Is everything in life based off of decisions, morales, or your environment surrounding you? Who's there for you and who isn't? In the book The Other Wes Moore each Wes Moore’s mother affected both Wes’ lives by trying to be role models and not making poor life decisions by teaching them the value of education, not turning to crime and drugs, and making large sacrifices. Both mothers had a huge part to play in the book in all spectrums trying to leave them on the right path through life and turn to wrong of the world. Think about how both of Wes’ moms try to push the value of education. The authors mom Joy, moves to the bronx to seek out a better life for her son Wes. His mother saw education as a big priority, especially since she “saw …show more content…
But as he was there he met a group of racist people who threw slurs and threw rocks at Wes and his friend Dalio. Through the situation Wes “had to let this one go. I had to look at the bigger picture my assailant was unknown, unnamed, and in a car. This was not a fair fight, and the best-case scenario was nowhere near as probable as the worst-case scenario. If i was successful, who knew how the fight would’ve ended? If i failed, who knew how the fight would’ve ended? I thought about my mother and how she would feel if this escalated any further. I thought about my father and the name he chose for me.” (121). Through Wes’ experience, he was able to apply his new morales and how his mother raised him, to stay away from fighting back and getting into a whole heap of trouble. Also the other Wes’ mom Mary, might not have the same style of helping, but she tries to help Wes at all costs even when he got angry at Ray “His mother was outside the door, knocking ferociously, demanding to know what happened. Wes continued to clean his face, as if she wasn’t there.” (105). As this entire situation unfolds, Mary’s hoping Wes didn’t get into any trouble at all because it scares her that Wes might be taking Tony’s path of violence and crime. As well as the final example in The Other Wes Moore, is how both Wes Moore mothers gave up large sacrifices for Wes because they were fatherless growing up. The authors mom Joy, strongly encouraged education, having good morals, and safe
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.
Humans have come to a conclusion that all lives are different, but all go through many hardships and tragedies. The impact from a slight difference can vary to be very vast to very small, such a slight difference, however, can change a person’s life as a whole. In the book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore there is a difference that can be identified between the author’s life and that of the other Wes. This difference, though can be very critical and is ultimately able to lead to a path of triumph or failure for an individual. The lack of involvement a mother has for their child can fundamentally deprive them from succeeding, and parent involvement has the opportunity to
In Wes Moore's book, The Other Wes Moore, he describes both his childhood and the early life of another boy of the same name who grew up near the author in the same Baltimore neighborhood. Moore's book explores the reasons why one boy, the author, succeeded in life while the other Wes Moore was overwhelmed by his struggles and will spend his life in prison. The author Wes Moore addresses different topics for the reader to take from the book.The ideas that are presented by him and should be recognised are the environment the boys grew up in, the motivation they got from family, and the influence from not having a father. The author Wes Moore has always had a supportive family while on the other hand the other Wes Moore had no one besides Tony, who even then was a big factor on why Wes is where he is at today. Their environment plays a big role in both of the boy’s life since they both were around the same things. The only difference is that one had a family who got him out of there to an environment that shaped him up to be the man that he is today and the one that never left will be the one that will never leave prison for the rest of his life.
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
“The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine, the tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (Moore xi) “The Other Wes Moore,” by Wes Moore, focusses on two boys by the name of Wes Moore that were born blocks apart, within the same year, in Baltimore during the 1980’s. Both grew up fatherless in similar neighborhoods; both ran into trouble. But one became a Rhodes Scholar, while the other was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Although he grew up in a rough neighborhood and was around violence and drugs, Wes had the ability to change his life around with the help and support his mother, family, and military school lieutenants were able to give him. Many people influenced Wes, the author, throughout his life, but the person whom I feel influenced him the most was his mother.
In both the book The Other Wes Moore and poem “If,” the theme is expressed through characterization. The authors explain the build up of the characters by showing the expectations and decisions for them. Wes Moore describes how both boys were supported differently during the early stages of life. However, individuals can notice that each child was shaped differently. Moore explained, “I was taught to remember, but never question. Wes was taught to forget and never ask why” (page 1). This shows that both Wes’ did have a childhood in which was built up by their moms. Wes got lucky in having a mother (Joy) who truly cared about his education and future. Because Joy raised Wes to follow the positive route, he did not end up in the same boat as the the other Wes. On the other hand, the other Wes’s family did not care as much about him. Since his mother did not do much to help his
One’s childhood has a lasting impact on their entire life. Moore’s upbringing and the loving family he was born into, no matter how trivial it may seem, greatly contributed to his success. Wes seemingly grew up the same as any other kid in the Bronx – in a single-parent household, surrounded by bad influences… what separated him from the crowd? His support system: his family, and their ultimate support and sacrifices made all the difference. As a teenager, Wes seemed to be going down the wrong path. He constantly skipped school, his academic failures were overwhelming, and he was even arrested for vandalism. In the case of the other Wes, his family simply let these actions slide, and decision after decision ultimately landed him with a life sentence in prison. The author Wes’s mother, however, refused to allow this behavior to continue. As a method of intervention, she forced Moore to attend Valley Forge, and in doing so, probably saved his career. The extent of his family’s sacrifice was evident on page 95 when Wes realized that “my grandparents took the money they had in the home in the Bronx, decades of savings and mortgage payments, and gave it to my mother
Wes Moore, the author of “The Other Wes Moore” had many accomplishments in his life. He however gained notoriety with this book it was a New York Times best seller. In Chapter 7, the main idea is that two people living in the same environment had different outcomes in their lives by making entirely different decisions on how to deal with the adversities they faced in their lives. These decisions led to the lives that they ultimately lived. The tone was intense and high energy to begin with but then seemed to turn neutral in both men’s stories. The purpose is to inform the reader how the same environment can take two people and based on their decisions lead to very different out comes in life. The author takes each man’s thoughts and show how
Wes #1 grew up without his father; his father died near the beginning of the story with a rare disease. Wes #1 did not understand the responsibility that he would have to uphold until he got older because he was only three years old. Wes #1 needed a father figure because he needed a manly structure in his life. Even though Wes already had a loving mother, willing to play both roles as a mother and father, a mother can only do but so much. Young men need fathers/father figures because they help out with the things mothers can not explain. This takes us back to the subject of environment and family, because Wes #1 had a environment that strived off of respect, he had a family that strived off of doing the right thing.
In the reading it talks about the mother's thoughts about his schooling choices in New York. Most people would say if they went through it, it's okay for their kids. However Joy stepped up and knew that the New York public schools were extremely sketchy and unsafe for her son and rather work harder and have her kids go to a private school. His mother also would not let the sadness of their father's death interrupt the time she had them. She would put on a happy face and encourage her kids to take advantage of all the opportunities there are out there. In the reading it shows Wes Moore’s realization of the amount of effort his mother put in to make the family happy,“But no matter how much the world around us seemed ready to crumble, my mother was determined to see us though it.(47)”
In The Other Wes Moore, the readers can consider that two boys had the same backgrounds and situations, and wonder what caused their lives to end up so differently. This is how culture legacy affect to people’s success. In this case, the mothers are who influenced the boys and their future. Mary, other Wes’s mother, did not face her son’s problems and provide him the guidance. After skipping school and partying, other Wes come home drunk and intoxicated. Mary though that was entertaining and made fun at him. “Mary laughed, watching him squirm. ‘Well, at least now you know how bad it feels and you will stay away from drinking,’ she said” (Moore 62). Instead of punishments or even just a conversation about his drinking problem, Mary brushed off the situation. Because she think it was not a big problem. This
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
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.