When I was first told that I had to read The Other Wes Moore, I told myself "Great, another boring book to read" as I am not a reader. However, I was wrong; this story about two boys around the same age, same name, raised by single mothers and around the same neighborhood, but as they grew to be adults due to the choices they made, they had different outcomes in life. I was able to actually relate to some parts of the book and knew how they felt at the moment and for me, that is what a great book is about. When the "author" Wes Moore was assaulted by some teenager on his to the pizza parlor and decided to just head back to the campus, I agree with the decision he chose. Not only was Wes "the author" out without authorization, but the situation could've escalated even more if he'd had gone after the boys in the red Toyota and it even could've ended in a tragedy if the other boys were armed. "I had to look at the bigger picture..."(The "Author" Wes Moore - Chapter 6: Haunted - pg. 121) I would have made the same decision, I understand that he felt embarrassed about the situation because he was not able to do anything and for that to happen in front of his colleague but violence is never the answer. My experience with assault was actually I wasn't the one being assaulted but my friend was. We were in school and I was friends with my class but my friend was considered strange for being herself and often times she would be bullied, but one particular day she was actually being
He had a friend named Shea, who was working as a runner for a drug enterprise. Shea was a good friend to Moore besides the fact that he was a runner and always he was the one that Moore first tagged a building with. Whenever Shea asked Moore if he wanted to tag with him his thoughts were, “I couldn’t say no. First off, Shea was one of the most respected young hustlers in the neighborhood. He was a worker, we all knew that- and while some of the kids were smart enough to be disgusted by what he did, other kids, even the ones who weren’t in the game, respected his position. Plus, I loved throwing my name up on a wall; it felt like splashing in the shallow end of the criminal pool.” (Moore 80.) After reading this it changed my view on Moore because he liked doing these things, so it isn’t Wes’s friends that are bad influences on him. Moore is a bad influence on himself at this point, he likes to tag and he enjoys the feeling he gets after he does
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, follows the fates of two young boys that both happen to be named Wes Moore. Although, their lives start off similar to one another, they slowly begin to diverge in separate direction that ultimately has one of the Wes Moore’s serving a life sentence for murder (Moore, 2011).
The author Wes Moore went off to military school where negative environmental influences were cut off and he was able to receive an education, which he himself considers a turning point in his life. His entire atmosphere and the dynamics of the schools he was accustomed to were altered. Although he attempted to run away several times, there was a point after speaking with his mother that he made the decision to stop running and embrace the experience and it helped make him the person he is today. The imprisoned Moore dropped out of school and like the overwhelming majority of African American male drop outs, ended up in the system. While the imprisoned Wes may have not had access to private or military schools, he could have finished school and decided to make an honest living. Later in his life he did decided to earn a GED and learn a trade, but he didn’t make the decision to dedicate himself to turning his life around and as soon as things got difficult turned back to what he knew instead of taking path toward something more positive. He gained mentors working under Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore, and a friend in his former Captain, Ty Hill at the military school. His decision to pursue a life full of criminal activity was his alone.
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
Many of the problems seen in modern times are due to events that many Americans pass off as “typical” in relation to misfortunes and injustices. The Other Wes Moore perfectly exemplifies these exact afflictions that a multitude of people face in the United States, partially due to ethnicity or cultural background. The instances of poverty, economic injustice, drugs, and family influence in The Other Wes Moore contribute to significant findings in socioeconomic structure that relate to considerable matters in the present day. An in-depth analysis on the story of both Wes and Moore in the eyes of a student of National Security and Foreign Affairs, and through the perspective of an Intelligence Officer, reveals small factors that both
“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
The other Wes Moore written by Wes Moore is about two completely different life stories that have completely different outcomes. Two young men with the same name, lived in the same neighborhood, yet they chose two different paths to walk through life. The author chose going to school and getting an education. The other Wes Moore chose the path of drugs and alcohol. Each Wes had events that help shape the path they would walk on through life.
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 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.
By Moore telling their stories personally, readers have a evident perspective on the character of each man. Moore is able to demonstrate that he and the other man were never completely horrible individuals, even the other Wes Moore today, despite the choices they made. One time, the other Wes Moore was making the right decisions, like trying to provide for his family. While he was in the job training program, he decided to make a small house for his daughter to protect her, which shows that he did care for his loved ones (Moore 142-143). It was when he decided to go back to using drugs that his life fell apart. His choice to go back to drugs shows that it is not his mentors or loved ones who play the
Wes’s decision to leave school for an easier life of street dealing guided him down a path of misfortunes. The first of many came with his violent outburst to defend his pride. After a woman in relations with Wes Moore sees her boyfriend show up to his house, he angrily punches Wes in the face. In shock, Moore “could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony’s words rang through his mind. Send a message” (104). Proceeding the attack, he grabbed a gun out of his drawer and shot the man to prove a point that you do not mess with him. He was incarcerated for six months. To no surprise, what occured later in his life was the infamous shooting of a police officer in the midst of a robbery. This landed Wes Moore in a life sentence for murder. It all started with drug dealing and ended in indefinite incarceration for murder.
The book, “ The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore is about two young boys who were brought up in Baltimore with the same name and alike struggles. Throughout the book, the author is trying to get the readers to find an understanding of why him and the other Wes outcomes were so different of him being an accomplished author ,and the other Wes having life in jail. The author is trying to argue that the Wes Moores have similar lives, but in my opinion they are completely different. The Wes moores had different aspects such as roles models, resources and motivation that prevented them from having similar histories.
The Other Wes Moore The Other Wes Moore is a book about two children with similar lifestyles when they were growing up and the same names, but ending up in different places in their lives. The story is about the other Wes Moore, who was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment and Wes Moore, the author, who faces poverty and has an ambition of receiving proper education (Moore, 2012).