Cons And Wes Compare And Contrast

In the mid 1990 to 1995 gangs and public violence has increased dramatically due to high school dropouts and stressful situations in teenagers lives. In The Other Wes Moore, both Wes Moores are influenced into gangs at a young age. One wes was awed by gold headphones, which led him to join a gang of cocaine. The other Wes was jealous of his friend who had designer clothes and shoes, on the other hand Wes could not afford clothes and shoes like his friend. In the

As a direct result of his years at the military school, Wes graduated high school on time and continued his education. On the other hand, “Other” Wes did not graduate from high school. Rather than attempt to turn his life around, “Other” Wes turned to a life of pushing drugs and committing crimes, a lifestyle that would later result in long prison sentences for him. This is a result of him not receiving any effective disciplinary action from his mother or any other important role models in his life because rather than try to live his life according to any standard set for him early in life, he disregarded the law and those around him. Author Wes’s self-discipline, family discipline, and military discipline all resulted in him having a prosperous life starting immediately after he graduated. He eventually attended college and interned at the Baltimore city's mayor's office. While the “other” Wes had no discipline in his life which led it to spiral out of control. After trying getting back into selling drugs, “other Wes” committed a robbery with his brother Tony which went from bad to worse when it resulted in the death of a policeman who had taken up a second job as a security guard at the jewelry store Wes

The Wes Moore, didn’t have much of a father figure growing up, or anyone to influence him. He might have had his mom, and his grandparents to help him through the military school experience, but he still didn’t have a role model. For the other Wes Moore, his role model was his brother. The other Wes Moore’s brother Tony, was a drug dealer, and not the right person to help influence his life. Tony did care about his brother, and tried to help him succeed, but the other Wes didn’t have a father figure either, and saw Tony as a “dad.”

In the book, The Other Wes Moore, readers are introduced to two naive boys who share the same name and live an almost identical life at the beginning of their childhood. Author Wes Moore tells readers a chilling story about how he and “Other Wes” were raised in neighboring Baltimore neighborhoods and grew up living an almost identical life. The story is based on how the two men face many obstacles throughout their life that essentially depict their own futures. As the boys become more familiar with the idea of violence and drug related activity, the proposal of living the same life suddenly becomes extinct. The two Wes Moore’s eventually end up living two completely different ways of life and it can be argued how they ended up the way they did. The idea of environment, education, and even expectations are all themes readers are presented with in the story. Although all of these factors play a vital role in the development of Wes themselves, their environment is essentially what had the greatest impact on their futures and is what set the tone for the rest of their lives.

"I was taught to remember, but never question. Wes was taught to forget and never ask why" (4). Although both characters are taught to not question, the main difference that sets them apart is that the narrator Wes learns to remember. By remembering his childhood through his memories of the past, Wes does not repeat the mistakes he made and carry the lessons he learned through his adult life. The other Wes, on the other hand, forgets all the negative outcomes that originate from his actions. Because he forgets his mistakes and the lesson he learned as a child, he is not able to change his lifestyle. Thus, Wes is on a constant cycle of violence and incarceration, because he doesn't stop repeating what's bad for him. His negative role model and lack of supervision also contributed to his lack of positive

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

“Too many people have sacrificed in order for you to be there” (Moore95) Moore did not grasp regarding those phase that his mother and his grandparents sacrifice for him to go to military school. Due to his mom’s fast thinking and dedication to his success, Wes was saved from becoming involved with drugs on the streets of his neighborhood. Other Wes Moore had no significant positive role models in his life. His one brother that he looked up to for guidance, was a drug dealing hood rat himself that had no time for his little brother Wes. His mother was the only positive role model he had left to look up to, and she was too busy working to keep the family afloat financially.

