Overview Of The Other Wes Moore

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 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.

    One central difference to think about when looking at the two individuals is the fact that Wes has a more supporting mother than Wes (2), in a person’s life a mother is so important and can be looked as a blessing. A mother is the one that supposed to be the person that takes great care of you and guides you,  and to teach what’s right from wrong. The author’s mother was much more supportive for her son, Wes acknowledges, “Every time I looked  around at the buildings and the trees and the view of the river, I was reminded of the sacrifices my mother was making to keep me there.” (Moore 52). Due to this quote, we can conclude that Wes’s mother, although struggling at the time, found a way to put her child in the best possible route in education. Wes presents it as kind of an understatement, however, from his mother doing this, it affects his life so much. By being put in a excellent school, it offers many more opportunities than that of the other Wes and he can gather a lot more help/exposure to guide him toward a bright future. On the other hand, we have Wes (2) that is lost and seems as if he just can’t find his way, “Young boys are more likely to believe in themselves if they know that there’s someone, somewhere, who shares that belief. To carry the

In today’s society, the variation of social, cultural, political, and economic life mirrors our Founding Fathers dreams. Since then, America has learned to adjust and accept every citizen's differences with the help of The Bill of Rights, US Constitution, Northwest Ordinance, and the Declaration of Independence. As these documents represent the development of America then, books like the Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore reflect the variations of social, cultural, political, and economic life today. Over time, the definition of being an American has evolved and molded with society to make what the United States citizens know now.

The author Wes had and accomplished goals. Specific achievements he’s made include, military school, getting acknowledged for his basketball talent, and receiving the Rhodes Scholarship. It all started when his mom decided to put him in military school. It took time for Wes to accept the military ways. Later the acceptance would cause him to actually “enjoy the school”(130). He’d work his way up from plebe to “paratrooper”(130). Wes was “one of the youngest officers in the entire United States Military”(134). It was a huge, story worthy experience for Wes. His high school sports career was astonishing too, enough for “The New York Times to run a two-page article”(130) about it. Eventually, the publication of his well-doing, “attracted colleges”(130) and gave him a chance to play with “NBA members, like Kobe Bryant”(130).

Personal responsibility in each individual 's lives is seen to make all the difference in their "final destinies" as indicated by the book (Moore & Smiley, 2010). The "other Wes Moore" makes the conscious decision of using crime in achieving his end. All the personal decisions he makes as he grows into adulthood, are based on the values he adopts along the way according to Moore and Smiley (2010), reinforcing the need to instill the correct values and attitudes in their lives at early stages of their lives. After making "four attempts to escape from the military school within a period of five days", the "lucky" Wes Moore decides to stay, focusing on performing in his study at the school (Moore & Smiley, 2010). The decision lays the foundation for success in all future endeavors as he learns to accomplish his goals with each challenge (Sragow, 2010). The change of attitude towards his situation in juxtaposition with the "other Wes Moore 's" reaction to

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.

Many factors come into play when we assess the lives of both Wes Moores introduced in the short novel The Other Wes Moore some of these factors are the expectations that shaped each man’s life. “The expectations that others place on us help us form our expectations of ourselves” (Moore126) some people are able to help encourage free minded individuals that are able to discover for themselves how to better judge their actions in society for a more positive outcome. Expectations from others have a strong impact on the choices an individual makes, and both Wes Moore’s choices were strongly influenced by the expectations of their role models and mentors. Although, both Wes Moores lived in the ghettos of the east coast and encountered bad influences

“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

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.

The differences that landed these two on opposite ends of the world were personal choices. Wes Moore decided to straighten up and do what not only his family wanted for him,but what he wanted for himself. Living in poverty was not easy for him but he made efforts to make the best out of his situation and make a change which ultimately bettered his life. The imprisoned Wes Moore got stuck in the selling drugs because he felt as though that was the only way for him to make fast money. Where he lived made it even more accessible for him to be involved in bad activities. There was a time when Wes wanted better for himself and went into a program called Job corps which placed him in a job for the time being. Not so long after Wes decided to go back to selling drugs and feeding into temptations that was presented to him.

“There was one other thing that helped us bond quickly: he was one of the few other black kids at my new school” (47). This sentence from Wes Moore’s The Other Wes Moore struck me as odd. Wes thought that the color of their skin made them more compatible. This is not the case in most scenarios. Another quote from the book, “The ring was not exactly flashy, but the shine coming off it told a story: the kid had some money” (57). In most cases, our treatment of others is driven only by what we see at first glance.

After being there for some time, Wes began to go off on a rough route when he began graffitiing around town which lead to his time at Vally Forge Military School. If it wasn’t for his mom moving them to the Bronx, he may of made better decisions rather than graffitiing on walls, although this did lead him to the right path when she decided to send him to military school. “Children who have good self-control early in life are more likely to grow into healthy, financially secure, and trouble free adults than those with poor self-discipline”, (Business Insider, Gillett). This is where the two Wes’s are divided, the author having good self-control and the other Wes lacking that self-control. This is showed in the novel when the other Wes Moore becomes angry and decides to “send a message”, while the author learns after his first mistakes.

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

Throughout “The other Wes Moore”, The Wes’ were faced with surprisingly similar situations that were handled in very different ways. These situations were key turning points in each of their lives and shaped them into who they are. Even though each Wes had hardships in their environment and faced many trials and tribulations, ultimately, their choices during these times are what produced each Wes. Because of their series of different choices that each Wes Moore made during their lifetime and the outcome of their choices, we are not just products of our environments, but also products of the choices we make.