The Master Plan Main Ideas

Poverty and Violence

In The Master Plan, Chris Wilson describes the many links between poverty and violence and their connection with other societal problems, such as drug addiction, gangs, and racism. Using his own experiences, he shows how living in a poor neighborhood surrounded by violence causes children to be anxious and do poorly in school. He describes sleeping on the floor of his bedroom, wrapped in his bedding like a cocoon, because he could hear gunshots outside every night and feared stray bullets would come in the windows. Poor educational outcomes only exacerbate the problem of poverty, of course. Wilson also shows how poverty and violence lead to extremely high levels of imprisonment among Black men, as the combination drives people to sell and buy drugs, buy and use guns, and end up in gangs.

However, just as important are the ways violence, poverty, and incarceration are linked to government policies and practices. Violence against Black people by police officers is common, yet there are few legal repercussions for police who abuse their power. Government housing complexes, meant to help impoverished people, actually made Black neighborhoods poorer and more violent. The “war on drugs” led to harsh sentencing and a focus on punishment, rather than rehabilitation, for those found guilty. Wilson returns again and again to ways the prison system tries to hold on to people or pull them back in. There are caseworkers and corrections officers who put endless obstacles in place to deny inmates the chance for reduced sentences and parole, financial burdens placed on the newly released through various fees, and a near impossibility of finding adequate housing or a job for someone with a criminal record. The smallest slip by someone on parole—like driving without a license—can quickly put them back in prison. This leaves released prisoners without ways to adequately meet their own financial needs and, therefore, without ways to move away from the poverty-stricken neighborhoods where they went astray in the first place. And so it is precariously easy for them to end up back in the cycles of violence that brought them into prison.

From Pain to Purpose

In The Master Plan, Chris Wilson kills a man when he is just 17 years old. He goes to prison, and there he has to confront not only his own childhood trauma but also his own culpability in perpetuating the cycle of violence of which he was a victim. This sense of being both a victim and a perpetrator is part of the unique balance of Wilson’s memoir. On the one hand, he witnessed and experienced terrible violence, and this left him vulnerable to the message that having and using guns was an acceptable way to deal with his fears. On the other hand, he took a man’s life and became an absent father to his son. On both hands, there is a great deal of pain and shame. Throughout his time in prison, he sees this pattern play out: victims become victimizers.

Wilson’s motivation to turn his life around stems from this pain and shame. After 19 years of life, he realizes he has nothing to show for it. His life has no purpose. And so, he makes a purpose for his life. He asks himself, “What’s your endgame?”—that is, what is the purpose of your life? Then, he makes a Master Plan to achieve it. He plans to get out of prison, become a contributing member of his community, and make a real difference in people’s lives. He plans to tell his life story so that other young men like him can learn from his experiences. Later, he also makes a goal of being a good father to Darico, his son. Throughout the years of hard work, both in prison and after release, Wilson sticks to his purpose. After he confronts his own responsibility for his crime, his purpose in life is reinforced by his sense of remorse—he has to constantly work to make up for the harm he did. His example shows the value of living purposefully and taking responsibility for one’s actions and how having a purpose and a plan can lead to a sense of self-worth.

Education

In The Master Plan, every stage of Chris Wilson’s life involves his love of learning. As a child, he loves books and is awestruck by libraries. In prison, he takes every opportunity to learn new skills, new languages, and new information. As part of his Master Plan, he commits to being a “lifelong learner.” When he gets out of prison, he is fascinated by the internet and immediately uses it to educate himself about how to thrive on his own.

But Wilson isn’t just a person who loves learning. He is a person who sees the value of education, both as something that brings practical advantages in life but that also brings a sense of pride. In addition, he makes it clear that educating yourself is an investment in the future, even when the payoff might not be obvious in the short term. For example, in prison, he has the chance to learn languages, so he does. One that he learns is Italian. Years later, knowing Italian allows him to make small talk with the interviewer for a job, and this skill helps him get the job. “[T]he world is complicated,” he says, “and knowledge opens doors.” As Wilson seeks to be a positive influence on his community and other people, he also finds that being an educator is part of fulfilling this goal. He helps educate others with his own story, as well as by passing on the knowledge he’s gained about entrepreneurship, creating a resume, and other practical life skills. As a result, he becomes both a learner and a teacher, educated and educator.