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Chapter 2
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
Ma fusses all the way home about Iesha and Ms. Robinson. They stop at Ms. Robinson’s house and bang on the doors, but no one answers. Ma says that they have to bring King Jr. home with them. At home, Maverick sets the car seat on the coffee table. Ma says that she hopes Iesha didn’t abandon the baby, but she tells Maverick that he's a parent now. No matter what happens, he’s responsible for everything. She notes that Iesha left enough formula and diapers for the weekend and says that she’s going to try to borrow Adreanna’s crib to set up in Maverick’s room. Maverick protests that King Jr. is going to keep him awake, but Ma asks who else he’s supposed to keep up.
Ma is expressing some of the same sentiments as Ms. Robinson did: she wants Maverick to know that it’s on him to deal with the consequences of fathering a child. But she’s also going through the diaper bag to check on supply levels, and she takes the step of tracking down a crib. In this sense, Ma is firm about Maverick taking responsibility but also loving and supportive in a way that Ms. Robinson isn’t. This situation is a lot for Maverick to take in, and he doesn’t seem to have fully processed how much fatherhood is going to change his life.
Themes
Ma heads to the kitchen to make up a bottle, muttering about Maverick’s nerve. Maverick decides he’s going to call his son “Li’l Man,” since “King Jr.” doesn’t feel right. Li’l Man reaches for Maverick’s finger and pulls it to his mouth, so Maverick picks the baby up. When Li’l Man starts fussing, Ma returns to reposition the baby in Maverick’s arms and hands Maverick the bottle. Maverick looks down at his son and feels his heart swell.
Again, though Ma wants to make sure that Maverick knows Li’l Man is his responsibility, she’s not going to leave him totally high and dry. Where Iesha seemed like she was totally on her own with figuring out how to properly hold and feed her baby, Maverick has Ma here to help point him in the right direction.
Themes
As Ma goes to wash Li’l Man’s clothes, Maverick stares at his son. He’s terrified and awestruck—and he realizes that he’s not going to be able to go to the party tonight. Juggling Li’l Man, Maverick calls up Lisa and tells her that Ma wants him to stay home all weekend and take care of things around the house. It’s not totally a lie. He tells Lisa not to bother coming over and says that he loves her.
Maverick is already having to deal with the consequences of becoming a dad. First off, this means that he can’t go to a party—something that now seems childish, if not impossible, with an infant to care for. This may help Maverick develop a better understanding of how Dre feels, since Dre has also stopped attending parties since becoming a dad.
Themes
When Li’l Man is halfway done with his bottle, Maverick puts him over his shoulder to burp him. Li’l Man hiccups and pukes. Ma smirks and reminds Maverick it’s not about him anymore—and parenthood means that his clothes will never be clean. The doorbell rings, and Ma opens the door for Dre. Dre’s eyes go wide when he sees Li’l Man and realizes the baby is Maverick’s, but he laughs when Maverick complains that he already has puke on his shirt. He repositions the bottle in Maverick’s hand and asks where Iesha went. Maverick explains that Iesha left while he and Ma changed Li’l Man’s diaper. Dre sighs and offers Adreanna’s old crib and stroller.
Parenthood is clearly going to come with a lot of changes. In this case, Maverick is going to have to get used to the fact that being messy is a fact of life—that won’t end until Li’l Man is past needing to be burped with every meal. To Dre, who’s already dealt with a baby this age, Maverick’s stress over all of this is endearing. But he also shows that, like Ma, he’s here to help Maverick and teach him to be a good, caring dad. This is why he repositions the bottle for Maverick and offers the crib and stroller.
Themes
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Ma leaves to pick up dinner, and once she’s gone, Dre tells Maverick that fatherhood is a “trip.” He can’t imagine life without Adreanna, even though she’s a wild three-year-old. He says he’s going to miss her in the fall, when Keisha takes Adreanna back to Markham State with her two hours away. But next summer, Iesha will graduate, and then she and Dre will get married. He tells Maverick that it’s okay to be afraid of being a father and admits he cried the first time he held Adreanna. He wants to be the father she deserves, so he decided to “man up.” Now, he says, Maverick has to do the same thing.
Here, Dre talks a little about what being a father means to him. Though he doesn’t say so outright, he implies that his priorities have shifted since her birth. Possibly, the King Lords aren’t as important to him as they used to be, now that he has her to care for. Dre seems to want to inspire Maverick to be the father Li’l Man deserves—though it’s also significant that Dre doesn’t actually define what it means to “man up.” Instead, he leaves that up to Maverick’s interpretation.
Themes
Maverick insists that he’s already a man, and Dre notes that Maverick thinks he’s a man because he’s selling drugs behind his and Shawn’s backs. Maverick tries to deny it, but when Dre promises not to tell Shawn and insists that men tell the truth, Maverick admits that Dre is right. He insists, though, that it’s just him and he needs the money. Dre says that Maverick needs to give it all up. Dre acknowledges that he deals, but he hates having to provide for Adreanna that way. He wants Maverick to do better and get a job at Wal-Mart, which would be “clean money.”
Maverick clearly admires Dre and wants to please him, which is why he chooses to come clean and tell Dre the truth. However, Dre is arguably preying on Maverick’s desire to be a man—if Dre says that a man does something, Maverick is going to agree. This helps him feel more mature, and it also helps him please Dre. Dre also introduces the idea that dealing drugs isn’t the best way for Maverick to provide for his family—there’s a “better” way to be a father.
Themes
Dre even suggests that Shawn could let Maverick out of the King Lords, but Maverick reminds Dre of what happened to Kenny. Kenny had gotten a football scholarship and wanted out—but the only way to get out is to “take the hit” for a crime or take a beating. The King Lords beat Kenny so badly that he couldn’t play and lost the scholarship. Maverick says he doesn’t want out. “Kinging” is in his blood, and he’s not walking away from good money now that he has a kid. Dre threatens to tell Ma and Pops and rat King out—he knows King is involved. Maverick agrees to stop dealing and to talk to King, so Shawn won’t have to.
The fact that Dre is even suggesting that Maverick get out of the King Lords implies that Dre himself might want out. But because he’s so high up in the gang, it may be impossible for him to escape—but not so impossible for Maverick, who’s still a lower-ranking “li’l homie.” For Maverick, however, his life seems already set out for him: Pops was a King Lord, and Maverick knows he could be earning a lot of money by selling drugs. But ultimately, Maverick’s desire to please Dre—and his parents—wins out.
Themes
