The conversation between both Wes's was one of open honesty about when they each felt like they'd become a man. Wes1 said, "I think it was when I first felt accountable to people other than myself. When I first cared that my actions mattered to people other than just me." Wes 2 said, But if the situation or the context where you make the decisions don't change, then second chances don't mean too much, huh?" Then Wes 1 responded to Wes 2, "I guess it's hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances." Tony was at the house and saw all the tennis shoes that Wes 2 had bought. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He confronted his brother and demanded to know where he got the money to pay for all the tennis shoes. Wes tried lying, but Tony knew the truth. He punched Wes in the face and then continued to pound on him. Tony couldn't believe that his brother had not listened to him and that he got involved in the drug scene. When Mary heard what was going on she came outside and pulled Tony off of Wes. She told Tony she believed Wes when he told her that he got the money being a DJ. Tony couldn't believe what his mother was saying. He yelled at her, "Are you serious? You really believe that? Are …show more content…
Some of the ways that Wes made choices that were influenced by Tony were, when he went after the boy who hit him in the face because he felt disrespected, when he stole money from his mother, when he took his mother’s weed, when he smoked the weed and drank, when he wore the headset and warned others that police were in the vicinity and when he quit going to school. Mary, Wes 2’s mom found drugs in the shoe boxes that belonged to her son. Mary was shocked and felt paralyzed on the bed. She had wanted to believe Wes. After sitting on the bed for fifteen minutes, she suddenly jumped up and gathered up all the drugs and flushed them down the toilet. Afterwards she put all the boxes back on Wes’
They all immediately judged him because of his race. Wes knew he would not be able to fit in with the other kids even if he tried. Had Wes tried to include himself in friend groups at school, he would have to face rejection as well as embarrassment. Wes did not want to be chagrined and so he separated himself from the other kids by having an interest in Ms. Tretheway. The narrator did not agree with Wes when he said that Ms. Tretheway "was so beautiful". The narrator was one of the bystanders who watched the other kids tease Wes, occasionally joining in as well. Everyone excluded Wes throughout high school and by then he accepted that but when he gets voted as best all-around student he admits that he "was so happy [he] could believe anything.” (Buckler, 115) Wes believed that he was finally getting included with the others, he had hope and anticipation. In the end, he was let down and avoided which led to the incident in the basement. Not everyone finds it hard to fit in but those who do may struggle with the pressures of society for
Therefore, one of the two Wes Moores became a prisoner, convicted for robbery and murder. And the other one is Rhodes scholar and become a famous author. Even though they grew up in the same environment, but there is a big difference: the author Wes’s parents graduated from college and well educated, while the other Wes’s parents even didn’t finish school. So, according to the book, the most significant effect in the two Wes Moores lives is the education level of their parents.
Maria had no authority over her restless family. The source of the conflict between Antonio and Maria originates from her oldest sons taking to going where they please and not caring about their parent’s wishes. The burden of pleasing their parents passes from the eldest sons to the youngest one. With the sole duty of pleasing his parents, Tony internally rebels against their wishes instead seeking to set to rest his churning mind by seeking his own beliefs. His brothers console themselves about abandoning their family by saying that “Tony will be her priest” (Anaya 36) and not knowing that the “dreams of their father and mother [haunt] them” (Anaya 36) also haunted Antonio. Having the responsibilities of his brothers and his family shape the way he grows and thinks. He isn’t just thinking about himself he also has the problems of redeeming his family on his head. Through the story and through Ultima Tony realizes that he is not bound by obligations and can instead shape his own
In the high criminal neighborhood where the other Wes lived, people who live there need a positive role model or a mentor to lead them to a better future. Usually the older family members are the person they can look up to. The other Wes’s mother was not there when the other Wes felt perplexed about his future and needed her to support and give him advises. Even though the other Wes’s mother moved around and tried to keep the other Wes from bad influences in the neighborhood, still, the other Wes dropped out of school and ended up in the prison. While the author Wes went to the private school every day with his friend Justin; the other Wes tried to skip school with his friend Woody. Moore says, “Wes had no intention of going to school. He was supposed to meet Woody later – they were going to skip school with some friends, stay at Wes’s house, and have a cookout” (59). This example shows that at the time the other Wes was not interested in school. Because Mary was busy at work, trying to support her son’s education, she had no time and energy to look after the other Wes. For this reason, she did not know how the other Wes was doing at school and had no idea that he was escaping school. She missed the opportunities to intervene in her son’s life and put him on the right track. Moreover, when the author was in the military school, the other Wes was dealing drugs to people in the streets and was already the father of a child. The incident that made the other Wes drop out of school was when he had a conflict with a guy. The other Wes was dating with the girl without knowing that she had a boyfriend. One night, her boyfriend found out her relationship with the other Wes and had a fight with him. During the fight, the other Wes chased the guy and shot him. The guy was injured and the other Wes was arrested
