boys and rules my school essay

Growing up for boys has its pain as boys act tough to mask their shame. “How Boys Become Men” by Jon Katz illustrates the rules of boys growing up. Some of Katz’ rules are never rat, don’t be a goody, goody, and never admit fear. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore shows how two boys follow the rules of growing up that Katz illustrates in his essay. The actions of the boys leads to one of them getting incarcerated for life. Katz provides insight into the decisions and actions made by Wes the felon when he never shows fear and never rats.

            Boys like to play rough. Katz’ rule of boys never showing fear becomes evident through Katz’ examples of two boys playing chicken and a childhood fist fight at recess. To begin with, Katz discusses two boys walking home from school. One of the boys, who had a bright blue windbreaker, decides to swing his backpack full of books. The other boy ducks his swings that are being directed at him. The boy swinging the backpack responds, “What’s the matter. … You chicken” (Katz). The other boy stood still and braced himself for impact. After the heavy bag had whacked the side of the boy’s head, he was left stunned and knocked down. After the boy got up and said “See? ... I’m no chicken” (Katz); the boy showed that he didn’t want to be a chicken by showing no fear when taking the blow. When Katz’ other rule of showing no fear comes alive is during, Katz’ brawl with a bigger kid while in recess. Katz, while remembering his lunch situation back in fifth grade says, “I remember the bitter fifth-grade conflict I touched off by elbowing aside a bigger boy named Barry” (Katz). He then takes the last carton of chocolate milk in the cafeteria. A fight broke out at recess. The fight left Katz on the bad receiving end. Katz says “Our fight, at recess, ended with my knees buckling and my lip bleeding … ” (Katz). Katz showed no fear by experiencing pain from the beating. Katz’ rule of showing no fear is a painful one to experience and most boys grow up this way.

Katz’ rule of showing no fear is visible with Wes the felon, from The Other Wes Moore. Showing no fear can be seen with Wes when he gets a knife, and he grabs his gun. While playing a friendly game of football, a fight started between Wes and another kid. The other kid says “’Didn’t I tell you stop touching me?’”, Wes replies, “’Make me, bitch!’” (Moore 31). The other kid struck Wes in the face. Wes ran home and grabbed a knife to retaliate. Moore writes, “Wes was on the side of the front door, knife in hand, hurrying to settle the score with the boy who had busted his lip” (Moore 34). His mind was clouded with rage while he showed no fear. Wes shows no fear again when he grabs his gun. Wes had just left his “jump-off” when a fight broke out between the girl, and the guy who was outside waiting for her. While Wes watched the whole uproar, the other guy launched at Wes, leaving Wes very bloody and bruised from the beating. Wes ran to his room and pulled out the shoebox that contained his weapon. Wes writes, “He reached up to the top shelf and pulled out the box that held his 9mm and a few full clips” (Moore 104). After Wes had loaded his gun, he then chased his prey through the dark, lit streets. While shooting at his victim and showing no fear, Wes couldn’t handle being disrespected and sending a message so fierce that they’ll regret was his only answer.

            Another rule on Katz’ article “How Boys Become Men” is that boys never rat. The rule of never to rat is seen when Katz gets a bad beating by a bigger kid. After getting a pretty, bad beating by a bigger kid, Katz returns home with a swollen face. His mother screamed when she saw Katz’ face. Then when his father gets home, he made Katz confess the incident, which made the other kid furious. The following morning the bigger kid, Barry, and six of his friends stepped out from hiding behind a tree. “It’s the rat!“ (Katz), screamed Barry. Barry beats Katz again. Katz got taunted after school for days, and they marked his desk with the word rat. Ratting in a boy’s world carry consequences and it’s a boy’s rule not to rat. Not ratting in a men’s world is common, too. Men are not supposed to say they are scare, and they learned to hide what they feel. Katz writes, “My girlfriend asks me why I don’t talk more about what I’m feeling” (Katz). Ratting their feelings for men is not considered a macho thing and will be looked as being weird.

            Wes, the felon, follows Katz’ rule of never rat. Wes follows his rule when he never rats to his brother and his mother about where was he getting the money. Wes had new out the box footwear and fancy clothing on when, Tony, his older brother saw him, Tony furiously asked Wes, “Wes. Where. Did. You. Get. The. Money?” (Moore 70). Wes responded, “I made the money D_____” (Moore 70). Tony punched Wes’ face before Wes could even finish his sentences. Wes was not telling his brother the truth and his brother new it. Their mother came outside and after hearing the boys’ fighting, Tony tells her, “Wes is out here hustling! I told him to leave this stuff alone, but he won’t listen!” (Moore 70). She refused to believe Tony. Wes’ mother says, “No, he isn’t, he is making money DJing” (Moore 70). Wes was not. The next day, Wes’ mother goes to his room anxiously, and in his room, she finds shoeboxes. The boxes contained drugs and they are under his bed. Wes had not ratted. He had not ratted to his brother or to his mother about where was he was getting the money.

Katz rule of never showing fear and never rat are stated in his essay and can be seen with Wes, the felon, as a kid. The backpack incident and Katz getting bully showed the rule of showing no fear as Wes showed no fear when he grabbed a knife and his gun. The rule of not ratting was illustrated when Katz was getting harassed by a bigger kid and in men not sharing their feelings. In Wes, it can be seen when he didn’t rat to his brother and mother about where he was getting the loot. For many boys growing up shapes them to become men from an early age and can carry bad decision making as they age.