Previous
Chapter 5
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 drops Maverick off at Lisa’s house and agrees to take Li’l Man for a drive to help him nap. Lisa’s momma’s car isn’t in the drive, but Carlos’s is. Carlos answers the door and refuses to let Maverick in, but Lisa appears, snaps at Carlos to mind his own business, and drags Maverick to her room. She kisses him, and Maverick kisses her back until he remembers Tammy’s face—but he’s not ready to talk yet. Instead, he lies with Lisa on her bed and listens to her talk about how busy her schedule is going to be this year with basketball, the school paper, and the yearbook committee. She wants to look good on college applications and get out of Garden Heights.
Hanging out with Lisa and not having Li’l Man to worry about offers Maverick a much-needed escape. And Dre, by taking Li’l Man for the drive to help him nap, demonstrates that he’s going to be around to help Maverick—both the baby and with more general problems. Hearing Lisa talk about her classes and extracurriculars, Maverick can pretend he’s just a normal high school student again—not a father, and not someone who’s about to break Lisa’s heart.
Themes
Lisa suggests that Maverick join some clubs at his school, but Maverick says that college might not be for him. He sits up, imagining Lisa going to college, becoming a pediatrician, and marrying a rich guy. She asks what’s wrong. Maverick stands and assures Lisa that he loves her and “wasn’t thinking that way.” He says that when they were broken up last year, he had sex with Iesha once. Lisa already looks distraught and pulls away. She asks why Maverick is telling her now. Maverick says that Iesha had a baby, and they just had a DNA test done—the baby is his.
Lisa seems to believe that if Maverick were willing to try, he could break out of his difficult circumstances, attend college, and make a more secure life for himself. But college takes money—money that Maverick doesn’t have, especially not now that he has a baby to care for. In general, though, telling Lisa the truth shows that Maverick is growing up and taking responsibility for his actions.
Themes
Lisa sinks to the floor and accuses Maverick of lying to her—she’s been asking for weeks what’s wrong, and he’s been keeping the DNA test a secret. This explains why Iesha keeps laughing whenever Lisa and Tammy see her. Maverick insists that he didn’t try to trick Lisa, but Lisa says that Carlos and her mom are right about Maverick. Her eyes fill with tears, and she tells Maverick to leave. Carlos rushes in and orders Maverick to leave as well, but Lisa tells Carlos that Maverick isn’t worth it. This hits Maverick like a gunshot. He leaves.
Lisa makes it seem like everyone in the neighborhood has known about Maverick, Iesha, and Li’l Man aside from her. This suggests that in some ways, Lisa isn’t as connected to the Garden Heights community as Maverick is—perhaps because she’s college-bound, which seems somewhat unusual for the neighborhood. This may be another aspect of why it’s difficult for Maverick and Dre to leave the King Lords: choosing a different path from others in the neighborhood could socially isolate him.
Themes
