The Scarlet Letter And The Other Wes Moore

In The Other Wes Moore, the readers can consider that two boys had the same backgrounds and situations, and wonder what caused their lives to end up so differently. This is how culture legacy affect to people’s success. In this case, the mothers are who influenced the boys and their future. Mary, other Wes’s mother, did not face her son’s problems and provide him the guidance. After skipping school and partying, other Wes come home drunk and intoxicated. Mary though that was entertaining and made fun at him. “Mary laughed, watching him squirm. ‘Well, at least now you know how bad it feels and you will stay away from drinking,’ she said” (Moore 62). Instead of punishments or even just a conversation about his drinking problem, Mary brushed off the situation. Because she think it was not a big problem. This

In the 1850’s, America was undergoing a massive internal changes via the industrial revolution. With this new era, American culture was drastically changed as women started to take a more prominent role in American society. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempts to stimulate this change by illustrating the positive influence of a strong female character in a Puritanical society through his heroine, Hester Prynne, by putting her in a scandalous situation capable of drawing out the worst in people.

The first environment that readers can analyze between the two Wes Moore’s is the lack of a father influence. Author Wes Moore grew up in Baltimore, Maryland with a family who seemed to have everything in place. Wes looked up to his father in many ways even as a young child. “I tried to copy his walk, his expressions. I was his main man. He was my protector” (Moore 11). Wes tells readers in the story that

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

Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the ideology of Puritan society in the novel the Scarlet Letter; however reader also get to witness his characters being an illustration of hypocrisy and victims to their own guilt. In the Scarlet Letter, as in many of Hawthorne’s shorter works, he makes profuse use of the Puritan past: its odd exclusionary belief, its harsh code of ruling, its concern with sex and witchcraft. The Scarlet Letter is a story that is embellished but yet simple. Many readers may view this novel as a soap opera due to the way Hawthorne conveys this Puritan society’s sense of strictness and inability to express true emotion along with the secrecy and how deceiving the characters are being. As the story unfolds the main character Hester Prynne is bounded in marriage at an early age. She engages in an adulterous affair with an unknown member of their small village. Hester soon becomes pregnant and with her husband’s absence the chances of this child belonging to her husband are slim. The towns’ people know that she has committed a sin and imprisons her for her crime.

Wes #1 grew up without his father; his father died near the beginning of the story with a rare disease. Wes #1 did not understand the responsibility that he would have to uphold until he got older because he was only three years old. Wes #1 needed a father figure because he needed a manly structure in his life. Even though Wes already had a loving mother, willing to play both roles as a mother and father, a mother can only do but so much. Young men need fathers/father figures because they help out with the things mothers can not explain. This takes us back to the subject of environment and family, because Wes #1 had a environment that strived off of respect, he had a family that strived off of doing the right thing.

It is on a daily basis that people are forced to make decisions as to whether or not they will chose to rise above their challenges and it is these decisions that affect the outcomes of many lives. Each person is presented with their own difficulties and they are given the option to either overcome these difficulties, or let them stand in the way of success. Whether presented by society, certain individuals, or even oneself, the conquering of challenges is what leads many people to their greatest achievements. The main characters in both The Other Wes Moore and The Scarlet Letter learn to overcome their difficulties and it is because of this that they are bettered as individuals. In The Other Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore, Wes is forced to overcome his challenges presented by racist teenagers and his prestigious military school. Wes Moore captivates the importance of overcoming his challenges by using direct characterization and tone. Nathaniel Hawthorne also uses these literary devices to express Hester Prynne’s ability to conquer challenges put forth by her Puritan society in The Scarlet Letter. Through the use of tone and direct characterization, the authors of The Other Wes Moore and The Scarlet Letter are able to exemplify their theme of the importance of one’s ability to rise above their challenges.

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.

