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Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned By Walter Mosley

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Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned By Walter Mosley

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In the novel Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, Walter Mosley defines the benefits and drawbacks of being apart of a community.

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What are the benefits and drawbacks of belonging to a community?

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What are the benefits and drawbacks of belonging to a community?

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There are many benefits and drawbacks of belonging to a community. Some of the benefits of being a part of a community are you can learn and seek help from the people around you. Some drawbacks of belonging to a community are judgment and fitting in. Being a part of a community comes with the roles and responsibilities that you have to uphold. Sometimes your image can be affected by things that you have done in the past.

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Setting: The setting of the story in the beginning is Socrates Fortlow two bedroom, run down apartment in Los Angeles, California.

Background information:

Our protagonist, Socrates Fortlow, is an ex convict who has had freedom for 8 years

He moved to California in hopes to start a new life not knowing anyone

Inciting Incident: The story starts with Socrates meeting Darryl in a back alley after Darryl had killed a chicken named Billy. Darryl did not admit his crime at first. After a long while of interrogation Darryl confesses to his wrong. They then cook the chicken and eat it for dinner. Socrates then asks Darryl, many times, how he was going to make it right. Darryl could not find an answer to his repeated question.Socrates finally lets Darryl go, and hopes that he comes back.

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The rising action of the book inhabits a lot of problems that Socrates faces. Socrates and his friends run a killer out of town, he fights for a job application, and meets a thief at his weekly dinner spot. Most importantly Darryl came to visit him, uninvited. Darryl grew to like Socrates more and he learned a lot from him.

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When Darryl was in a physical altercation with a boy named Phillip and his gang. Socrates, after quickly beating and disarming Phillips' two friends, quickly smacked the pistol out of Phillip's possession.

Connecting back to the essential question: At this moment in the book, Socrates showed that he had Darryl's back. In a way, Socrates saved Darryl's life. This is one of the benefits of belonging to a community. In a community, you have people that you can rely on to have your back.

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Socrates was proud of the way that Darryl acted in the blood boiling situation. He said that Darryl threw some good punches. After the altercation, Phillip and his gang of teenagers would be out to get Darryl. Socrates  concluded that Darryl could not stay with Socrates for any longer. Socrates' next job was to find a place for Darryl to stay. He asked around and found the MacDanielses family who were willing to take Darryl into their household.

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Socrates played the role of the mentor in Darryl's life. In the end, he was successful in keeping Darryl out of the life that he once lived. He taught him many things and turned him into a man.

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In the book Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, the conflict is Man vs. Society. Socrates Fortlow faces many challenges in his own life while also mentoring a young boy named Darryl. The biggest conflict that Socrates faces is when he tried to get a job application from the supermarket. When speaking to the managers of the store they judged him based off the way he look and refused to give him a job application. On the mentoring side of things, Socrates tries to keep Darryl safe from the world of crime. When Socrates met Darryl in the back alley he saw him going down the same path he went down many years ago. In this book the conflict is man vs. society because Socrates Fortlow faces many problems that involve many different people in the society around him.

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Socrates is someone that knows his worth and stands up for himself. In chapter 4 when dealing with Ralphie, Socrates said “You looked right through me, brother.’...‘You across the street …right in front of me like I was some kinda animal, like I didn’t even matter at all. And then you couldn’t even nod to me” (Mosely, 61). Even though he isn't the most wealthy or well-known man he understands basic respect. Further, he carries himself in a way that nobody can disrespect him.

Socrates, from the beginning of the book, was a leader in Darryls eyes. When talking about taking ownership and making things better Socrates said “We all got to be our own judge, li’l brother.’Cause if you don’t know when you wrong then yo’ life ain’t worf a damn” (Mosely, 22). This quote shows the leadership figure that Socrates played in Daryl's life from the beginning. He teaches a young Darryl that taking accountability is the only way we can better ourselves.

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Socrates Fortlow is a very matured man and has learned a lot following his 27 years in prison. He was now 58 years old. Socrates always used to use fighting as an escape to his problems. When eating dinner one night Socrates met a thief named Wilford. The author said Socrates felt power but no longer the need to beat someone to solve his problems. Throughout his life, one thing that he learned was that violence is not always an escape from a problem. When dealing with many other problems Socrates feels power in his strong hands to beat the person causing his problem. He could now control his anger and solve his problems peacefully.