The Other Wes Moore

"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine... It's unsettling to know how little separates each of us from another life altogether (Moore XI)." The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is about two men who have the same name, Wes Moore. Both grew up in similar areas, each made choices that lead to one spending life in jail and the other spent his being in the military. The Wes Moore's grew up in the 1970's-1980's. They both were poor with single mothers who worked day in and day out, and still struggled to be able to be above the poverty line. For each man there was one moment that changed the future of their life. In the book,The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the author explains the idea of poverty to develop the theme poverty can affect an individual negatively, but each action and decision a person makes can control whether his or her life is positive or negative.

The novel The Other Wes Moore was written by Wes Moore and it speaks upon, two boys with the same name but both have different fates. The Other Wes Moore touch's base on how the environment and experience can shape an person. The book allows you to follow two young boys named Wes Moore who tend to make life changing decisions that in the long run shape and effect their future. The purpose behind this phenomenal novel is to understand the pain and struggle to overcome the streets and how the streets can raise you and change you as a person. Furthermore, allowing you to foreshadow your thoughts of how your environment and experience can shape who you become. The environment we live in does play a significant role in our growth in life. Nature and nurture can effect individual success in different aspects. In the novel The Other Wes Moore the author Wes uses narrative elements such as parallelism and characterization to describe and tell both Wes's stories.

The Other Wes Moore 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

“The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine, the tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (Moore xi) “The Other Wes Moore,” by Wes Moore, focusses on two boys by the name of Wes Moore that were born blocks apart, within the same year, in Baltimore during the 1980’s. Both grew up fatherless in similar neighborhoods; both ran into trouble. But one became a Rhodes Scholar, while the other was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Although he grew up in a rough neighborhood and was around violence and drugs, Wes had the ability to change his life around with the help and support his mother, family, and military school lieutenants were able to give him. Many people influenced Wes, the author, throughout his life, but the person whom I feel influenced him the most was his mother.

The Other Wes Moore is a book about two young African-American lives that share the same name, Wes Moore. Both Wes Moores grew up with similarities, they both grew up in the same hometown. One of the Wes Moore is free and the other one is spending his life in jail. They both grew up without fathers. The author's father died in front of him when he was just three years old and the other Wes Moore barley knew his dad. The Author's father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, and the other Wes Moore, father wasn’t there because he chose not to be. Both mothers were working hard towards setting their families and to support and care for their sons.

“One name, two fates,” that what the author of the Other Wes Moore stated on the cover of his book. Two boys that were born in the same neighborhood in Baltimore, and had a difficult childhood since they both grew up fatherless. The coincidence was that the two boys were called Wes. They both shared a lot of similarities from living in a poor neighborhood and growing up in Baltimore street corners with their squads. However, their futures were completely different as one achieved the impossible and the other was a convicted murderer serving a life sentence. People may think that how could this happen since they both were living the same circumstances. However, in the book Wes Moore, the boys did not have equal opportunities in terms of parenting, education, and environment.

One name, two different people with two different fates based on life choices. The Other Wes Moore is a story about two men with the same name, who both grew up in West Baltimore. The town was crime-ridden, and both the author and Wes struggled with school. Both boys were in instances with the law, however, while the author learned from his encounter with police, the other Wes Moore didn’t and he continued in his drug dealing ways. The author went to military school to learn respect and discipline, attributes the other Wes lacked. The reader notices the author’s tone when “My mother had noticed the way I had changed since leaving for military school…They made it clear that they cared if I succeeded, and eventually so did I,” (Moore 115). As the author used the scene of military school to portray his tone of optimism. While the author was making something of his life, and overcoming his obstacles, the other Wes Moore suffered and made horrible mistakes. The other Wes became a drug dealer with power, the power that went to his head. After he found his girlfriend, Cheryl, overdosed at his house, he realized the drug game was wrong. He soon entered the Job Corps, wanting to create something of himself. However, as the stress of his new job and caring for his children was demanding,

