Wes Moore grew up being the man of his household. With an absent father, a full-time working mother, and a drug dealing half-brother, Wes’s life was off to a bitter start. He was surrounded by drugs; his mom used drugs to ease her stress, his half-brother got into gang violence because of drugs, and his friends were drug dealers as well. In the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the Other Wes started the drug game at a young age despite his brother and mothers attempts to stop him. Wes grew up in a broken home, harsh streets, and an unmotivating school environment. Wes’ home could be considered a broken one. His alcoholic dad left him and his mother ,(Mary), when Wes was young. His mother was then raising Wes, and sometimes Tony, by
As a direct result of his years at the military school, Wes graduated high school on time and continued his education. On the other hand, “Other” Wes did not graduate from high school. Rather than attempt to turn his life around, “Other” Wes turned to a life of pushing drugs and committing crimes, a lifestyle that would later result in long prison sentences for him. This is a result of him not receiving any effective disciplinary action from his mother or any other important role models in his life because rather than try to live his life according to any standard set for him early in life, he disregarded the law and those around him. Author Wes’s self-discipline, family discipline, and military discipline all resulted in him having a prosperous life starting immediately after he graduated. He eventually attended college and interned at the Baltimore city's mayor's office. While the “other” Wes had no discipline in his life which led it to spiral out of control. After trying getting back into selling drugs, “other Wes” committed a robbery with his brother Tony which went from bad to worse when it resulted in the death of a policeman who had taken up a second job as a security guard at the jewelry store Wes
Wes Moore had a biological influence on his life at a very young age. For starters Wes stood well above four feet tall at the age of six and muscular which as above average then his other peers his age. Wes as raised by a single mother who juggled multiple jobs to maintain a roof over her two children's heads, Wes and his brother Tony who was 6 years older than he was. Wes’s father, only seen Wes a few times his whole life, was dealing with alcohol abuse and was not in Wes’s life because of making that his own decision and his mother not being supportive of them two having a relationship. Before Wes was born, his maternal grandmother died from an unsuccessful kidney that did drive his grandfather to alcohol abuse. So far looking at Wes biological family history he is open up to experiencing alcohol abuse because of his father and grandfather's history. When Wes as a
In the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, the other Wes and a gunman can be seen portraying a limited lower class citizen by the choices he makes and what his fate ended up to be. At this point in the novel Wes is a young boy looking for ways to earn money. Wes has an older brother named Tony who Wes looks up to and tends to follow in his footsteps. Tony has been involved in multiple drug dealing gangs along with other gangs, and Tony knows what trouble these gangs can cause. Wes has noticed that Tony is making money by selling drugs so Wes decided to get into the business himself.
“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.
During the two Wes Moore’s teenage years, they had run ins with people that turned violent. Part of how they reacted to these situations are attributed to what their peers are doing and where they live but how they overcome, or fail to overcome these obstacles helped put each of them where they are today. When Wes had a run in with Ray for sleeping with Ray’s cousin, Ray put a pretty big beating on him, but it was how Wes chose to react that put a nail in his coffin.
i. The similarities with the Other Wes’s mother was that she too was never home, but the contrast lye with the mistake she made with leaving Tony as the only guardian. “Wes, now eight years old, was free from any adult supervision till then. His brother, six years older, was the closest thing Wes had to a caretaker during the daylight hours and was fiercely protective of the little brother who idolized him. But lately even Tony hadn’t been around much (Moore 26).”
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
The other Wes moore born and raised in West Baltimore,Without a father and his only male role model,a brother in the dope game(Tony), and a weak minded mother(Mary). There wasn't much guidance in this young mans life. Absence of a father can sometime Damage a boy's life,not knowing whether or not it's your fault he left,not knowing if he’s coming back or not, even more so if he wants to be apart of your life. In his father's absence ,he resorted to something he always known would be
The reasoning as to why I believe the other Wes Moore could have went down a path to success is if the other Wes Moore had the same family support as the author Wes Moore and if his brother who had a big influence on Wes, was not involved in the drug game. While both Wes Moore’s are both fatherless, the author Wes Moore was a lot luckier than the other Wes Moore, because he had his grandparents to help raise him. With the support of his grandparents, Wes had someone to look after him and also help steer him in the right direction if needed. His grandparents gave Wes and his sisters a set of rules and chores to do every single day. Compared to the other Wes Moore, he did not have any sort of discipline or rules to go by in his house due to the fact his mother and brother were never really at home. Furthermore, with the other Wes Moore, he only had his mother and his brother Tony, who both were not a good influence on him at all. The other Wes Moore looked up to his brother and wanted to be exactly like Tony. For example, when Wes got into a small
“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
Throughout the first three chapters of the book, we get to know both of the Wes Moore’s childhoods which are filled with crucial point in the sense of the development of a child. For example, both of the father figures are missing in both Wes Moore’s life, but the reasons lack similarity. For the soon to be smart Wes Moore, his father was a great man whom he admired but suddenly died due to the lack of treatment from the hospital. As for the other Wes Moore, he does not know his father at all, but from what the story depicts to us, he is a drunk who does not care for his child. Later on, the soon to be smart Wes Moore moves to his grandparent’s home in the Bronx, which seems at the time a very dangerous place to live in. The soon to be jailed
The other Wes Moore is also considered to be deviant by his poor decision-making and careless choices. He dropped out of school, sold drugs, participated in a robbery of a jewelry store, and was a convicted murderer with a life sentence. There was many sociological factors that led to the other Wes Moore’s deviant behavior; the absence of his father being an important factor. Although both the author Wes Moore and the other Wes Moore grew up without a father, it affected the other Wes Moore a little more considering the fact that his father chose not to be in his life. Also, Tony had a big impact on the decision he made for himself. Throughout the story, Wes would remember what Tony told him about demanding respect. “Send a message,” And Wes would do as Tony said. The problem with the other Wes Moore was that he lacked positive influences in his life and he had no motivation to live a better life until it was too late.
Tony felt his little brother's life could be saved, even if he felt his own had already, at age fourteen, passed the point of no return." (Moore 27). On the other hand, Wes Moore has no such close relation or relationship dragging him down.
The Other Wes Moore is a book about two people with the same name but different lives. Both Wes’s had a few similar experiences and a few different experiences as they were growing up. The author Wes Moore shows both the point of view of him and the other Wes Moore’s experiences through life. Similarities and differences pertaining to becoming a man and the education of both Moores described in The Other Wes Moore. Education was an important role in the life of both the Wes’s because each of them choose what they wanted to do in life.
The other Wes surrounded himself with inferior people which reflected on his choices throughout his whole life. Both Tony and Mary were caught with drugs, as Tony was in the drug game to earn money easy and fast, “He no longer lived there, but had a little operation there-he would bring drugs into the country because he could sell them for higher premium than in the city” (Moore 112). This bad behavior all came about since Wes lacks any father role to show him what to do and not to do. The one time he met his dad, his father did not even know who Wes was. This event lead Wes to look up to his older brother Tony who dug himself a hole into the drug game in Baltimore. In the end, readers can gather that with the lack of any good role model can lead you down a bumpy path that is hard to escape.