In “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” written by Wes Moore the author writes about two boys growing up in Baltimore that share the same name and similar backgrounds but end up taking drastically different paths in life due to many varying factors. The author goes on to earn a college degree, become a Rhodes Scholar, a veteran and more while the “other” Wes cannot avoid the inevitable fate of dealing drugs and ultimately spends his life running from the police and in prison. This reflects how both Wes Moore’s became products of their environment as the way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does unquestionably play a large role in the type of person they will become as adults. A lot of elements come into play that help to determine a person’s success or failure, but at the end of the day the most important factors are family, education and opportunities.
Tony would ask him so many questions why didn’t he believe and florence would tell him “I don’t know...My mother died when I was three, my old man drank himself to death, and...And my sisters are whores working at Rosie’s place-”(Anaya 195). Tony’s friends didn’t want Florence to be pardoned for his sins, but either way Tony pardoned him and that caused Tony’s friends to beat him up. This caused Antonio to question god and go to confessional to be pardon for his sins but he had no answers. After this Florence’s death came about, he drowned in the river while he was swimming and Tony was there to see him already dead. Tony would ask himself, why didn’t Florence confess, he would have been pardoned for all his sins. Antonio would question god because he didn’t understand why there was so much evil in the
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
In The book he states “ his love for her and their kids kept him from seeing the truth that know stared him in the face.” (137) Wes also valued the income he made by selling drugs. This is what I think his downfall was. He never set any personal goals to get out of the tough spot he was in. Even he said it himself he was sick of drugs, “Wes was tired. Tired of being locked up, tired of watching drugs destroy entire families, entire communities, an entire city.”
First, Conley tells us how he wanted to change his life in college. He wanted someone who knew how to party, but ended up with Tony. Tony was a guy with great taste of music, really quiet, and had different beliefs than Mr. Conley. However, they got to know each other better and the author thinks it was a great experience.
“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.
The path of Wes, the felon, was a life filled with drugs, anger, and reckless choices. His mother and brother were the major influences in his life. During his youth he watched his brother, Tony, deal drugs, get shot and control a section of the neighborhood. His brother being the major male influence in his life, Wes idolized him. Meanwhile Wes was struggling with school, and in an attempt to give him a better chance his mother moved them to a different neighborhood.
4.Wes Moore the author says that “I was taught to remember but never question. Wes was taught to forget, and never ask why.” Are these things different and if so how are they different? How do they point to differences in each of Wes’s upbringings? How might they connect to the differences in their outcomes?
In the story On a Sidewalk Bleeding, Tony wears a purple jacket that symbolizes he is a member of the Royals street gang. A member of the rival gang, The Guardians, stabs him and tears the knife across his stomach. Several people have the opportunity to aid him, but no one helps Tony, and he bleeds out and ultimately passes away. The setting of the alley and Tony’s Royal’s jacket’s symbol in of “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” leads to the his death because if Tony was not wearing the jacket, and was not out late at night, he would not have been stabbed.
Coming into speech class, I mentally and physically prepared myself for what was in store. I never really like giving speeches, especially impromptu speeches. Signing up for speech was hard for me to do because I absolutely did not want to take it and was considering not taking it in high school and wishing that I would never have to take it. My fears for COMM 101 was being judged. I am not really one to care about what people think about me, but something about public speaking gives me a fear that people will judge me if I stutter or not be able to complete a speech. I just wanted to do my best in this class and just breeze through this class and get it over with. Getting up in front of the class for my first speech, was petrifying for me