These school were poorly funded and were ill-equipped to teach the students. Because of this, Many students ended up dropping out to make money for their family or themselves. This lead Wes toward his career in the drug trade. “He knew what game this was, the same game that had consumed Tony and put a bullet or two in him. The same game that Tony continually urged Wes to stay out of…. His disenchantment with school was beginning to wear on him. All he really wanted to do was either play football professionally or become a rapper. If he could earn some cash in the meantime” (58). This was a huge turning point in Wes Moore’s life. This part in the story is when Wes got into the drug trade and ultimately quit school. He made the choice to stop going to school because he wanted to get some money, he took the easy route. That was his choice, even though his mom and his brother tried to keep him in school, he ultimately is his own persona and makes his own choices.

“The Other Wes Moore” is a story that follows two boys with the exact same name who start off living very similar lives in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the boys live on to be an extremely successful man and the other one is living the rest of his life behind bars. The two men wondered how their strikingly similar path diverged into two completely different fates and then an argument formed. Are people products of their choices or their environment and expectations thrown upon them? The book proves that people are products of their choices. Both Wes Moores were raised by a single mom in the tough streets of Baltimore and they both were rebellious children who got arrested at a young age. Their similarities lessened as their choices and their mom’s choices contrasted. The more fortunate Wes was sent to Military school and he chose to make the most of it and become the best version of himself. His determination and hard work trumped his previous hooligan mindset, therefore his future was bright and fulfilling. The other Wes chose to follow his brother,

When most people hear the name Wes Moore, they think of the Wes Moore that is a decorated veteran and author, but when Wes Moore hears his name, he thinks about not himself, but the Wes Moore serving life in prison for first-degree felony murder. They both grew up in similar settings and both had trouble with the police, but there lives are the complete opposite now. Most people wonder how that could happen. Each Wes ended up on totally different paths as evidenced by actions and events that took place in each of their lives. Throughout the following paragraphs, how each Wes’s life slowly became different will become clear.

Throughout Wes’ life, his mother did everything in her power to give her children a better life, one where they could succeed. After moving to the Bronx, his mother worked multiple jobs to give him the opportunity to go to a good private school. “My mother saw Riverdale as a heaven, a place where I could escape my neighborhood. But for me, it was were I got lost. (48). Attending Riverdale made him feel excluded and changed his attitude towards school. He soon began not attending school on a regular basis and getting into trouble. After being on academic probation, his mother sent him to military school. By the fourth day at military school, he had tried to run away

Despite all of his wrong-doings, the other Wes did do some good things. After being “disgusted”(138) by the life around him, Wes decided to get out and “visit his friend, Levy”(138). In discussion the topic of Job Corps came up. This interested Wes, and so he decided he’d go straight. He’d leave his life’s difficulties behind to “attend Job Corps”(141). First Wes had to study for the GED test. Luckily for Wes, “he’d receive his GED within a month”(142). Later, Wes’s interest in carpentry inspired him to “build a house for his daughter”(143). It was believed, while working on the project, the “months had been the most important and enjoyable in Wes’s life”(143). Completing his goals of obtaining his GED and building a house for his daughter caused Wes to feel better about his life. He “learned skills, gained confidence, and finally felt like his life could go in a different direction”(144). Soon, Wes would “graduate from Job Corps”(144) and go on to do his own thing. All his accomplishments got Wes Moore in the right mind and helped him provide for his

    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

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

The author of the book The Other Wes Moore and the other Wes Moore each encountered many struggles in their lives. Many times both boys were given opportunities from their mothers to change their ways, however what sealed their fate was when one boy had the ability to take his opportunity and work with it and the other did not which affected who they grew up to be. The author, like any young black boy, longed to fit in and assimilated into the stereotypes that the white people created for them. He longed to become the tough gangster, who ruled the neighborhood. Wes took his street life seriously and soon brought it into his mother's home and hit his sister. This was one of the many bumps in Wes’s long journey ahead of him. Wes begun to be out of school more than he was in it which lead him to hit rock bottom when he was almost arrested from vandalization. He knew that something would have to change and his mother agreed; she decided to give Wes the opportunity to change his life by shipping him away to military school. At first Wes resented being in this new institution and wanted nothing to do with it. Once he was able to contact his mother and learn of the sacrifices that were made, his mother took upon a new job and his grandmother and grandfather gave him their life savings, for the sake of his well being and education, Wes knew he had to make them proud.