Today, everybody is seeking success. Success comes from different factors. Some of those factors are individual which can be decided by people, such as dedicating ten thousand hours of practice or having a growth mindset. But some of those factors cannot be controlled. Those factors cannot be decided by the people, or predicted by them in anyway. The Other Wes Moore is a story about two boys with similar backgrounds and similar situations, growing up in similar neighborhoods. .Wes Moore offers his readers a clear insights into how success can be affected by both individual and uncontrollable factors such as culture legacy, growth, fixed mindset, and meaning of life. 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
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
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
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors like family, expectations, perseverance, and motivation impact the way a person turns out to be. In the novel, The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore, the author speaks about another man with the same name that grew up in the same area and compares how they went in different paths based upon intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
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 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.
“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
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 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.
Humans have come to a conclusion that all lives are different, but all go through many hardships and tragedies. The impact from a slight difference can vary to be very vast to very small, such a slight difference, however, can change a person’s life as a whole. In the book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore there is a difference that can be identified between the author’s life and that of the other Wes. This difference, though can be very critical and is ultimately able to lead to a path of triumph or failure for an individual. The lack of involvement a mother has for their child can fundamentally deprive them from succeeding, and parent involvement has the opportunity to
In both the book The Other Wes Moore and poem “If,” the theme is expressed through characterization. The authors explain the build up of the characters by showing the expectations and decisions for them. Wes Moore describes how both boys were supported differently during the early stages of life. However, individuals can notice that each child was shaped differently. Moore explained, “I was taught to remember, but never question. Wes was taught to forget and never ask why” (page 1). This shows that both Wes’ did have a childhood in which was built up by their moms. Wes got lucky in having a mother (Joy) who truly cared about his education and future. Because Joy raised Wes to follow the positive route, he did not end up in the same boat as the the other Wes. On the other hand, the other Wes’s family did not care as much about him. Since his mother did not do much to help his
One’s childhood has a lasting impact on their entire life. Moore’s upbringing and the loving family he was born into, no matter how trivial it may seem, greatly contributed to his success. Wes seemingly grew up the same as any other kid in the Bronx – in a single-parent household, surrounded by bad influences… what separated him from the crowd? His support system: his family, and their ultimate support and sacrifices made all the difference. As a teenager, Wes seemed to be going down the wrong path. He constantly skipped school, his academic failures were overwhelming, and he was even arrested for vandalism. In the case of the other Wes, his family simply let these actions slide, and decision after decision ultimately landed him with a life sentence in prison. The author Wes’s mother, however, refused to allow this behavior to continue. As a method of intervention, she forced Moore to attend Valley Forge, and in doing so, probably saved his career. The extent of his family’s sacrifice was evident on page 95 when Wes realized that “my grandparents took the money they had in the home in the Bronx, decades of savings and mortgage payments, and gave it to my mother