Previous
Chapter 16
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
“Fronting”
Race and Racism
Education and the School System
Privilege
Crime
Summary
Analysis
On May 19, just one day after Robert’s death, Jeff notices that he’s received a new Facebook message. Victor Raymond informs him that Robert has passed away. Jeff is stunned.
Jeff is stunned by the news of his friend’s death—as far as he’s concerned, Robert is working an executive job at the Newark Airport and preparing for graduate school.
Active
Themes
In the coming days, Jeff proceeds with the surreal, painful experience of informing his Yale friends that one of their classmates has been murdered in a drug deal gone wrong. Most of his friends are shocked. They interpret the tragedy in predictable and offensively simplistic ways: “potential squandered,” “the allure of thug life,” etc.
Jeff finds the immediate reactions to Robert’s death simplistic, and therefore offensive. Over the course of his book, Hobbs has chosen to offer a more nuanced account of Robert’s life, one that acknowledges both his incredible achievements and his tragic failures; his victimhood and his role in bringing about his own death.
Active
Themes
The night before Robert’s funeral, Jeff and some Yale friends go out drinking. The next day, tired and hung over, they make their ways to St. Mary’s Church. Robert recognizes many faces—Yale graduates who are now doctors and lawyers and bankers. There is one common theme in these people’s lives: “Nobody was fulfilling the dreams harbored on graduation day.”
Active
Themes
Jeff and some of his friends speak briefly about how they knew Robert. Jeff mentions being Robert’s roommate, and how much he enjoyed Robert’s big grin. Raquel Diaz gives a long eulogy about Robert’s kindness and supportiveness. Robert is buried in Rosedale Cemetery, next to his father’s plot. Afterwards, everyone drives to St. Benedict’s for a luncheon. Finally, the guests go to a bar called A.S.H. that Robert liked. Jeff notices Oswaldo looking grim. Later, Oswaldo tells Jeff his opinion of Robert: “So fucking smart, but so fucking dumb.”
Active
Themes
Get the entire The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Jackie has requested that Robert’s high school friends, including Julius and Drew (Curtis is still in prison) stay away from the funeral. Julius is furious, but he agrees. They hold their own private ceremony for Robert. During the ceremony, they talk about the night of the shooting. It’s not clear if the men came to the house intending to kill Robert—it’s possible that Robert tried to overpower the men, leading to his murder. They also note that Robert made no sound after being shot—almost as if he was trying to conceal his own pain to protect his friends, just as he’d done in life.
Active
Themes
When the local paper posts an online story about Robert’s murder, the comments section is insensitive and hotly divided. Some people express sympathy for Robert, while others fault him for squandering his elite degree.
Active
Themes
Charles Cawley hears of Robert’s death, and is immediately shocked, saddened, and angry. He thinks about the choices Robert made in his life, and how they led him to his death. Then he realizes that “not all [the choices] had been his to make.”
Active
Themes
Raquel tries to raise money for Jackie’s funeral expenses. To her fury, many of the elite Yale students who bought weed from Robert ignore her or refuse to donate money due to the nature of Robert’s death.
Active
Themes
In the years following Robert’s death, very little changes in Newark. Drugs are sold throughout Robert’s old neighborhood, and crime continues to ravage the community. St. Benedict’s continues to do all it can for children from impoverished families, sending many of them to good schools. Jackie continues working.
Active
Themes
On what would have been Robert’s thirty-first birthday, Raquel and Rene visit Jackie. They provide her with nearly five thousand dollars in donations—almost enough to cover Robert’s funeral expenses. Later that day, Robert’s friends and family gather at one of Robert’s favorite bars. That night, Jackie cries at the sight of the birthday cake Robert’s friends have baked in his memory.
Active
Themes
