New York 's Bestseller The Other Wes Moore Essay

The author Wes Moore’s father dies at a young age and his mother Joy does her best to keep her son out of trouble. She works multiple jobs to send him to a nice private school once they move to

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

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.

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

The difference lye within their characteristics; the author Wes’s mother was a strong, independent, educated woman that served her family relentlessly. “My mother slept in the living room to stand guard, she said. She didn’t want me and my sisters to be the first people a trespasser ran into if they entered the house. She was determined to protect us (Moore36).” Later she realized she was losing her grip and needed the assistance only her parents could provide, and they did.

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors like family, expectations, perseverance, and motivation impact the way a person turns out to be. In the novel, The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore, the author speaks about another man with the same name that grew up in the same area and compares how they went in different paths based upon intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Many people would say we are all just products of our environment. For two young boys from Baltimore, this could not be truer. In “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” written by Wes Moore, two fatherless, young boys growing up in the same neighborhood with the same name, end up on two entirely different paths of life. The author becomes a Rhodes Scholar, college graduate, veteran, and much more, while the “other” Wes gets deeply involved with the drug game and spends most of his life in trouble with the law. When these boys come from such similar backgrounds, how is it that they take such different journeys in life? The reason why one Wes Moore became mixed up with drugs and the law, and

In the book, The Other Wes Moore it is difficult to believe the great similarities in the lives of the two Moores, who share a name and other aspects of life. The two were raised fatherless and were born in the late 1970’s in the neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. They also happen to have encountered similar experiences when growing up, but at one point one of them became a criminal and the other a scholar (the author of the book). The author of the book seems to be interested in the similarities of the two boys as opposed to their different experiences. The story is interesting and makes one imagine what would have become of the writer if he did not by any chance come across the people who guided him to become what

“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

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

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)”

“This is a story of two boys living in Baltimore with similar histories and an identical name: Wes Moore. One of us is free… The other will spend every day until his death behind bars...” (Moore, XI) In The Other Wes Moore, the author, Wes Moore, and the other Wes Moore both grew up in similar, yet different, circumstances and had completely different outcomes. This captivating narrative demonstrates how the choices you make, make you. In the introduction, the author Wes Moore validates this statement by saying, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (Moore XI) The author, Wes Moore, shows the readers that a person’s environment, circumstances, education (or lack

How do two boys with the same name who live within the same community end up with lives on two completely different paths? The author, Wes Moore, begins life in a tough Baltimore neighborhood and ends up a Rhodes Scholar, Wall Streeter, White House Fellow, etc. The other Wes Moore starts in the same place in Baltimore but ends up in prison FOR LIFE.

In addition, the ways the Wes’ mothers treated them built their foundation, because Mary, the other Wes’s mother, did not have the perseverance and drive that Joy, the author’s mother, did. Joy did not have the easiest past, from an abusive first husband to losing her second husband. However, she never let anything truly discourage her from making sure she raised her children correctly. Even when things got so out of control that she had to send Wes off to military school, she made sure it was the right decision and took care in making Wes know it was what was best for him, telling him during a phone call ““I love you, and I am proud of you. And, Wes, it’s time to stop running”” (Moore 96). Her authoritative yet caring message she delivered to Wes here clearly shows that she is not just sending him away because she can’t handle him, but rather that she is sacrificing whatever she has to in order to make sure Wes grows to be a respectable man. However, Mary approaches hardships with a much more cynical outlook, such as when Wes was caught with drugs that he intended to sell. “As Mary heard the door slam behind Wes, she sat back down on her bed. She pressed her fingers against her temples and began to massage them. She closed her eyes; her mind raced: Who is to blame for this? Tony, the neighborhood, the school system, Wes’s

In contrast, the other Wes Moore grew up in the same city of Baltimore but he did not have any support or discipline in his life. He lived with his mother Mary and older brother Tony. This Wes Moore did not have any father figure in his life. His father chose not to be in their lives. Mary did not give Wes much attention. She knew he was struggling but often brushed off