The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: Chapter 14 Summary & Analysis

In the second half of the first decade of the 2000s, Newark experiences an overall decrease in crime. The police force is bigger than ever before, and there’s a citywide camera system in place. And yet the poverty crisis in Newark is as bad as it’s ever been. And following the Great Recession, crime escalates again.

Robert begins applying for graduate schools, beginning by writing his statement of purpose. In this essay, he explains that he’s always loved science. At Yale, he studied molecular biology, and worked closely with world-class scientists. Research, Robert explains, has taught him persistence and patience. Also in his essay, Robert explains that he held off on applying to graduate schools because he wanted to experience his own world, in Newark. He goes into great detail about his years teaching science and his world travels.

Robert sends his essay to Isabella Peretzian to edit. Isabella offers a few comments, most notably that the mentions of his world traveling should be cut down, since they suggest a lack of focus. Robert calls Isabella and testily explains that his travels are an important part of his character. Isabella backs down, saying, “It was just a suggestion.”

While he’s applying to school, Robert needs to get a job. Following Oswaldo’s advice, he cuts his dreadlocks, buys a suit, and prepares to interview for administrative positions at real estate firms. Robert resents having to change his appearance for the sake of finding a job. But he hates having to collect unemployment checks even more. Robert has proven that he can live happily on a teacher’s salary, but he wants to make more money, partly because he wants to be “the Man” and impress the people around him.

That fall, Robert drinks a lot and spends more time than usual with his high school friends. He doesn’t buy a suit and he doesn’t apply for jobs. Oswaldo talks to him on the phone, and becomes furious when he realizes that Robert isn’t really looking for work at all—he’s still selling marijuana. Oswaldo notices that Robert’s friends take from him without seeming to give much in return.

At the end of 2010, Robert gets a job working for a drug dealer named Amin. Amin has several business fronts through which he launders his drug earnings, and he’s good at staying under the radar. Robert respects Amin, though he finds it difficult to adjust to the pressures of having a boss. His job is fairly simple: he converts Amin’s product into a hybrid strain, and then delivers it to a supplier outpost. Robert’s work for Amin is more dangerous than anything he’s done previously.

Robert’s friends warn him not to get “in too deep” with Amin. As the year goes on, Robert prepares to apply for a graduate program at NYU while also working for Johnson & Johnson. He’s confident that he’ll be accepted. In March 2011, however, Curtis proposes a risky new business plan—one that could solve all of Robert’s problems.