Wes Moore 's The Chilling Truth

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

"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine... It's unsettling to know how little separates each of us from another life altogether (Moore XI)." The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is about two men who have the same name, Wes Moore. Both grew up in similar areas, each made choices that lead to one spending life in jail and the other spent his being in the military. The Wes Moore's grew up in the 1970's-1980's. They both were poor with single mothers who worked day in and day out, and still struggled to be able to be above the poverty line. For each man there was one moment that changed the future of their life. In the book,The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the author explains the idea of poverty to develop the theme poverty can affect an individual negatively, but each action and decision a person makes can control whether his or her life is positive or negative.

A person’s success or failure can be determined by their environment, education, choices; a number of different things. The autobiography The Other Wes Moore takes a look at two boys with the same name and eerily similar circumstances who end up in very different places in life. Wes Moore spoke at convocation about his book and what he hoped that people would get from it. In the book he says “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (Moore xi). These two men didn’t share the same fate because they each made a choice about what they wanted their life to become. The book truly demonstrates how the choices you make, make you. One Wes

Many people would say we are all just products of our environment. For two young boys from Baltimore, this could not be truer. In “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” written by Wes Moore, two fatherless, young boys growing up in the same neighborhood with the same name, end up on two entirely different paths of life. The author becomes a Rhodes Scholar, college graduate, veteran, and much more, while the “other” Wes gets deeply involved with the drug game and spends most of his life in trouble with the law. When these boys come from such similar backgrounds, how is it that they take such different journeys in life? The reason why one Wes Moore became mixed up with drugs and the law, and

In the book, The Other Wes Moore it is difficult to believe the great similarities in the lives of the two Moores, who share a name and other aspects of life. The two were raised fatherless and were born in the late 1970’s in the neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. They also happen to have encountered similar experiences when growing up, but at one point one of them became a criminal and the other a scholar (the author of the book). The author of the book seems to be interested in the similarities of the two boys as opposed to their different experiences. The story is interesting and makes one imagine what would have become of the writer if he did not by any chance come across the people who guided him to become what

The Other Wes Moore is a book about two young African-American lives that share the same name, Wes Moore. Both Wes Moores grew up with similarities, they both grew up in the same hometown. One of the Wes Moore is free and the other one is spending his life in jail. They both grew up without fathers. The author's father died in front of him when he was just three years old and the other Wes Moore barley knew his dad. The Author's father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, and the other Wes Moore, father wasn’t there because he chose not to be. Both mothers were working hard towards setting their families and to support and care for their sons.

“I sat back, allowing Wes's words to sink in. Then I responded, "I guess it's hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances"(Page 67). In "The Other Wes Moore" the environment of both Wes Moore's were completely different from each other. They both made some stupid decisions over time but who is perfect? It is expected of everyone to make some mistakes, in my opinion the main influence on their choices came from their environment. In their environment they had peers that would influence them to do things that they did not necessarily want to do. This caused them to get into trouble, but at the same token, their environment also gave them some opportunities to make it through some rough times. For Example: Wes #2

Bad Influences, Stressful Situations, and Abandonment led to the incarceration of the Other Wes Moore. The Other Wes Moore was a man that lived in the same neighborhood as the successful Wes Moore, but he had more negatives than positives in his life, which causes him to be influenced by all of the bad influences.

The officers then find them both but Wes “decided to take his case to trial. He insisted that he was not there the day of the murder” (Moore 155) and he was guilty. He was sentenced life in prison and “finally he could see his future” (Moore 157). On the other hand the author Wes Moore became very successful. He was accepted and received scholarship money to John Hopkins. He was able to go on his “first long-term trip abroad” (Moore 163) to South Africa. He was able to go around and notice the similarities between the people there and the people that he had grew up with. He is able to see challenges that people everyday face and sees hope for everyone to redeem themselves. For himself he can relate to that on a personal level because he’s “had the freedom to make those mistakes, and the freedom to seek redemption for them” (Moore 179). He has become a great man because of everything he was able to overcome. He knew he needed to be better and he knew determination would get him places. He had a mind set for hope and he could of had the other Wes Moore’s life but instead he was able to pursue all his struggles and “see the boundless possibilities of the wider world and the unexplored possibilities within [himself]” (Moore 179). People in life overcome lots of adversities and it’s great for those who can but for those who can’t it may be easier to see them as people who struggle to find how they want to be in the world. Some people are determined but some people don’t bother to change the person they shouldn’t

Being that the scholar Wes Moore was bound to be on the better path than the other Wes Moore was a given. The scholar Wes Moore had components in his early life that influenced him to be on the right path. He was able to be see both sides of things and have a sense of direction and create a role model for himself. He was also able to recognize the efforts both his family and his mother has made in the past to help him in the future. There were times where he could have took the wrong path but with his ability to be a loyal and responsible person, he chose to stay on track.

“This is a story of two boys living in Baltimore with similar histories and an identical name: Wes Moore. One of us is free… The other will spend every day until his death behind bars...” (Moore, XI) In The Other Wes Moore, the author, Wes Moore, and the other Wes Moore both grew up in similar, yet different, circumstances and had completely different outcomes. This captivating narrative demonstrates how the choices you make, make you. In the introduction, the author Wes Moore validates this statement by saying, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (Moore XI) The author, Wes Moore, shows the readers that a person’s environment, circumstances, education (or lack

How can two people with the same name, who lived very similar lives turn out so different? The other Wes differs from the narrator because he chose to get involved with drugs and the narrator was taught to make good choices. The narrator and the other Wes are similar because they both lived with their single mother. The narrator and the other Wes were very similar in important ways. In The Other Wes Moore, the narrator Wes and the other Wes Moore have many similarities, but they are also very different.

The parallels in their stories aren't quite as compelling as they may appear initially. For example, the other Wes Moore spends a number of his developmental years living in the Bronx, NY, whereas his namesake never leaves Baltimore and its suburbs. Though Wes Moore is shipped off to military school (after his antisocial behavior in a privileged

The Other Wes Moore The Other Wes Moore is a book about two children with similar lifestyles when they were growing up and the same names, but ending up in different places in their lives. The story is about the other Wes Moore, who was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment and Wes Moore, the author, who faces poverty and has an ambition of receiving proper education (Moore, 2012).

    When the other Wes Moore dropped out of school his life became a complete mess. Ever since Wes dropped out of school all he did was deal and take drugs, play video games and spend time in jail. Wes did not even have his own house, he was living at his aunt Niceys house. According to Wes Moore,“Not surprising, without a high school diploma or job training- and with a criminal record- Wes found it almost impossible to find a job to support his growing family” (Moore 110). Without an education, Wes could not turn his life around and was proving to others he was futile. Wes’s life started to collapse right in front