Michael Moore Discussion Questions

In the novel The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates it tells the story of two boys with the same name but two very different mindsets in life. “Life and death, freedom and bondage, hang in the balance of every action we take” (xiv). Wes Moore (1), the author, has had many things that impacted to his mindset that led to good and evil choices thought-out his life. Wes Moore (2) had made decisions that set a wrong mindset that would leave him in one place for the rest of his life. The mindsets of Wes Moore (1) and Wes (2) impacted their chances with the law, their choices with education and their opportunities with employment.

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.

In the book The Other Wes Moore, it has two different guys with the same name but different lives. Wes one, had a good family to take care of him. Wes two, wasn’t so fortunate, his family didn’t really care about him. I’ve never been in a situation like this but if you grow up like this on the streets and you want off bad enough you will do whatever it takes. You make your own life no one else.

The Other Wes Moore by the author Wes Moore is about two men who grew up in the same place, they are around the same age, and almost had the same issues. But the question that everyone wants an answer to is how one became a scholar, veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the other ended up a convicted murder serving a life sentence? The book’s life lessons on fate and making the right decisions will really make you think about your own life and how your environment or expectations may shape you. Both Wes Moores portray how your neighborhood has the ability to shape you as a person. The book shows how people are products of their environment but you can still overcome being a product, how your environment affects

In the film, Michael Moore displays how easy it is to obtain a gun in current times with the example of the North County Bank. This Michigan Bank was offering a gun to the customer when they opened and account with them. Moore himself went to the bank and tried to open an account. One of the associates in the bank told Moore that they had a selection of more than 500 guns to choose from and, after a simple application and background check, the selected gun would be handed to him. Moore followed the procedure and he himself was able to walk out of the bank with the gun that same day he opened the account.

Choices, whether small or large, play an important factor in the paths people take in life. In The Other Wes Moore, there are two men with the same name who turn out very differently; today, one is an accomplished scholar and decorated veteran, while the other is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in prison. But they grew up in very similar circumstances; both grew up fatherless in heavily drug influenced neighborhoods and often ran into trouble with the police. In the search of finding what led him and the other man down such different paths, Wes Moore finds and shows in The Other Wes Moore that it is the choices a person makes that determines their fate in life.

According to Marian Erickson, “Most of life is choices, and the rest is pure dumb luck.” Real people’s lives depend on this quote everyday, which leads to the outcome of each problem individuals face. In the passages, characterization of the main personas helps one understand the theme. Conflict and symbolism also help lead to the overall idea that life is not always guaranteed to be full of success. The book The Other Wes Moore, the poem “If,” and the informational text “The Art of Resilience” all share a common theme of how choices and luck contribute to the success of life.

The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore (2011), tells the story of two children who grew up in the same neighborhood with the same first and last names. It was not just the neighborhood in which they grew or their names that were the same, however. The two boys engaged in the same activities growing up, being active participants in a difficult neighborhood, engaging in gang activity, and getting into trouble with the police (Moore, 2011). In spite of these similarities in their early life, Wes Moore, the author, had a remarkably different life than the second Wes Moore; in addition to being an author, he has been a Rhodes scholar and is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BridgeEdU a social organization dedicated to increasing the ease through which a high school student can transition to the higher education process (Moore, 2011). Moore’s (2011) case is one that has intrigued many in the field of criminology, in part due to the myriad theories on criminal behavior and the disparities present between the situations of the two boys (Schram, & Tibbetts, 2018). Among the different crinimiological theories or perspectives that are the most in alignment with the situation described in Moore’s (2011) book are those of social learning theory and differential association theory (Schram, & Tibbetts, 2018).

When a student is in school, the options for what the student can do in their free time can impact them for the rest of their life. The choices to partake in an extracurricular activity, such as a sport could benefit one in many ways. They can create core values inside a person which then impacts other aspects of their life as well. Sports are able to give one a standard for the way their life should be spent. The ways a sport could influence a person are seen in The Other Wes Moore, giving both sides of the spectrum.

Since the beginning of time, the environment in which one is accustomed to provides them with the choices that lead down paths that make their legacy. This environment can be negative or positive, structured or chaotic, rich or poor, all which give a variety of choices. Regardless of the different trials and tribulations we face ultimately, it is the choices we make in response that make us the person we become.

Today, everybody is seeking success. Success comes from different factors. Some of those factors are individual which can be decided by people, such as dedicating ten thousand hours of practice or having a growth mindset. But some of those factors cannot be controlled. Those factors cannot be decided by the people, or predicted by them in anyway. The Other Wes Moore is a story about two boys with similar backgrounds and similar situations, growing up in similar neighborhoods. .Wes Moore offers his readers a clear insights into how success can be affected by both individual and uncontrollable factors such as culture legacy, growth, fixed mindset, and meaning of life.

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Franken was also able to downplay the usefulness of a firearm by including a series of sarcastic tips for tragedy in a home. For example, “1. Keep the gun loaded… 2. Put the gun in an unlocked drawer... 3. Rest assured.”1 Where Franken’s article comes up short is the use of hypothetical numbers to exaggerate and intensify the deadliness of guns. His sarcasm adds diversity to his piece, but should be used sparingly. Franken’s conclusion causes his argument to lose its effectiveness, after building his case it just seems ridiculous and out of place.

Michael Moore’s flawed 2002 expository documentary Bowling for Columbine is ineffective in its goals to open Americas eyes to its very serious gun violence problem. Michael Moore sets out to uncover why the United States can’t seem to end its devastating and reoccurring mass shootings, by using deception as its primary tool of persuasion and effect, Moore attempts to vilify pro-gun activists. The humorous documentary frequently highpoints controversial decisions and actions made by the then President of the National Rifle Association Charlton Heston. Bowling also raises issues such as the ease of buying pointless high powered assault weapons just about anywhere, and American media’s film first ask later attitude towards gun crimes and social and racial issues. Americans are left even more paranoid and hostile than ever before, something the documentary should have set out to end.

Michael Moore went around the entire country interviewing people whose lives were severely affected by guns. Moore managed to interview 2 students who were at the shooting at Columbine and carry out drastic procedures, such as, purchasing all the ammunition from K-Mart just so they can stop selling them and interviewed them on how bad guns are. I believe Moore focused on the more interesting interviews which is why I feel that they are biased. Again, he had the choice to include interviews from both sides of the argument but chose to inform his audience of only the one side: his own. Due to the fact that he focused on negative comments towards the guns, there always the possibility that Moore edited sections of the interview that may have good sentences about guns. For example, someone could have said how guns can be misused and mistreated which is why we shouldn’t have one in every house, but may have also commented that a gun can symbolise