Throughout the novel The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, two individuals with the same name and hometown provide two different backstories that influenced their future. One became an international scholar and paratrooper while the other became a criminal who got locked up for his crimes. There are three key differences that account for how their lives diverged. Those differences are the influences their families had on them, their surroundings, and their life choices. Both of the Wes Moore’s had caring families who loved them, but only one family took action. At a young age, Wes Moore looked up to his father. He taught him right from wrong. But when Wes was only three years old, he passed away. This led his family to move to the Bronx, New …show more content…
When they were both teenagers, they did not have the best surroundings. Wes Moore eventually let the conditions around him influence his actions. He began to have academic and disciplinary issues at his new school in the Bronx. This leads to him going on academic probation. Once his dean called his mom, listing all of the things he has done, she knew it was the last straw. She decided to send him to military school, which changed his future. He meant lots of new people that will soon become his best friends and role models. He also met Colonel Bratt, who taught him the true meaning of honor and courage. The other Wes Moore also started off in a terrifying environment, but he never got away from it. His bad behavior first started when he was a child. He grew to be taller than most of the kids in his grade, which made him think he was superior. He also got advice from his older brother, Tony, on how to be tough. One day this all backfired on him, “‘ Put down the knife.’ Wes didn’t hear him. Wes continued to move towards the boy. His grip on the knife handle tightened. His forearms flexed. Send a message” (Moore 34). He believed that he needed to be like his brother, dangerous and fearless, in order to succeed. Tony wanted his younger brother to do his best and go down the right path, but he couldn’t stop him. Wes, soon, followed his brother to pursue a life of crime. They would sell drugs and beat people up. Wes had so
In Moore’s second chapter called “In Search of home”, Moore talks about how the community they grew up in shaped them. Other Wes grew up around “tough” kids and was accustomed to showing violence of the streets, while Moore grew up with a mother that was coping with his father’s death and adjusting to a new neighborhood and new kids
Both Weses had several circumstances in common that happened early on in their lives. Moore narrates that he lost his father at a young age due to a medical misdiagnosis. The author says that with the loss of his father, his family had to move to the Bronx to live with his grandparents. The author Wes was the second of three children, and with the absence of his father, his mother Joy had to work multiple jobs to send him and his siblings to school. Moore adds that he was enrolled in a private school but skipped his classes often and was put on academic probation. On the other hand, the
Throughout “The other Wes Moore”, The Wes’ were faced with surprisingly similar situations that were handled in very different ways. These situations were key turning points in each of their lives and shaped them into who they are. Even though each Wes had hardships in their environment and faced many trials and tribulations, ultimately, their choices during these times are what produced each Wes. Because of their series of different choices that each Wes Moore made during their lifetime and the outcome of their choices, we are not just products of our environments, but also products of the choices we make.
“The other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, is a book that follows the surreal and vindicating lives of two young men that lived in Baltimore; both by the same name, Wes Moore. The author presents that while him and the ‘other Wes Moore,’ may have been in very similar circumstances both being black males with no father figure, growing up in New York, playing sports, the outcome of their lives has been drastically different. While he has come to be a successful author, White House Fellow, business leader and influential public figure, the ‘other Wes Moore’ was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, in June of 2001, for the murder of a Baltimore County Police Sergeant. The author forms a relationship with this ‘other Wes Moore’, leading
Both Wes' grew up in a similar way however one of them chose a better decisions as he went through his life. In the book, Wes Moore states "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The disaster is that my story could have been his" (Wes Moore 1). This quote shows that the “Other” could of easily had the chance to have a better life than Wes Moore but the actions that he chose to do cost him his future and having a lifetime sentence in prison. On the otherhand Wes Moore likewise had the opportunity to be an awful individual growing up yet subsequent to being a veteran from the armed force, he turned into an exceptionally shrewd individual and was blessed to transform into an extremely great representative.
The book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, is a story of loss, regret and childhood innocence. These ideas are reinforced by the iconic lines, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” This idea of how temperamental and volatile life is, is shown through the slow blurring of good and bad within the wes’. This book shows that a person’s entire outlook and trajectory in life can be changed with a few small decisions.
