The Wes Moore 's A Big Role Shaping The Lives And Decisions Essay

In The Other Wes Moore, both Wes and the author, Moore, faced challenges because of things such as poverty, housing, and education. In terms of Wes, he had it much worse. In the first chapter of the book, when Wes is talking about his father, he says, “By Saturday afternoon we found out that he had died from acute epiglottis, a rare but treatable virus that causes the epiglottis to swell and cover the air passages to the lungs. Untreated because of the earlier misdiagnosis, my father’s body suffocated itself” (Moore 15). This is the first big event that occurred in Wes’s life that definitely influenced the person he turned into.

"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.

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 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 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.

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

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

Bad Influences, Stressful Situations, and Abandonment led to the incarceration of the Other Wes Moore. The Other Wes Moore was a man that lived in the same neighborhood as the successful Wes Moore, but he had more negatives than positives in his life, which causes him to be influenced by all of the bad influences.

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.

Parents experiencing poverty may struggle to provide for their children and can become very stressed from dealing with the monotonous monetary requirements. Within poverty stricken households extreme variations of parenting and guidance can be observed, from little to no presence or direction, all the way to the other side of the spectrum with severe overreactions. “Higher levels of stress negatively affect parenting style, and these parents tend to be more authoritarian or inconsistent.” (Katz, 18) Family structures, living environments, mental health, personalities, and educational backgrounds are all likely to be contributing factor to both parenting

While the other Wes Moore took the correct decision that his parents told him too and had a successful life. Even though he didn’t know what he wanted to pursue he had help from admiral people “Have you heard of the Rhodes Scholarship ?”(Mayor Schmoke 161). While on the other hand the other Wes was not surrounded by role models for example his biological father would hit his wife “but his addiction just got worse, and the physical, mental, and emotional abuse he unleashed became more intense.”(pg 9). But overall Wes still had the decision to change but he didn’t he just kept on talking and hanging out with the wrong people even his brother sadly had to be the wrong role model. Later on Wes decided to talk to a couple of girls well sooner or later they became more than just friends and well he got her pregnant but then came the baby and he could not support them financially. So he decided to go back to the drug dealing business. This is where the author shows us that he decided to do the wrong mistake by selling drugs instead he could have done the responsible thing and find a job but he didn’t. While the other Wes Moore became a sergeant of a military school and helped others become a better person. But overall its just the decisions who made them where they are

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).

The Other Wes Moore uses both syntax and diction to emphasize the overall theme that each individual has control over how their situation can end up. After Author Wes and his friend, Dalio, are attacked by a group of men in a car, Wes decides not to retaliate and guides himself and Dalio back to school. Wes was surprised with himself for “. . .[letting] this one go,” (Moore, 121) and his ability “. . . to look at the bigger picture.” (Moore 121) Wes chose to change the outcome of his situation completely within these few moments. Rather than staying and fighting, he chose to think rationally and move on from the