There are two men who were born and raised within the same year of each other and grew up a few blocks apart. They both dabbled in drugs, police arrestings and neither had father figures as young children. However, Author Wes went on to do big things, great things that helped our community while the Other Wes did big things that landed him in jail. The fact that both of them have the same name and grew up near each other means that either one could have the others life if certain life choices had been or had not been made. The other Wes Moore has similarities and differences that are shown through the lives of two men. The environment, life choices and fate all contributed to the end results of the two men and if the men had different choices …show more content…
To be considered cool or with the times, you had to deal drugs or do drugs. For example, when the Other Wes saw a group of boyimmediately saw the headphones. He liked the way they looked and wanted them, he wasn’t thinking about the drugs. For example, Wes’s older brother Tony. To Wes he was a big role model because “Tony was a certified Gangsta.” He had a reputation that Wes at the time thought was respect, not fear. If Wes had grew up in a neighborhood where fear and respect were not the same thing, where he did not have to worry about territories he could have had a different outlook on life. The life choices also made and impact on the lives of the boys and transferred into their adulthood. Author Wes was sent to military school. Instead of continually fighting back and getting kicked out, he decided to buckle down and be a better person. Thus when an opportunity came, where he was racially profiled, instead of being the kid who fought back and caused more harm, he reported and was rewarded. “Should I have stayed there……the answer was no.” “Id only …….got into its deepest, darkest waters.” The old Wes would have fought and probably would have been disciplined …show more content…
The Other Wes also followed the wrong role model, he followed instead of listening to his conscious that said this is wrong. He followed so much that the little voice stopped suggesting and just told him when trouble was coming. Author Wes had a slight temper, and was a strong boy, so he should have stopped hitting his sister, even if he was only playing around, he was bigger he should have known that if he kept at it, she was going to get hurt. Because of that his fate was to be sent off, but he decided to change and adjust to his environment and learn from his past mistakes to make a better future. The fates came at the end, saying since you did all this, the outcome is a sum of what you have done. The purpose of the story is to compare fate to how one grows up. The mixture of the environment, the choices made in that environment come together and create the fate of the person. A bad environment plus bad choices can equal jail time. However, a bad environment plus good choices can lead to a
The author reveals that he hung out with the wrong people which afforded him to be arrested by the police due to vandalism. Because of this incident, the author Wes was sent to Valley Forge, a military school in Philadelphia. The author claims that the author Wes had a difficult time at first and had tried to escape the school several times; but when he discovered that his mother and his grandparents sacrificed a lot just to send him there, he decided to stay and eventually became a platoon leader. However, Moore states that the other Wes got involved with the use and distribution of drugs, like his brother Tony. The author mentions that the other Wes got his girlfriend pregnant and adds that the news of early fatherhood made him frustrated. Moore states that the other Wes stopped attending school and expanded his drug selling business. The author states that the other Wes was arrested for selling drugs to a police
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.
Tony felt his little brother's life could be saved, even if he felt his own had already, at age fourteen, passed the point of no return." (Moore 27). On the other hand, Wes Moore has no such close relation or relationship dragging him down.
The other Wes moore born and raised in West Baltimore,Without a father and his only male role model,a brother in the dope game(Tony), and a weak minded mother(Mary). There wasn't much guidance in this young mans life. Absence of a father can sometime Damage a boy's life,not knowing whether or not it's your fault he left,not knowing if he’s coming back or not, even more so if he wants to be apart of your life. In his father's absence ,he resorted to something he always known would be
Parenting played a big role in shaping the two boys lives. Having a parental mentor is important because they assist and guide children to take the right decisions about their lives. The author had his two parents at the beginning of his life. Also, the author’s parents, especially his mother, tried to raise him in an effective way wanting him to know the right from wrong at an early age. “No mommy loves you, like I love you, she just wants you to do the right thing” (Moore 11). This quote was a live example of the author’s life with his parents. It reflected the different ways his parents used to teach him “the right thing.” Though his mother was upset from his action toward his sister, his father
-Captain Hill,as an mentor, had a huge impact on the author Wes because now he thinks about who he wants to becomes. Captain Hill also helped the author Wes to determine his goal of career. Furthermore, Mayor Schmoke is instructed the author Wes the real meaning of life. Family and friends gave the author Wes healthy guidance. The author Wes's father also comfort him, " Main Man, you just can't hit people, and particularly women. You must defend them, not fight them" (11). When the author Wes punch Nikki and his mom yell in range to go to his room. However, the other Wes' older brother,Tony, as a role model, gave him violent advice, " Rule number 1: If someone disrespect you, you send a message so fierce that they won't have the chance to do it again" (33). Tony taught the other Wes violent defense in
