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Wes Moore Paper Richelle Goodrich once said, “To encourage me is to believe in me, which gives me the power to defeat dragons.” In a world submerged in diversity, racism and prejudice it is hard for minorities to get ahead. The novel “The Other Wes Moore” is a depiction of the differences that encouragement and support can make in the life of a child. This novel is about two men, with the same name, from the same neighborhood, that endured very similar adversities in their lives, but their paths were vastly different. In the following paragraphs, their lives will be compared, and analyzed from a sociological perspective. The path of Wes, the felon, was a life filled with drugs, anger, and reckless choices. His mother and brother were the major …show more content…
He, consequently, became involved in the life of dealing drugs that his mother and brother strived so arduously to prevent him from starting. Wes was arrested several times throughout his life starting at the early age of eight, when he attempted to stab another kid. He was also arrested for selling drugs and again for the attempted murder of a man. Another significant change for him was when he went to Job Corps, and was academically successful. Unfortunately, the reality of the world he left behind; such as, supporting his kids drove him to return to dealing, and later to his permanent …show more content…
Interacting with drug runners and dealers was a part of his everyday life as well, and he ended up getting picked up by the police for tagging a wall. It scared the boy but he did it again a week later. The final event that affected him was when his mother sent him off to military school. Wes tried to run-away a few times to no avail, but he eventually became a leader. Military school opened the door to many opportunities for Wes as he joined the army, met influential people, and was accepted into Johns Hopkins University, despite his low
The historical context of the book is the story took place in the late 80’s-early 90’s in the streets of Chicago. At this era of time, it had been about 20-30 years after segregation was outlawed, but the effects of years of racism and segregation could be shown in the “hoods” of cities. The author utilizes the two boys’ stories to show what the
The novel guides you through the 8 crazy years that led to Wes Moore 1's success and Wes Moore 2's life sentence in prison. Wes Moore 1 definitely did not have the perfect life but his life had more positives than Wes Moore 2. Wes's family, friends and the military impacted his decision making and life choices that make him successful today. But the more he tried to be like his brother, the more Tony pushed back.”
The Other Wes Moore was a book written by Wes Moore about two boys who were very similar growing up. They both grew up with out their dad and in a rough lifestyle. The two boys lived in same rough Baltimore neighborhoods with activity going on always. The difference is one grew up to have a successful life and the other is spending the rest of his life lock up as a convicted murderer.
Drugs in their environments had effected the Wes Moore's similarly; although they weren't the ones doing the drugs, they were involved with people who did, leading to involvement with authorities. On the contrary, their different role models had impacted them differently. The author admired a honest man, who was mature and (truly) respected. The other Wes Moore admired his brother, who made a living off of drugs and scared respect out of others.
In a person’s life, one must overcome obstacles that have the potential to either negatively or positively impact their future. Whether it is a serious obstacle, such as being involved with drugs, or a minor obstacle, such as procrastinating an important essay for the night before it is due, the choices people make can influence the way they live their lives. In Wes Moore’s inspiring non-fiction book, The Other Wes Moore, two boys with the same name start off living a few blocks away from one another, but turn out to be completely different individuals. At first, they were both troublemakers, getting in trouble with the law. However, as time progressed, the author, Wes Moore, became a Rhodes scholar and quite successful, while the other Wes Moore was sentenced to life in prison. The difference between these two men was the surrounding influences that shaped their growth as people. In a person’s growth, the most important factors are a positive role model in a positive environment because a positive role model will provide the path to success and will aid that person in achieving prosperity.
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.
Throughout the book, The Other Wes Moore we learned about the lives of two young kids who unexpectedly share the same name but like everyone else have totally different life’s. This book explores the concepts that deal with a person’s path in life and gives us an understanding of which factors are the ones that greatly influence the type of person we will become. I believe that the factors that have a bigger impact on our life paths are; the environment we live in, our family and friends.
Mr. Moore’s father died from a medical complication that could have been prevented, while Wes Moore’s father was never around leaving him to be raised by his mother. The death of Mr. Moore’s father resulted in the family having to move to live with his grandparents in the Bronx. Mr. Moore’s mother tried everything, including putting him into an expensive school to keep him out of trouble and give him a chance for a successful life. Mr. Moore was still influenced by the neighborhood which lead to him being sent to military school, where he was able to understand that his actions had consequences, leading him to be the person that he is today. The other Wes Moore did not have the same fate. Although his brother, Tony, was a gang member, he constantly talked to Wes about how he could not get involved in gangs. “Tony felt his brother’s life could be saved”, but eventually Wes got involved with dealing drugs (Moore, 2011). After a robbery that resulted in the murder of two people, Wes was convicted of life in
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
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
The Other Wes despite society looking down on drug dealing as bad, still feels prideful of it. As his drug operation is successful and allows him to live more glamorously. Society doesn’t look at him like someone running a business, but more as a criminal. He also feels safe being able to have his own “crew”, who can watch out for him in his section of his neighborhood. It is hard to feel prideful in something society views as bad, because it makes you feel like what you are doing is wrong. Though you should not feel guilty for doing something that makes you feel good. The Other Wes went ahead and sold drugs to the undercover cop, because he became greedy. He became so addicted to dealing drugs and making money from it, that he was willing
This help us discern how author Wes was impacted since he just wanted to fit in but struggles with two conflicting environments. Eventually, leading him to choose one which ended him neglecting school for the streets with his friends. So it all accumulated in forcing his mom make the decision to send him to military school. Moore plainly asserts, “Baltimore City had a 70 percent dropout rate at the time. Tony had already joined that statistic; Mary wanted to keep Wes away from the same fate. And now here Wes was, walking around Dundee Village, hoping these bucolically named “avenues” and “circles” would lead him to a better place than the city streets had” (Moore 57). Here, Moore reveals the way that the other Wes felt moving from a place to place for the fourth time; lost and hoping for a better life. This is significant of the way that his mother, Mary, chose this area for its “spacious neighborhoods, quality schools, and higher per capita income” (Moore 55). She wanted a place to raise her son away from the violence and crime that was plaguing in their old
Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010. Print.
In life, multiple factors work together to influence the choices one makes, and these choices affect both one’s present and their future. In a narrative about two boys who share the same identity, their two seperate lives are compared to one another by the differences of their futures. Choice versus Fate is a theme in The Other Wes Moore that is developed throughout the plot to display how the two forces work together and against each other in the two characters’ lives, and to also emphasize the reality that at times, one’s fate is already pre-destined and the choices that one makes may not be impactful enough to change their destiny.
One’s environment shapes their aspirations and how they achieve them. The people you are surrounded by and the place you live greatly affect what you want out of life and how you attain it. Wes (the author) went to a private school and grew up with a stricter upbringing since he lived with his grandparents, while Moore (the convict) grew up with his mother and went to public school. Wes feels alienated since he’s going to a white school and lives in a non-white neighborhood. Moore, on the other hand, feels jealous of his brother’s pricey clothes (which he obtained from drug dealing). There is also drug activity in the household (his mom smokes weed), which Moore then tries and makes the decision while high to join the drug game. Both Wes and