Interview Essay: What Makes A Difference In Wes Moore's Life

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 road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream,” Tommy Hilfiger said. (Brainyquote) Throughout American history, certain individuals had to endured obstacles that led them to become the person they are known for today. Some of these people rise from poverty to become important individual in society while others had to free themselves from society. Each of these people had their own problem, which they need to overcome. Some of these problems were lack of money for education, not having freedom to do certain things, and not having the opportunity to have an education. Although these problems persist in these individuals’ lives, these problem didn’t get in the way of them from becoming the person they want to be.

While Wes Moore (author) was preparing for Oxford and having his story illuminated in the Baltimore Sun, the other Wes Moore was arrested for robbery, along with his brother, and was charged with murder; they would most likely receive the death penalty. Because Wes (author) couldn’t shake the story and a feeling of connection with the other Wes Moore, he wrote a letter to him. The imprisoned Wes Moore wrote back, and so began a correspondence. While spending time with Wes, the author discovered that “ generation of young men, boys who came of age during a historically chaotic and violent time and emerged to succeed and fail in unprecedented ways”

They were born just a few blocks apart within a year of each other. They both grew up in poor Baltimore neighborhoods with no father figure to look up to. The two of them had interest in the drug game and loving mothers who tried to intervene. If not for the successful Wes’s mom sending Wes to military school, his story could have been much like the other Wes Moore’s. While he was there he was away from the temptation of making money by selling drugs. He was surrounded by men in uniform who expected perfection from him. For the other Wes, the drug became his life. His mother and brother, Tony, had tried to stop Wes at first but eventually gave up. If Wes had lived away from the violence and drugs like the scholar, he could have stayed away from

In the story “The Other Wes Moore” Wes found himself in many bad situations.His mother was not the ideal role model for a young teenage boy.She did many things that made impressions on the way her child turned out, such as partying and having illegal drugs inside of the home.Overall, Wes is the only person who is responsible for his actions and the consequences that come with them.

Many American children grow up in horrible social and cultural living environments. These living conditions not only affect the child's upbringing, but also affects the choices they make once they reach adulthood. Yet so many people disbelieve that your social environment affects your life decisions and choices you make. This stems from the thought that you can be or do anything as long as you work hard enough. This concept is known as “the American Dream”. Though many Americans have started off at the lower rungs of society and have worked their way to the top, there are still many who make every effort for a better life, but are marginalized because of their position in society. They are not granted access to the resources

Wes is a middle sized kid that was raised with one rule, send a message. In the streets he picked up that it is important for people to respect you. Wes tries to make good decisions but he can easily be overtaken with the want of money and thus the reason he decides to sell drugs. His philosophy, send a message also has gotten him in lots of trouble. In a blind rage he ran after a kid with a knife and got put on a cop car. He also ran around the neighborhood chasing Ray with a gun because he beat him up. As you can tell his other weakness is anger.

One name. Two fates. One would grow to be convicted of the murder of an innocent man, and the other would work in the White House for many years. How did these two men, who grew up in such similar situations, turn out to be so different? While both Wes Moores had similar attitudes towards their life as a child, and grew up in almost equivalent environments, they had more differences built into them than you would think.

Family had a major influence on the lives of both the author Wes Moore and prisoner Wes Moore. Author Wes Moore’s family kept him from getting into too much trouble. In fact, they intervened at a pivotal point in young Wes’s life and sent him to a military academy to set him straight. At one point, young Wes considered that “I knew my mother was considering sending me away, but I never thought she’d actually do it.” (Moore 87) But she did, “Welcome to military school.” (Moore 89). This was the best decision his family could have made. However, prisoner Wes’s main family influence - a hypocritical older brother involved heavily in the local drug world –pushed prisoner Wes further into a life of crime. Even though his mother tried, she

Two people born with the same name in the same neighborhood ending up with totality different fates. They both lived difficult lives but the author Wes Moore ended up being a successful businessman while the other Wes Moore is serving a life sentence in jail. Both boys were born in Baltimore coming from low income families and growing up without a father. They both dealt with drugs and lived in violent neighborhoods but their decisions and actions is what lead them to have totality different fates. Wes Moore made more conscious decisions by staying out of drugs and not jeopardizing his future. While the other Wes Moore choose the drug life and got into a lot of trouble with the police. The outcome of their life today is affected by the decisions

Many are familiar with the “story-truth” of the American Dream. There is a wealth of stories in regards to individuals who persevere through adversity and achieve staggering feats, working to make their American Dream a reality. However, The “happening-truth” of the American Dream is more dim, filled with stories of failure. Even through hard work, many Americans are barely able to sustain themselves, let alone consider following a dream. The United States has a strikingly high poverty rate for being a wealthy country- more than 10% of Americans are living in poverty. The American Dream is just not practical for many, obstructions, predetermined from birth, such as location, socioeconomic status, and race, are pivotal factors in attaining the

The American Dream is an idea that needs no introduction: it has been embedded into our minds since elementary school by our history textbooks, teachers, and parents. It’s an unwritten rule for many adults – keep the American Dream alive in our next generation. And why shouldn’t we? With all of the countless rags to riches stories bred through our county’s proud history, the American Dream becomes self-evident. America truly is the land of opportunity; so why are most of our poverty stricken citizens stuck at the bottom? Has the dream become a mere fantasy for the poor? One may say that it is possible for almost all poor Americans to climb the social hierarchy, but they unwilling to put in the effort necessary. While I do concede that it may be possible to climb the social ladder, I’d argue that the negative affect poverty has on work and mental health rig the system so that the opportunity simply does not exist for the poor.

The statement ‘without good parents, a child cannot achieve the American Dream’ has arose, a statement with which many agree with. This statement, however, is not true. Defining the American Dream reminds us of the influential message our political leaders send out when in crisis, “reminding Americans of their can-do spirit, that individuals have the power to bring about change”. One’s ability to achieve the coveted American Dream has nothing to do with a person’s upbring, but rather has everything to do with their attitude and their ability to work hard. Whether you raised in a broken home or raised with the perfect suburban family the fact still remains that your upbringing does not define you nor your abilities. You do.

2. One of the biggest lies of our time is The American Dream; the theory that states: if you work hard, you will be successful. This simply is not true; people who come from higher-income families are predisposed to become successful, while those who come from lower-income families are set up to be unsuccessful. While it is fair that an indolent person may not be successful, I do not think that it is fair that their children must face barriers that impeded their ability to achieve success. Consistently, we are told that the key to success is hard-work, however, the facts are clear: there are un-just barrier that stands in the way of the children of low-income families, that disallow them from achieving success, no matter how hard they work,

The American Dream is an idea that needs no introduction: it has been embedded into our minds since elementary school by our history textbooks, teachers, and parents. It’s an unwritten rule for many adults – keep the American Dream alive in our next generation. And why shouldn’t we? Our country’s proud history is stuffed with so many rags to riches stories that the American Dream becomes self-evident. America truly is the land of opportunity, so why are many of our poverty stricken citizens stuck at the bottom? Has the dream become a mere fantasy for the poor? One may say that it is possible for most Americans to climb the social hierarchy, but many are unwilling to do what is necessary. While I do concede that it may be possible to climb the social ladder, I’d argue that the negative affect poverty has on job opportunities and mental health rig the system so that the opportunity simply does not exist for the poor.