Two Wes Moore Book Report

In his book, “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” Wes Moore (2011) tells a true story about two men from Baltimore who have identical names but have different outcomes in life. He also illustrates the similarities of their life’s situations when they were younger, the decisions they made in life and their impacts, and the roads they took that ultimately led them to where they are today.

"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.

“The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” (Moore, 2010, front cover). The Other Wes Moore is about two guys with the same name but end up going down totally different paths in life, hence the quote. In this paper it will discuss the novel, The Other Wes Moore, describe their social location, and describe the sociological perspectives used in sociology and analyze excerpts from the book using each of the three sociological perspectives.

“The Other Wes Moore” is about two men who share the exact same name and lived in and out of Baltimore but, they have two different roads ahead of them. Author Wes wrote this book because he believes nurture outweighs nature when it comes to a person’s success. Author Wes uses rhetorical and narrative elements such as tone, foreshadowing, and characterization to convey his opinion. On chapter 2, page 28, author Wes writes “A bottomless chasm of insecurity and self-doubt that gnaws at them.

“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.

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

“The Other Wes Moore” is a story that follows two boys with the exact same name who start off living very similar lives in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the boys live on to be an extremely successful man and the other one is living the rest of his life behind bars. The two men wondered how their strikingly similar path diverged into two completely different fates and then an argument formed. Are people products of their choices or their environment and expectations thrown upon them? The book proves that people are products of their choices. Both Wes Moores were raised by a single mom in the tough streets of Baltimore and they both were rebellious children who got arrested at a young age. Their similarities lessened as their choices and their mom’s choices contrasted. The more fortunate Wes was sent to Military school and he chose to make the most of it and become the best version of himself. His determination and hard work trumped his previous hooligan mindset, therefore his future was bright and fulfilling. The other Wes chose to follow his brother,

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

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.

“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

How do two boys with the same name who live within the same community end up with lives on two completely different paths? The author, Wes Moore, begins life in a tough Baltimore neighborhood and ends up a Rhodes Scholar, Wall Streeter, White House Fellow, etc. The other Wes Moore starts in the same place in Baltimore but ends up in prison FOR LIFE.

In “The Other Wes Moore” the story shows how the Author Wes Moore and the Other Wes Moore are both similar, but yet unmistakably different. They were born blocks apart within a year of each other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimore neighborhoods and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police. The irresponsible Wes Moore becomes a drug dealer and has two kids before the age of fifteen. The other skips school all the time and joins a gang.

Book Review: The Other Wes Moore The Other Wes Moore illustrates and alternates between the lives of two men, both named Wes Moore, each born in the Baltimore area within a year of each other, and who both grew up fatherless while encountering many of the same experiences. The Other Wes Moore, tells the story of these two men and how vastly different their lives became not only because of their choices, but also the different environments the individuals grew up within. After both encountering the police in their adolescent years, the author, Wes Moore becomes a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow and successful business leader; while the other, serves a life sentence for the murder. The author, Wes Moore attributes most of his success to his mother who prevented her son from falling into the same pattern as many other boys growing up in similar neighborhoods.

Looking back at it all with the metamorphosis in place no doubt this story speaks to me on our own individual level of experiences from life as well. Two men born in the city of Baltimore with the same name comes down to examining our own decisions in life one could think. However I’m adamant of this particular journey of the two Wes Moore’s. The author Moore makes me differentiate between and use my own comparison with some similarities. However there are less similarity and less comparison as I take time to reflect for me. Interesting as it may be, Moore the author and Rhodes Scholar how inevitable with great success. Then Wes the other one is schedule to spend the rest of his life in prison.