One central difference to think about when looking at the two individuals is the fact that Wes has a more supporting mother than Wes (2), in a person’s life a mother is so important and can be looked as a blessing. A mother is the one that supposed to be the person that takes good care of you and guides you,  and to teach what’s right from wrong. The author’s mother was much more supportive for her son, Wes acknowledges, “Every time I looked  around at the buildings and the trees and the view of the river, I was reminded of the sacrifices my mother was making to keep me there.” (Moore 52). Due to this quote, we can conclude that Wes’s mother, although struggling at the time, found a way to put her child in the best possible route in education. Wes presents it as kind of an understatement, however, from his mother doing this, it affects his life so much. By being put in a good school, it offers many more opportunities than that of the other Wes and he can get a lot more help/exposure to guide him toward a bright future. On the other hand we have Wes (2) that is lost and seems as if he just can’t find his way, “Young boys are more likely to believe in themselves if they know that there’s someone, somewhere, who shares that belief. To carry the burden of belief alone is too much for young shoulders.” (28). This Wes

“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.

Moore uses indirect characterization to show readers the influence that “The Other Wes’” mother had on him, “She was only twenty seven years old, and despite having two sons, . . . she was still young enough to enjoy partying, dancing, and being noticed by men. . . much to the chagrin of her family and friends who ended up watching the boys so many nights” (Moore 19), because of her actions, she is characterized as neglectful and irresponsible. The woman’s “activities” not only serve as a negative example for her son, but they have significant psychological effects on him as well. This combined with the absence of his father inspired actions which lead to him being incarcerated for the rest of his life. Wes, on the other hand, despite having a similar background, had very different role models. Wes’ mother had done everything to keep him out of trouble. She even forced him to attend a military school hundreds of miles away after he got into trouble with the police and slacking off in school. Wes had his grandparents, his mother, and leaders at military school to guide him on the right path. He despised his school at first, but eventually we can see that the environment and the people played a key role in making him successful. Moore illustrates this change through imagery, “ My back stood straight, and my sentences now ended with "sir" or "ma 'am." My military garrison cap was intentionally a size too big, forcing me to keep my head up, walking taller

One reason why Wes Moore the author is successful is his family who pushed him to succeed. Wes mother always tried to set good examples for him; she wanted him to succeed in life and be educated. Wes states, "When we 're young, it sometimes seems as if the world doesn 't exist outside our city, our block, our house, our room. We make decisions based on what we see in that limited world and follow the only models available."(Wes Moore 178). This quote relates to his mother because its explaining how we do stuff based on what we see and how we are educated. When Wes was in high school he was skipping class and not paying any attention. At a time, Wes’s mother found out about his bad grades and made a big change in Wes life by sending him to military school. In the scene, Wes’s mother states “Wes you are not going anywhere until you give this place a try. I am so proud

Nyrae Dawn and Mac Anderson, both authors, agree on life's choices and why “It’s so strange how one choice can derail so many lives” and how “One choice can change your life.” In The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne wears the scarlet letter as a sign of the sin of adultery. She is shunned by her community, however, she embraces her sin. Even though she changed, the society still resented her for her crime. The Other Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore, tells a story of two boys who both had similar backgrounds. However, one made the most of his situation and became a successful author, while the other became a drug dealer and ended up serving a life sentence after assisting in an armed robbery that turned into murder. Although The Scarlet Letter and The Other Wes Moore are completely different books, they both share a common message that one mistake can change how others perceive them by using tone and imagery.

The book, The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore tells a story about two men with the same name and last name but with different outcomes. The author tells his story and the other Wes Moore’s story, how they started off in the same neighborhood and made similar choices but one ended up in prison for life and the other with his freedom. There are several reasons that the two Wes Moores ended up in different situations such as the way their mothers raised them and the different choices that were made by them throughout their life as young adults. The statement that the author wrote at the end of the book is true to the extent that they both grew up in the same type of neighborhood and both were raised by single mothers.

Anne Hutchinson, a Puritan settler, gets exiled from the Puritan Settlement because of her actions. Similarly, Hester Prynne’s sinful action results in her confinement in prison, away from the town people. In the 1850’s, Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes The Scarlet Letter. Set in a Puritanical Society, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of how one simple act of passion upsets the very basic thread of society. In the novel, Hester Prynne personally transcends the judgments of society through her discoveries in nature, while she lives a simplistic life and becomes more self-reliant.