the neighborhood: Shea has been arrested on a serious drug charge, and Justin’s mother Carol has cancer. Justin is exhausted from his new burdens in caring for his family and his grades have dropped. Wes feels guilty that he’s not at home to help out, both with Justin and with his own family, who are moving back to Maryland. He wonders whether leaving the school would mean that all his old bad habits would return.

One night, Wes and the other platoon sergeant, Dalio, finish their duties and walk into town to get a stromboli. A car pulls up to them, and some seemingly drunken teenagers harass them. They drive off, but soon the car roars back and nearly hits them before speeding off again. Dalio is frightened, but Wes feels defiant and insists that they get their pizza as intended. The car returns yet again and someone in it yells at Wes, “Go home, Nigger!” and throws a bottle that hits him in the head, breaking some of his teeth.

Considering the possible outcomes, Wes decides to listen to Dalio and flee back to campus, which embarrasses him, since where he grew up, the N-word was the ultimate fighting word. Wes knows a safe back to campus through the woods from the time he tried to run away. Wes reflects on the irony that three years after that incident, he’s fleeing to campus for safety.