I think the author meant that a person never knows if something that happens to them is a second chance or the last chance. No one knows if their action will lead to them getting a second chance or if that action was their last chance. The other Wes’s last chance was when he got arrested for the murder of Sargent Prothero. Author Wes’s last chance was when he tried to escape from the military school and failed. The difference in each of the Wes’s use of that chance was that the other Wes’s was on his last chance and the author Wes’s was on his second chance. Other Wes’s didn’t have any other way to go and no reason to change his life until it was too late. Author Wes’s made the decision to start taking military school serious and turn his life …show more content…
They both grow up in a similar environment and was raised by a single mother. Author Wes can see how the other Wes 's life went and saw that there were Decisions and actions that were taken that made them made them into the people they become. American people are always talking about “keeping up with the Jones 's” and “the grass is greener on the other side”, and most people don 't ever know about a person who shared their name and grew up in the same environment. So it makes sense that if a person becomes aware of a person like that, who shared a name and grew up in the same environment, they want to know more about what that person 's life was …show more content…
The lack of education can lead to poverty and poverty can lead to a lack of education, this is a cycle that is hard to get out of. Author Wes mother was able to go to college and get her degree. She wasn 't the first to go or the first two finished. She was able to overcome the situation poverty and found a way to go to college. This desire for college was something she gave to author Wes. She knew the public school was a bad place to be for her son so she did what she had to have the money to send Wes to Riverdale Country School. Author Wes got the schooling that had more of a focus on attending college as an end goal by attending Riverdale Country School. Since he went to Riverdale Country School he got the desire to get a degree that he probably would have never got in the public school in his neighborhood. The other Wes mother 's life was different and she didn 't put that need to get a degree into her
The Other Wes Moore is a novel that shows the different paths of two different men, one successful and the other not so fortunate. Wes 1 was led by his brave, intellectual mother who impacted his life positively through small decisions. Wes 2 was led by his step- brother who had good intentions but never delivered or cared enough to help Wes through the obstacles of his life. Most of us are fortunate enough to choose who will impact our future but we have no control over our family members and whether they will help or hurt
5. The author says to the other Wes, “I guess it’s hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances.” What do you think he
Wes & Wes Moore could’ve of easily ended up with the same fate. It is the choices they made, the environment they were provided with, the support and choices of their families and the mind set they chose to have the set them apart from each other. The two Wes Moore’s paths went different ways for many reasons but some were more significant than others.
As a child, Wes looked up to his father, (Westley), with wide eyes and a deep longing to become just like him. Alongside his father, his half-sister Nikki also played an inspiring role in Wes’s young life. Nikki’s biological father, (Bill), held a fake desire for her throughout her childhood. After Wes’s father’s death, their family dynamic shifted, potentially for the worse. Nikki seemed to be engulfed through the flame of his death more than anyone. Tragically, it was as if Nikki “had lost two fathers that day” (Moore 15). To both Wes and his father, Nikki was an equal part of the family despite the different backgrounds. Parallel to Westley’s untimely death, “Bill no longer called, wrote, or bothered to check
However, living in a low-income area in Chicago, I experienced firsthand what motivates poor individuals trying to make ends meet. What motivated a student to do well in school was imagining a future where they did not have to choose between buying milk and buying bread. They were motivated by the prospective of having a decent paying job that moved them out of poverty and away from danger. They talked about the wealthy neighborhoods and how one day if they worked hard in school they can live amongst them. Students and parents from neighborhoods in Chicago and Los Angeles focus on making a living rather than making a difference in the
The story of two men growing up in the same neighborhood with similar backgrounds with the same name and eerily similar circumstances that leads and ultimately has each character ending up in very different places in life. Taking completely different paths to their futures is the setting of this story “The Other Wes Moore”. The way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does undoubtedly play a huge role in the type of person they will become in life. The author Wes does a good job of allowing you the ability to read this story and the circumstances surrounding the character his mother joy played such an important role in his success, while comparing the roll of Mary the other Wes’s mother. Both boys grew up with strong, hardworking black women in their lives and yet it still allowed for two completely different journeys. I think the lack of fathers and having not so good male role models was also a contributing factor.
