Identity
As the title suggests, a dominant theme running through the story is that of identity. The title also elliptically suggests this theme will be explored through both the personal and collective. The story asserts quite strongly that identity is not synonymous with name; one’s individual identity is the result of a collective engagement with family, friends, where one lives, what one does for fun and work and, of course, how the forces of the state view you. The two men who share the name Wes Moore also share growing up in Baltimore which, by standard definitions, would make being a Baltimorean part of their identities. And yet as identical as their names are, their identities as a Baltimorean could not be more opposite.
Brotherhood
Brotherhood is a concept that expands beyond the limitations of the traditional definition. The theme of brotherhood is not to suggest specifically male bonding or the camaraderie of those facing the exact same challenges. In this instance, brotherhood means those whom one chooses to be around, be influenced by, learn from, network with and look to as a mean of support. Brotherhood in the limited definition also generally conveys a positive influence, but here both men named Wes Moore can point to a brotherhood that guided their decisions and impacted their thinking. For the author, this brotherhood was instrumental in avoiding the always present potential of heading down a bad path. The other Wes Moore winds up serving life in prison directly as a consequence of brotherhood incapable of positive impact.
Expectations as Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
The themes of identity and brotherhood come together in the form of the story’s other prevailing theme which the author explicitly identifies about midway through: “The expectations that others place on us form our expectations of ourselves.” For the other Wes Moore, this concept is formulated as a negative aspect: if the expectations others have of you is that you will wind up in jail, then eventually you will probably wind up in jail. For Wes Moore, the author, this negative aspect bears the fruit of an obvious solution that escapes the other Wes: if your brotherhood expects you to wind up in jail, it’s time to look for a different brotherhood. The author recognizes that revolving door cycle of a social system that knows only poverty, crime, discrimination and limited prospects stimulates a despondent pessimism that eventually generates into a cultural nihilism, but steadfastly maintains that just as low expectations trend toward a self-fulfilling prophecy, so do high expectations.
