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"we knew each other's neighborhoods, each other's friends, and each other's families. there was one other things that helped us bond quickly: he was one of the few other black kids at my new school." pag. 47

The connection of Justin since they go to the same school and have the same group of friends demonstrate the strength of their bond. Wes Moore describes how they know almost everything about each other describing their friendship develop an strong social bond.

Justin being the only friend

strong social bond

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" I tried to hide the fact that my family was so much poorer than everyone else's at school. every week I sat down to create a schedule for my clothes. I had three "good" shirts and three "good" pairs of pants. I would rotate their order, mixing and matching so that each day I had on a fresh combination." page 52

economical bond

weak

Wes more not able to have a wardrobe appropriated to disguise himself in his rich school because his family was not good economically and could not afford it. This situation creates a weak economical bond between webs and his Family.

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"When the kids would talk about the new videogame system that was out or how their family was going to Greece or Spain or France during summer vacation, I would sit silent, hoping they wouldn't ask me where my family planned on "summering." At times I would try to join in, chiming in about the "vacation home" my family had in Brooklyn, not realizing how ridiculous I sounded." pag. 53

This situation demonstrate a weak linkages because the kids from his school are from a higher Socioeconomic status. It is weak because Wes is unable to make a connection with this kids and he feels he do not fit in. The way the have many opportunities to travel around the world and he is unable to have those experiences shows the differences in their status. School being the only connection that they have together.

linkages

weak

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Every time I looked around at the building and the trees and the view of the river, I was reminded of the sacrifices my mother was making to keep me there. And every time I looked at my fellow students, I was reminded of how little I fit in.

emotional bond

weak

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When Wes Moore moved to Bronx and entered Riverdale Country School, he get a friend called Justin who were born in the same year with Wes Moore. They got the same hair cut and they were the only two who "attend a predominantly white private school." They got the some family situation that both have the oldest sibling nicknamed Nikki and their mother "both were single mothers working multiple jobs to send their kids to school outside their neighborhoods".(page 52) Each mother treat the other one in the same way their mother did for them. Based on this, I think Wes Moore's bridge to Justin is strong strength.

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Broken emotional Bond

"My desperation for her support was in constant tension with my desperation for independence and freedom. I projected apathy about her feelings, But I wanted nothing more than to make her proud. In other words, I was a teenager, deathly fearful of disappointing her but too prideful to act like it mattered." pag. 82

This example show the emotional damage of Wes towards his connection with his month. He feel anxious about him breaking the trust between them because the amount of time he has failure to her. He doubts of his goals in life and feel misunderstood because he is just thinking about himself, but at the same time he is breaking the bond of son and mother. This situation demonstrate a broken emotional bond.

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Legend

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However, when Wes realized the class and wealth gap between him and the white students in the school, he gradually lost his confidence. "Unlike Justin, whose maturity helped him handled him handle this transition much better than I did, I began to let my grade slip".(p 54) Even if Justin got the same feeling and situation with Wes, and even worse, Justin "was still one of the best-preforming kids in the class".(p54) Justin advised him to study, but he thought he couldn't. From here we can see that the bridge between them is starting to weaken because Wes cannot adapt to the impact of this change in the environment. So I think their bridge is medium strength.

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p 76 "My academic failures had forced her to go through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. She'd been stuck in depression for a long time and hadn't quite made it to acceptance, no matter how much I'd hoped she'd get there"

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When he noticed that Mrs. Downs the only one who cares about his attendance, he sensed her weaknesses and spent most of class to burnish his status as the class clown. "One day, she flatly told me that it didn't matter to her if I showed up because the class ran smoother when I wasn't there." (p77)When he thought he could get some presence with Mrs. Downs, she told him his attendance didn't matter. She didn't need his presence, which shows their linkage was week.