The Story in a Tough Environment Why have the two boys, with the same name and grew up fatherless in the similar poverty-stricken neighborhoods, developed into two dramatically different individuals: a Rhodes Scholar and a convicted inmate? While the book The Other Wes Moore goes to great length to answer the question profoundly, I also mull over just how and why the two Wes Moores have chosen their own paths to the opposed destines. According to the book, environment, family, education, others’ expectation, and opportunities are the primary factors contributing to the two Wes Moores’ failure and success. On the top of those factors, I find that the role models, the supports of their mothers, and the choices they made are surely worth …show more content…
In their respective life journey, both Wes Moores often found them facing with some hard choices or decision to make or standing at a crossroads of life change without knowing which way to turn. Therefore, “for all of us who live in the most precarious places in this country, our destinies can be determined by a single stumble down the wrong path or a tentative step down the right one” (Moore xiv). During their early childhood, both Wes Moores struggle at school and had troubles with the law. However, for the author Wes Moore, attending the military school was the biggest turning point in his life. Aware of his mother’s determination, his family’s sacrifice, and encouragement from classmates and instructors as well as the influence of role models, the author Wes Moore finally made up his mind that he wanted to succeed in the military school. At the end, the author Wes Moore fulfilled his dream and did well academically from then on. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore had tumbled on a series of missteps along the road: dropping out of school, getting involved with drug trade, committing violent crimes, and being a father of four when he was so young and immature. Even though there was a time when he tried to reinvent himself: joining the Job Corp, getting a high school diploma, and finding some decent jobs, the reality and his making-quick-money mentality eventually brought him back to the original path with no return. At last, by committing an armed robbery that left a police officer dead, the other Wes Moore irreversibly drove himself to the dead end of life. Obviously, based on their early life experiences, both Wes Moores would have gone the same route to failure. Nevertheless, at some critical points of their lives, the author Wes Moore made some good choices with intervention and guidance of good people while the other Wes Moore lost his footing under undue
one who accomplished a college education and the other living a life sentence in prison. It all comes down to the choices they made through out their lives. The author Wes concludes with “the chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his (Moore).” The author tries to imply that the environment they both lived in were so similar that if the author still had been in that environment he’d possibly be in the other Wes Moore 's position, but the tragedy is that the other Wes could of had the life the author Wes has now. This could be an ultimate example that the people who surround a person could have an affect in their lives for the better or
By the other Wes not going to school and getting into the drug game accounted to his fate and by Wes going to military school helped him on the right path. Another difference in the men’s lives that changed their fate was their families. The other Wes did not have good role models when he was growing up. His brother Tony was big into the drug industry and most of his friends were into the drug game. Even though Tony didn’t want Wes in the drug game, “Tony had now spent over a decade dealing drugs and knew how much money could be made in the game”(Moore 70). As a young child it is hard to not follow in your family's footsteps when that's all you know to be true. When the other Wes was making decisions about his life he didn’t have good role models to show him what is right and wrong. On the other hand Wes had very good role models in his life. His mother did everything she could for Wes, like sending him to a private school, moving in with their grandparents and sending him to military. His mom and grandparents sacrificed a lot for him to have a good future. Also, they were good role models, hard-working and
The role of mothers played a role in the development of the both characters, and this is shown plenty of times throughout the story. Both Wes Moores didn't really have a father. The authors father ended up dying when the author was at a young age, and the other Wes moore's father left him. That just leaves the mom for raising both Wes Moores which played a major role in development. "My mother decided soon after our move to the Bronx that I was not going to public school." This quote is proof of how the author had more chances because of his mother which was a role in development in both Wes Moores. The other Wes had more freedom since his mom worked a lot but was still poor so this inspired him to join the drug game. The author's mom decided
The memoir The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is about two boys with similar backgrounds living different fates. Foreshadowing, a literary device in which the author gives clues about events that will happen later in the story, help readers to determine and understand what caused the lives of the two boys to end up differently. Although, the two boys had the decision to make the right choices on their own, Wes Moore wrote the memoir to show that if children do not have strong parental figures they will not succeed in life which leads to their mothers.
The author Wes Moore and Wes Moore took two different pathways. What is upsetting is the fact that the people around both boys were either influencial or reserved. These people were constantly impacting them. It was stated that, “The second important aspect of networks is the actual substance of relationships as expressed through their function, including the kind and amount of support given and received by members,” (Roschelle, 1997). Both Wes’ were born in the same environment. What made their stories end differently were the actions taken by those around them. This means, the author Wes Moore was sent away by the help of those relationships, while the other Wes Moore was left to make choices on his own.