His brother, Tony, was a drug dealer who wished he could go back in time and make the right decisions and he wanted Wes to be different than him. He didn’t want his brother to end up like him, and even after he tried everything to keep Wes away from drugs, nothing worked and he gave up. As you can see, both families are very different, Wes (the author) has a family who wants him to have a bright future. Most importantly, a family who responds fast because right after his mother saw him falling down the wrong hill, she didn’t hesitate to do something about it. The other Wes isn’t as lucky, as I believe, since his mother already had so much pressure over keeping her job and her son Tony being involved in drugs.
Due to the rising costs of tuition of college, children of parents who are impoverished, begin to be distanced from his or her chance of escaping poverty. With a college degree, someone who has remained in poverty can take the first beginning steps of bettering his or her life. In just four years, this person is able to obtain a higher
in the same future paths. The author said that both Wes’s grew up without a father under a
“I guess it’s hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances” (Moore 67). This is a powerfully central theme to the book The Other Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore. For the two men this book is about, it all begins with a wide-open future. The mothers that gave birth to them and the influences they had, along with their own powerful choices, sealed their fate . People don’t ever stop growing or improving and the two Wes Moore’s are no different. Throughout their lives, they are constantly changing and in some places calling the shots. One chose correctly, and one did not.
Education has been historically considered as an equalizer of society in America, allowing the opportunity for even the disadvantaged to reach success. Race was once the strongest factor in determining future achievement, but today Stanford Sociologist, Sean F. Reardon, says income level has become more consequential (Tavernise). President Barack Obama was one of the lucky few able to overcome the obstacles he faced growing up being both African American and underprivileged, but most children are not as lucky (Rampton , Nawaguna). In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, the Lacks family lived in poverty and struggled to perform well in school, resulting in many of them dropping out even before high school (Skloot). The success gap between high and low income students in the U.S. has increased significantly in recent years (McGlynn). The educational achievement of students is significantly affected by their home life, and those living in poverty are much more likely to fall behind academically than children coming from affluent families.
Education, or the lack thereof, is a major contributing factor to poverty. It could be the very cause that sends someone into poverty, or it could be the wall that keeps them from getting out of it. The article, “Education, poverty, and schooling: a study of delhi slum dwellers”, explains that “if education fails to facilitate poverty reduction, the following generation 's schooling is likely to be adversely affected, thus perpetuating a vicious education–poverty circle”. In Duggan, Jackie is unable to provide financial support for her kids. If Jackie doesn’t have the money to feed her kids, then they would not be able to focus in class due to their hunger. In turn, they would not do well in school, and would most likely not go to
Education is a big factor when determining if someone is able to rise above a hard upbringing. Looking into the future, education is the foundation of a career and therefore one’s success. Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, and Liz Murray, inspiration of Homeless to Harvard: Liz’s Murray’s Story, both agree that an education is necessary in order to be successful. Throughout their stories, they both worked hard in school and highly regarded their education. Jeannette’s mother Rose Mary agrees saying, “I’ve always believed in the value of a good education,” (Walls, 265). Many children take their education granted and don’t realize it is a privilege. Without a decent education, it will be nearly impossible to land a suitable job. With no job, it will be difficult to support yourself.
There are many different factors that affect education. One such factor is, socioeconomic status. Children who attend school in a wealthier community receive a better education than those students in poor communities. In poor communities, student’s education is not only affected by a lack of resources, but also from teaching methods and philosophies. Urban and poor schools’ students do not receive as equal of an education as their more affluent and suburban counterparts do.
Living in poverty exposes children to disadvantages that influence many aspects in their life that are linked to their ability to do well in school. In the United States of America there are an estimated 16.4 million children under the age of 18 living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). “The longer a child lives in poverty, the lower the educational attainment” (Kerbo, 2012). Children who are raised in low-income households are at risk of failing out before graduating high school (Black & Engle, 2008). U.S. children living in poverty face obstacles that interfere with their educational achievement. Recognizing the problems of living in poverty can help people reduce the consequences that prevent children from reaching their educational potential.