The autobiography The Other Wes Moore was written by a man who was comparing the lives of two men, the author himself and another man who, coincidentally, had the same name. In an attempt to eliminate any confusion, I need to clarify to which Wes Moore I am referring, so, I will refer to the author as Wes 1 and the other Wes Moore will be referred to as Wes 2. It took me a few minutes to decide what to call them since my initial reaction was to say Good Wes and Bad Wes. However, if this course on cultural competence has taught me anything, it’s to not label people. I see now that these two men lived their lives making the best decisions they felt they could have made at the time, and I realize that terms such as “good” or “bad” are misleading and disrespectful. The similarities between the two are obvious from the start; both men are black, both were raised in Maryland, both had to grow up without the presence of a father, and both grew up in poverty. By looking at several social issues we can see how different types of support and opportunities made the difference between the paths of these men. I believe that through their family relationships, their environments, and their experiences their attitudes regarding their ethics and values were shaped, which, in turn, defined their choices.

The Other Wes Moore has ideas written throughout that can In order for the Wes’s to get respect, they need to show they are worthy. While the author was in private school he tried to gain respect by beating up other students and he tried to link up with the children in the “cool” crowd. This did not work very well for Wes, he was considered to be in a decent family. His mother was strict and tried everything to get him to stop with his attitude. Along with that Wes had a strict curfew, he was to be home when the street lights came on and he knew to follow that. Where the other Wes tried to earn credit by fight, smoking marijuana, drinking, and eventually getting involved with the distribution of drugs. His family was more street run, they were disorganized and lacked consideration for other. With his father choosing to not be involved his family is more prone to physical and verbal punishment, which showed Wes that everything can be solved with

The Other Wes Moore In the book, The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is about two kids with the same name that live two different backgrounds. Wes Moore is the author and tells his story of how successful he became, and the other Wes Moore is the antagonist in the book, which tells how his life went down the wrong path. The book shows the different phases of their lives, which have made them the people they are today. Wes Moore the author states, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” I agree with his statement because either one of them could have had bad influences that lead them down the wrong path. Someone who has a positive mindset and career goals, are mostly likely to be successful than those who don’t have a plan for the future. In my opinion, getting an education and making the right decisions in life, will lead to positive outcomes, rather than making poor decisions that leads one to become a criminal.

In the introduction of the work by Wes Moore I read about how he described his life as a soldier, what situations you could be put in and how it can change your life. During the introduction he talk about another book Wes Moore had wrote call the other Wes Moore. This book is about how two boys who shared the same name and life in the same situation turned out completely different. One ended up leaving to go to Oxford University in England and the other ended up in a six-by eight-foot jail cell. He states in his introduction that he doesn’t understand why they ended up being so different but so similar while they was young. He also states in his introduction that “this book is not a how to guide,” that life is a journey and that’s how our life’s

A person does not control their personality as much as role models do. The Other Wes Moore is about two boys named Wes Moore that grew up on the same street but there is one very distinct difference between them. One is a successful lawyer and the other one is in prison. The story takes the reader through the lives of both men and key decisions to show the people they are today. In the book, The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the author explores the idea of role models to develop the theme, role models shape the way people act and think.

The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is a non fiction novel focusing on Moore himself and another man sharing his name. Moore notes how both men have strikingly similar backgrounds but have eventually ended up later in life with very different outcomes. To begin, both Wes Moores were from Baltimore but their paths couldn't differ more. Wes grew up to become a Rhodes Scholar and cherished veteran while his counterpart has a life sentence in jail. Although both had little to no father figure present, the circumstances that followed could not be interchangeable by tweaking the timeline of each kid. Although Moore himself states, "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his" (Moore xi)

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore sparks thought provoking questions about human actions and behaviors in society. For decades, a common debate is whether or not children grow up to be products of their environment. Unfortunately, there is not a specific study that shows which percentage of children will be affected by their surroundings whether it be in a positive or negative way. Although, every person is impacted by their environment in some way, either large or small. There are people who choose to change their life, and forget the past, and there are those who live with their childhood upbringing as the center of their life. One Wes Moore made the decision to transform his life into success, but sadly the other did

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).