In The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is a story about Wes Moore, the author and Wes, who became a drug dealer. They both grew up in the same environment and similar neighborhoods. From the books slogan “One Name, Two Fates” is referring to how both could have same or different fates. Author Wes and Other Wes could have easily had different outcomes of their lives if they had made different choices. The factors that led author Wes Moore to success and the other Wes Moore to jail is, strong and weak support from parents, good and bad mentors, and vision, how far did they think about their future.
As readers know, both Wes Moore’s do not come from ideal circumstances. Sadly, both of their fathers were not present for the majority of their lives. One father dead and the other fled. On top of the unfortunate lack of a father figure, the boys grew up in rough neighborhoods with drugs, theft, murder and lies surrounding them daily. The circumstances were far from perfection. Therefore fate and circumstances dictate our life…right? Wrong. Look at the different places the men ended up. One man sits in a jail cell, while the other man travels the world speaking and leading. Choice actually has a major role.
“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make as ultimately our own responsibility” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Two boys with almost identical childhoods have made decisions in their lives that have changed them forever. Both named Wes Moore, the men lead polar opposite lives now because of the choices made as teens. While the mothers of the two, Joy and Mary, struggled to support their family and make the right decisions, the Wes Moores had extremely contrasting educations, and their family life and support was somewhat similar, but had many stark differences.
Although the two Wes Moores had similar backgrounds, there are many reasons as to why their lives took very different paths. One of the key reasons they had different lives is that the author Wes Moore had a hard working mother and sisters which made him respect women. The other Wes had a very lazy mother and no sisters, therefore, he did not respect women very well. The author Wes’ father died when he was little and the other Wes’ father left him when he was young. Author Wes’ mother forcefully sent him to military school to get him on the right track and the other Wes followed his older brother Tony into drug dealing.
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is a collection of memories and stories that attempts to trace back to the factors that influenced the course of two young boys’ lives. Both from the same city, even with the same name. What factors could have possibly lead to their entirely different life outcomes? The best way to describe this is to talk about culture. I will explain how within the two boys’ lives they had varying experiences with culture due to their families’ efforts, which ultimately impacted the course of their futures.
Spartanburg High School introduced author and Goodreads Choice Awards Best Memoir & Autobiography nominee, Wes Moore. Not only is he an author, he’s also a social entrepreneur, producer, political analyst, and decorated US Army officer. He has appeared on numerous national broadcasts, wether it was from: Oprah, CBS Sunday Morning, The View, Syndicated Solutions, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Ebony Magazine, USA Today, People, Essence, and many more. He’s not only known from the broadcasts he has been featured on, but from one of his New York Times Bestsellers book, The Other Wes Moore. During his lecture he gives us a brief summary about his childhood. He tells how he saw his father killed in front of him and how he and his sisters grew up in
One of the great things about the “The other Wes Moore” is the simple retelling of two completely different lives. It is interesting how Moore does not advise but rather hopes that each person will develop their own idea and construct about what the moral of the story may be. And furthermore about how it applies to an individual’s life.
The story of ‘’The Other Wes Moore’’ is about a boy who lived in a bad part of town and who made bad decisions along the way. His father was a drinker and stepfather, who he was closest to, died of an acute epiglottis. Wes’s whole life he had no father figure to act as, especially when he had kids of his own. His mother was also a partier and didn’t mature until Wes got older. Wes was selling drugs by age eight, making money as a watchout. Even his brother was in the drug game and he has been in lots of trouble with the police. So as you can tell from the story Wes has not had the perfect role model, so in the end bad examples lead to bad decisions.
“Our roots help to determine our routes” - (Dr. Cornel West, 185). Growing up fatherless in a rough neighborhood filled with drugs and violence, coming home to a family that is broken by domestic violence and poverty, not really having anyone to look up to. Living a life with as many troubles as all of these, can really make a person feel like there is no good in this world, and therefore that there is nothing to look forward to about the future. The other Wes Moore needed help but there was no one that could save him from the upcoming troubles he had to face.