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Chapter 9
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
Dre died a week ago. When he was shot, the Wyatts were the first to come help Maverick: Mr. Wyatt tried to get Maverick to let Dre go, but Maverick wouldn’t. He cursed at the paramedics for not trying to save Dre—they just put a white sheet over him. The police questioned Tony and Keisha; over the phone, Keisha heard someone tell Dre to hand over his valuables before he was shot. The police think it was a random burglary, but Maverick knows it was a GD, probably Ant. Ant has a target on his back now—Maverick can’t let this slide. Dre was family.
Here, Maverick confirms that gang affiliation puts people in danger—he and the King Lords are always at risk of violence from the rival Garden Disciples. But when Maverick says that he can’t let this slide because Dre was family, it suggests that he’s actually more loyal to his family than he is to the gang. The two may be intertwined, but Maverick can’t let this go because Dre was his cousin.
Themes
Ma lets Maverick take a week off of school, and Mr. Wyatt tells him to take as long as he needs. It doesn’t seem like there’s a point to doing anything anymore. Pops told Maverick that grief is something everyone has to carry, and that makes sense now. Maverick feels like he has a boulder on his back, and only crying will make the pain stop. But men aren’t supposed to cry—they’re supposed to support everyone else, especially when everyone else is already crying. So Maverick throws himself into caring for Adreanna, Keisha, Ma, and Dre’s parents.
It's important to note that Maverick is struggling with his grief. He’s feeling intense, difficult emotions, and he knows that crying will help him cope. But this knowledge doesn’t seem to line up with what he believes about manhood. Grown men, in Maverick’s understanding, aren’t emotional—they need to help other people heal, rather than acknowledging that they might need support too.
Themes
Maverick has to be strong today at Dre’s funeral. Mrs. Wyatt is taking care of Seven, so Maverick gets dressed in peace. Ma comes in and asks to help Maverick with his tie. She jokes about not changing Seven’s diapers—grandmas spoil kids, not clean up after them. Granny bought baby Maverick lots of clothes, so Ma’s little “Stinka Butt” always looked great. Maverick groans at the nickname, but Ma starts to cry. She says she could be burying Maverick today, and all she does is worry about him. Maverick assures her that he’s fine and says they should get going.
When Ma helps Maverick with his tie, it shows Maverick again that his mother is always going to be here for him. No matter how old he gets, he’s always going to be able to rely on her. But for Ma, Maverick’s gang affiliation poses problems: he may be a King Lord for his own protection, but Dre’s death has reminded Ma that being part of a gang is fundamentally dangerous. She always has to fear for her son’s life.
Themes
Maverick is barely present for the funeral and only remembers some of it. All the King Lords stand at the back, and Shawn speaks first. After that, Maverick just remembers lowering the coffin into the ground. Now, he’s in the church basement for the repast. Granny fixed Maverick a plate, but he just pushes his potatoes around. Ma and Moe hold hands as they talk to some of Ma’s cousins, while Adreanna laughs. She doesn’t seem to understand she’s at her daddy’s funeral. Maverick puts his head down but picks it up when Moe comes over to join him. She asks if he’s okay and offers to cover for him if he wants to leave early. Maverick thanks her and steps outside.
Maverick can’t mentally process the funeral, which is a mark of how traumatized he is. Trying not to focus on the proceedings is a way to emotionally protect himself. And although the funeral is supposed to bring Maverick together with his family, it’s significant that Maverick seems to be going through this in his own world. This may be because he doesn’t want to let himself feel his emotions, so it’s harder to connect with the rest of his grieving family.
Themes
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It’s a beautiful day, too beautiful for a funeral. “Big homies” stand around Shawn’s car in the parking lot; they financed the funeral and have been around all week. Maverick feels good that he’s a part of things now. Shawn is on the hood of his car with a bottle of bourbon. He holds it out to Maverick, who pours a little out for Dre and then takes a sip. P-Nut says the service was beautiful with its “introspectalness.” Maverick rolls his eyes, and Shawn promises to avenge Dre’s death. He’s not sure who did it yet, aside from knowing it was a GD, so Maverick tells him about Ant. Shawn promises to look into it and then handle it. But Maverick insists that he needs to handle it—Dre was his cousin. Shawn says Maverick has to comply.
Maverick seems more comfortable with his fellow gang members than with his family, which may reflect Maverick’s his discomfort with truly feeling his grief. Spending time with the family would be harder on Maverick emotionally, since his close family members are likely grieving Dre in a more intense way than his friends are. But spending time with the gang gives Maverick an outlet to handle difficult emotions: he can help plan how he and the gang are going to avenge Dre’s death. In other words, Maverick is more comfortable with distracting himself at this point than he is with being emotionally vulnerable and facing his grief head-on.
Themes
The other “big homies” smirk. Maverick asks if Shawn thinks he can’t do it, so Shawn pulls down his sunglasses to reveal the two teardrop tattoos for the two people he’s killed. He asks if Maverick has ever shot anyone. Maverick hasn’t, and he admits he doesn’t have a gun. Maverick storms back to the church, feeling like a little kid who will never live up to Pops’s name. He almost runs into Lisa; he’s shocked to see her. She asks if he’s okay and seems to know he’s not, so she leads him away to walk around the neighborhood.
Here, Maverick has to face the uncomfortable fact that to the “big homies,” he’s just a little kid. While Maverick seems to want to be like Pops and do things (like kill Ant) that would make his father proud, Shawn is intent on making sure Maverick remains innocent. In addition to Maverick feeling insulted and embarrassed, this also means that Shawn is keeping Maverick from dealing with his emotions how Maverick would prefer: through violence.
Themes
