The Other Wes Moore: Literary Analysis

“The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates Essay” written by Wes Moore, which is based on his and another man with the same name life. The book follows two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same city just within a year of each other. Both boys had similar circumstances, for which they both growing up in the middle of the crack epidemic in the 1980’s in the city of Baltimore. Both boys had troubling childhood grew up within a single parent household without their fathers in their life’s. Although both two men born into a similar position in the world ended up leading wildly different lives. The author Wes Moore grew up to achieve great things becoming decorated veteran, White House Fellows, and business leader. The other Wes

Wes saw a headset and wondered what it was used for. He went over and asked the man "how can I get one of those". The man explained that all he had to do is wear the headset and talk into it when ever he saw a cop come by and at the end of the day he would get payed for it. His brother tony told him to stay away from the drug game but the money sold Wes. We said "Money? Wes just wanted to get his hands on one of those headsets. There was money involved too?(Moore 58)." This shows that he was trying to make money because he was was poor he did not like being poor. He got the headset and started to make Milner, so kept on being the lookout for the other drug dealers. Poverty will make someone do bad activities because they are desperate for

It also suggests that the possible actions of Wes would be on the basis of emotions alone, rather than that of logical thought. Just like the imagery that author Moore uses, the other Wes’s emotions are also emphasized in the idea that he chooses to remember; “Send a message” (104). This single thought shows that, in his anger, he is going to fulfill the loaded meaning of how he feels at that

Moore was a troubled kid, getting into fights, getting in trouble for graffiti, running away was sent to many different schools. He was the poor kid in a sea of rich kids (so he didn’t fit in). But he was given the opportunity to change when he was forced to go to a Military boarding school. He eventually decided that he wanted to be apart of something bigger than himself and this was it. He knew he wanted to change. When deciding how he could change he thought, “Aside from my family and friends, the men I trusted most all had something in common: they all wore the uniform of the United States of America,” (Moore pg. 132). He decided he wanted to become a Lieutenant and be someone other people could look up to. This was a major moment in Moore’s life. But Wes, on the other hand, experienced the same bad childhood and never got out of the “bad”. He never had a defining failure where he said ‘this is when I change’. He got onto a path and started making patterns with his decisions and never made the right one to get him to where he needed to be, unlike the other Wes.

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

In conclusion, both Wes Moore’s had critical moments and different standpoints throughout the entirety of their lives. Though they both had individual accountabilities it was the choices that they individually made that ultimately determined there fates. “Wes and I stared at each other for a moment, surrounded by the evidence that some kids were forced to become adults prematurely. These incarnated men, before they’d even reached a point of basic maturity, had flagrantly-and tragically-squandered the few opportunities they’d

“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

“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

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.

When most people hear the name Wes Moore, they think of the Wes Moore that is a decorated veteran and author, but when Wes Moore hears his name, he thinks about not himself, but the Wes Moore serving life in prison for first-degree felony murder. They both grew up in similar settings and both had trouble with the police, but there lives are the complete opposite now. Most people wonder how that could happen. Each Wes ended up on totally different paths as evidenced by actions and events that took place in each of their lives. Throughout the following paragraphs, how each Wes’s life slowly became different will become clear.

“Children learn more from who you are than what you teach,” stated W.E.B DuBois. As illustrated by the quote, the people and the environment that an individual surrounds themselves with affects their future. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore, is a narrative that tells the story of two males, who share the same name but take two different paths in life. The two Moores experience similar situations, however surround themselves with different types of people, resulting in different paths. One Moore is successful while the other is incarcerated, proving an individual’s environment influences ones future. Ultimately, after analyzing Wes Moore’s novel and Terry Pratchets quote in the excerpt, it is evident that the

Tony, Wes’s older brother, tried to tell him to stay away from drugs but he didn’t listen. The narrator, on the other hand, grew up with a mother who made it a point to learn right from wrong. When the narrator was little his mother said, ”I told you, don’t you ever put your hands on a woman(Moore 5)!” His mother made sure that he knew that it was not okay to treat people like that which showed that he would learn right. These differences may seem very small, but they are a major cause for why they both turned out so

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.

While Wes Moore was able to change his situation and begin to make better decisions, the other Wes Moore was never able to accomplish such task. During one of their conversations, the incarcerated Wes said, "From everything you told me, both of us did some pretty wrong stuff when we were younger. And both of us had second chances. But if the situation or the context where you make the decisions don't change, then second chances don't mean much, huh?" (66). In the same conversation, about ¼ of the way into the book Moore realized an important aspect in life, "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.'" (Moore 67).