In the article “Grit” Angela Duckworth defines grit as “perseverance and passion for very long term goals” Pg 2. The quote defines grit as consistently working hard toward your long-term goal. For instance, if we see high school students, most of them are not interested in school. They are just waiting to drop out of school and live a simple life, on the other hand, there are some students who don’t want to drop out of school because they have grit for their long-term goals. In the same way, from the moment the readers are introduced to the First WES Moore, he has an inner sense of goodness which manifests itself in his grit. He strives for his goals with determination and courage from his mother. Unlike him, the other Wes has an inner sense of instability which leads him to constantly make bad decisions repeatedly and manifests his grit as negative and unable to make well-thought decisions. The First Wes had grit toward his long-term goals. In the book the author Wes Moore explains, how the First Wes Moore changed “As I sat in the other end of the line, listening to my mother talk about ‘Sacrifice’….” pg96.the quote explains that, the mother and grandparents made many sacrifices to put him through school, and make him successful with a bright future. He faced many pure pushers in life in military school because of his good up bring and education he always made the right decisions. As an example, one day Wes and Dalio his friend was hanging out and suddenly a car pulled over and punched him in his face. Wes instead of taking revenge, he thought about his mother sacrifice and ignore the
The poverty simulation gave an insight into what both Wes Moores experienced in their early lives. Both of their families had to make sacrifices just to make ends meet. Their parents and family members had to work multiple jobs to put food on the table. The discussion of youth mentoring also had a connection. Both Wes Moores lacked a father figure. Although both boys lacked their father due to different circumstances, that did not change the fact that each boy did not have that role model in their lives. Until he went to military school and gained male role models, the author Wes Moore only had his mother, grandparents, and older sister to look up to. The other Wes Moore only had his mother and his brother to look up to. Although his brother often discouraged from getting into trouble, he was not a good role model because he did not follow his own encouragement. Both Wes Moores could have benefited greatly from a youth mentoring program. Perhaps if they had mentors growing up, the author would not have needed military school and the other Wes would not have ended up in
It really unbelievable how two young boys can have so many similarities, not only did both have the same name, but they were also raised fatherless. Reading the text “The Other Wes Moore” I learned how family, and environment take a major role in how our stories end up different from each other’s. Wes Moore the author writes the book hoping that his story and the other Wes Moore will help people change their life’s, by inspiring them to see our themselves as capable of taking control of their own destinies, and to realize how each decisions we make determines the path we take to the end of our life stories. Wes Moore asserts, “I guess it’s hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances” (67). Why is it that it’s hard to distinguish from last chances and second chances? Maybe because we like to think short-term rather than to think long-term and we do things without thinking of the consequences of the choses we make, or we make bad habits a routine. For example, the other Wes Moore gets arrested many times he starts to think it’s a routine he has. However, Wes Moore gets in trouble for spray-painting in the streets and when the cop let him go he thinks about how he had put himself in that situation for such a stupid. Here we can see how they both have a different way of thinking about the situation. This is why I do not believe that the other
Malcolm Gladwell once said, “...people who are outliers—in men and women who, for one reason or another, are so accomplished and so extraordinary and so outside of ordinary experience that they are as puzzling to the rest of us as a cold day in August.” The author, Wes Moore, of the book, The Other Wes Moore, is considered an outlier through the “Gladwellian” lens based off of Gladwell’s book, Outliers. Wes’s story demonstrates objectives that define him as an outlier with the contributions of where he’s from, his advantages, and also his attitude over his ability. These contributions therefore define him as an outlier through the “Gladwellian” lens.
Based on both Wes Moore’s decisions it took them a while to realize the importance of their future, although the other Wes Moore had a tough time learning from his past mistakes. By the time the author was in military school, he understood that his previous choices weren’t beneficial and his actions were the reason why Joy made the choice to send him off to
“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.
Moore quotes including saying, "It was an alternate mental environment, where my typical desires reversed, where the initiative was respected and class comedians alienated." (96). The quote the (creator) Wes Moore found in his Military School that the lower first year recruits were regards the higher positioning. The (creator) Wes Moore were the exceptionally stunned that in his military school the understudies were admiration their unrivaled and taken over their charge and their honor code rules to obey by. At the Military School instructs (creator) Wes Moore is going to take in the order, authority, and collaboration. The military do think about the (Author) Wes Moore victories. The (creator) Wes Moore have, the more grounded guide giving him the obligation of their trust on him to oblige him to change his terrible conduct that affects his high school and adulthood
One phrase that comes to mind when I think of one of the themes in “The Other Wes Moore” is “Keep Calm and Carry On”. Persistence plays a huge role in both of the Wes’s lives, as well as mines. During the author’s time at Valley Forge he realized that it was going to take nothing but continuance through his hard adjustment at the school, while the “other” Wes had to realize that no matter how he did it, or what it risk were at hand, his job as a father was to provide for his family.
The nonfiction narrative, The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is about two African American men who both go by the name Wes Moore. These young men have a very similar background, which caused Moore to be fascinated about both of their lives. Despite having a similar background, one man had more success than the other. Moore created this narrative and started to examine his life in juxtapose to the other Moore’s life. This narrative demonstrates what life is like when dealt with struggle and shows how humans are able to overcome the adversity.
Growing up in a broken family, Gardner never knew his father and was living in the foster care system from a young age, moving from house to house, periodically living with his beloved mother, Bettye Jean Triplett. Although his childhood was scarred by poverty and family illiteracy, Gardner learned important lessons that have helped him become the man he is today. When living with his mother, she taught him lessons of persevering and being able to accomplish any goal he sets for himself. Despite the abuse his stepfather had given him, Gardner is eternally grateful to his mother for the lessons she taught him. From a young age her words influenced him greatly, realizing that if he wanted something, he would have to earn it. Without these lessons, Gardner would have never been able to overcome the obstacles that he would face in the future, which allowed him to accomplish “The American Dream” (“Gardner, Christopher Paul” 1).