The second part of The other wes moore , chapter five starts out with author wes splitting his sister’s lip by accident, Wes knew his mother would not see it that way. Not knowing what to do he waited for his mother to start screaming at him, and was surprised when she slapped him across the face instead, and then again. Joy left the room and made the decision to send Wes to military school. When he found out about it he knew his life was going to change dramatically. The other Wes and three other men broke into a jewelry store and ordered everyone to get down. One of the people in the store was Sergeant Bruce Prothero, a veteran of the Baltimore City police department who worked as a security guard at the jewelry store to help support his
The reasoning as to why I believe the other Wes Moore could have went down a path to success is if the other Wes Moore had the same family support as the author Wes Moore and if his brother who had a big influence on Wes, was not involved in the drug game. While both Wes Moore’s are both fatherless, the author Wes Moore was a lot luckier than the other Wes Moore, because he had his grandparents to help raise him. With the support of his grandparents, Wes had someone to look after him and also help steer him in the right direction if needed. His grandparents gave Wes and his sisters a set of rules and chores to do every single day. Compared to the other Wes Moore, he did not have any sort of discipline or rules to go by in his house due to the fact his mother and brother were never really at home. Furthermore, with the other Wes Moore, he only had his mother and his brother Tony, who both were not a good influence on him at all. The other Wes Moore looked up to his brother and wanted to be exactly like Tony. For example, when Wes got into a small
Moore was a troubled kid, getting into fights, getting in trouble for graffiti, running away was sent to many different schools. He was the poor kid in a sea of rich kids (so he didn’t fit in). But he was given the opportunity to change when he was forced to go to a Military boarding school. He eventually decided that he wanted to be apart of something bigger than himself and this was it. He knew he wanted to change. When deciding how he could change he thought, “Aside from my family and friends, the men I trusted most all had something in common: they all wore the uniform of the United States of America,” (Moore pg. 132). He decided he wanted to become a Lieutenant and be someone other people could look up to. This was a major moment in Moore’s life. But Wes, on the other hand, experienced the same bad childhood and never got out of the “bad”. He never had a defining failure where he said ‘this is when I change’. He got onto a path and started making patterns with his decisions and never made the right one to get him to where he needed to be, unlike the other Wes.
Wes #1 more than just a soon to be author but a person that can be learned from and someone to make you believe in a bigger future.
being a wimp, but he disagreed. One day he had gotten punched, and got right back up and
In conclusion, both Wes Moore’s had critical moments and different standpoints throughout the entirety of their lives. Though they both had individual accountabilities it was the choices that they individually made that ultimately determined there fates. “Wes and I stared at each other for a moment, surrounded by the evidence that some kids were forced to become adults prematurely. These incarnated men, before they’d even reached a point of basic maturity, had flagrantly-and tragically-squandered the few opportunities they’d
Wes 2 remembered that his mother liked to go out dancing and partying with her friends at clubs. She showed herself to be a bad role model several times. One thing she did was going from one abusive relationship to the next. By the end of the book she had three children with three different fathers. She even had her last boyfriend, who was married to another woman, practically living with her and her sons. She would say with her words that she was against using drugs, however, when Wes 2 found the marijuana in her pocket he found out the truth. He also found himself trying to emulate and prove himself to his older brother, Tony, who was also a walking contradiction. Not only did Tony deal with drugs, he dropped out of school, and taught Wes to solve problems with physical force. His words were of encouragement for a better future for his brother, but his actions proved that he didn’t believe better was possible. The author writes “Wes didn't think Tony was a hypocrite exactly--he knew why his brother felt obliged to warn him off. But it was clear that Tony didn't have any better ideas or he would've made those moves himself” (Moore page 71). Wes 2 was learning through what he saw being lived out through his mother and
During the two Wes Moore’s teenage years, they had run ins with people that turned violent. Part of how they reacted to these situations are attributed to what their peers are doing and where they live but how they overcome, or fail to overcome these obstacles helped put each of them where they are today. When Wes had a run in with Ray for sleeping with Ray’s cousin, Ray put a pretty big beating on him, but it was how Wes chose to react that put a nail in his coffin.
The topic for this is hard life have to go through. Thesis statement, including the titles of the 3 texts; The lost boys, Mother to son and Freedom Riders.