Duquan "Dukie" Weems
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Duquan Weems | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First appearance | Boys of Summer (episode 4.01) |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Dukie |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 14 |
| Occupation | Drug Dealer |
| Portrayed by | Jermaine Crawford |
| Created by | David Simon |
Duquan "Dukie" Weems is a fictional character played by Jermaine Crawford on the television drama The Wire. Dukie is a pupil at the Edward Tilghman Middle School. His home life is anarchic because all the adults in his home are alcoholics or drug addicts. He lives in rank poverty, as his peers tease him for his body odor and his clothes. Anything that Dukie brings into his home is used by his family to make money. He relies heavily on his friends Namond Brice, Michael Lee and Randy Wagstaff for emotional and sometimes financial support. However, Namond and others often mercilessly bully Dukie. Michael however remains loyal to Dukie more than the rest of the boys giving him both work and residency at the season's end.
[edit] Biography
Dukie faces bullying and beatings from a rival gang of boys, from whom his friends fiercely protect him. Following Dukie receiving a beating, his friends plan a retaliation. Dukie takes part but the plan backfires and some of his friends are caught and beaten. Namond rewards his efforts with an ice cream at Michael's urging.
The assistant principal at Dukie's middle school, Marcia Donnelly, provides him with second hand school equipment. She has one of his peers deliver it to him at home but is careful to instruct her to give it directly to Dukie to be sure that it reaches him. Dukie is grateful to the girl, Crystal, for her help.
When the school year begins Dukie walks to school with his eighth grade classmates Randy, Michael and Namond. Rather than them calling for him he waits for them and then joins them. Randy gives Dukie his packed luches to eat. De'Londa Brice refuses to let Dukie into her home when the boys call for Namond. Outside school Dukie finds a discarded electric fan and he spends his free time on the first day of school repairing it. He is bullied by his classmates for his lack of personal hygiene, in particular a girl named Chiquan refuses to sit next to him in Mr. Pryzbylewski's math class. Chiquan is attacked by another girl that she bullied wielding a boxcutter. The girl injures Chiquan and is then disarmed by Mrs. Sampson. Dukie approaches the disarmed girl as she sits on the floor in a state of shock. He gives her his repaired electric fan.
Dukie helps to convince Randy that Stanfield soldier Chris Partlow is a murderer rather than a supernatural force. He tells Randy he witnessed Chris kill someone in a vacant building but asks him to keep it a secret. He shows Randy and Michael a body interred in a vacant house as proof.
Prez tries to help Dukie by giving him food at lunchtime and providing him with new clothes. The clothes are soon taken by Dukie's family to be sold for drugs and booze. Prez later gives Dukie another set of clothes, which are to be kept in a gym locker at school. He offers to let Dukie inside the gym early to wash up in the morning and to take his clothes home to clean in the evening. Dukie becomes close to his teacher and helps him to unearth a computer from storage at the school which he later uses for a special class project. Dukie begins to enjoy the class and becomes one of the more competent students, as well as learning a variety of skills on the computer.[1]
Duquan's newfound confidence soon gets him a promotion to the ninth grade much to his dismay. Although its clear Duquan is not socially ready to enter the ninth grade, the school looks at it as a way to "juke stats" which makes it look like their students are showing better progress and advancement in their skills than they really are. Duquan bids farewell to Prez, who tells Duquan to visit him at school whenever he can. Duquan comes to his house one night with Michael and sees an eviction notice on the door. With his family being evicted and no place to stay Michael offers Duquan a place at his new residence provided by Marlo. Duquan accepts. Michael further shows his loyalty as a friend to Dukie by beating down Namond after Namond makes fun of him for a last time in Cutty's gymnasium.
In the season finale Duquan makes an attempt at going to his new school but, without the presence and support of his friends, he can't bring himself to go to class. Later he pays a visit to Prez at school without his backpack, wearing brand-new clothes, and bearing a gift for Prez. Suspicious of this, Prez follows Duquan, only to find out he's now dropped out of school and is on the corner selling drugs as part of his friend Michael's crew.
[edit] References
- ^ Character profile - Duquan "Dukie" Weems. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-09-16.
