Two men have the same name, with completely different lives and futures. The Other Wes Moore is about two men with the same name but completely experiences in life. The author Wes goes into military school which changes his life. The “other” Wes stays in the drug business and ends up in prison. The Similarities and Differences pertaining to Family Life and role models of both Moores were described in The Other Wes Moore.
I believe that Moore, the author, is trying to say that the second chance is trying to rewrite the first mistake and the last chance could be your last chance. The author’s last chance to stop his drug dealing was when he was sent to military school. His temper against his mother, bad grades, absences from classes and an incident with a smoke bomb were the reasons his mother sent him to military school. (Moore 87) The “other” Wes had the decision to stop selling drugs while raising his family. He later joined the Job Corps, but later realized he could not make the money like he did in the drug business. On page 144, Wes was passing the streets remaining him of his past, “But the main reason he avoided the streets was that he felt they had nothing for him. He had changed. At least he wanted to believe that.” Wes later made the decision to take the risk to sell drugs for a living.
Many individuals say that a person is a product of its surroundings. And for two young men from Baltimore, this could not be any more accurate. In “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, the author talks about two young boys who shared the same name and the contributions they did in their lives that made them turn out the way they are. Both Wes’ grew up in similar environment with tough childhood and without the presence of a father. Where one becomes very successful and a Rhodes Scholar, and the other is heavily involved in the drug game and receives a life sentence in prison for serving a part in a murder of a former police officer. This book is a major example of how certain decisions can affect one’s life. Both Wes’ had similar lives, yet they ended up in different paths. There are few factors why they ended up having different paths and those factors are; parental support and figures, the environment style, and the social influences.
Can a person's successfulness really depend on on the way they were raised and environment they live in? Many argue that a person’s nature, other wise known as their physical surroundings, could affect how successful someone could become in their future. Others argue that it is a person's nurture that determine their successfulness. In “The Other Wes Moore,” Wes Moore, the author, and the other Wes Moore share the same name and similar lives, but only one manifested himself into a successful life. How did only one Wes Moore manage to make his life successful? The Other Wes Moore reveals how intrinsic factors, mainly social relationships, play a significant role in establishing someone's success, based off of lack of emotional support and obedience.
In chapter 3 “The Other Wes Moore”by Wes Moore, the author states that his mother saw the school system getting poor. She decided to enroll the author in a private school. The author became friend with a boy named Justin they easily bonded because they were the only black kids in the school. Wes was displeased with the new school he was too poor for his classmates and too rich for the neighborhood kids. The author did not know where to fit. Out of all the confusion in his life and not knowing where to fit Wes’ grades began to drop and he started to become unconfident of his abilities. His mother started to threaten him that she will send him to military school. Although he did not take is seriously, his friend Justin did. Justing advise him to concentrate in school.
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates is a New York Times Bestseller by none other than, Wes Moore. This novel features an intriguing tale of two boys who grew up under the same circumstances, under the same names, and with the same chances; and yet one manages to become a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader while the other grew up heisting and selling drugs until he received a life sentence for felony murder after shooting a police officer. The more successful Wes Moore, Wes Moore, began to visit the less successful Wes Moore, the other Wes Moore, during his prison sentence in order to write the book.
The other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore is about two boys with the same last name who take two very different paths. Wes Moores grow up without a father figure, however, the author Wes Moore’s father Westley passed away due to acute epiglottitis whereas other Wes Moore’s father Bernard was an alcoholic and never around. (Both of the Wes Moores also lived in the Bronx, which had a heavy influence for drugs and crime.) In spite of several setbacks, the author Wes Moore was able to become successful, the other Wes Moore was a failure and spent the rest of his life behind bars. There are several reasons that contributed to the author Wes Moore success compared to the other Wes Moore.
“The Chilling truth is that his story could have been mine, the tragedy is that my story could have been his”. This was a quote from the author Wes Moore about the lives of both Wes Moores. The author Wes Moore was brought up with significantly more support than the other Wes Moore, the support that eventually will change his life for the better. The author Wes Moore is currently a free man with a prosperous life while the other Wes Moore is in Jessup Prison, serving a life sentence. The cause for this was the support each man had when they were being brought up in life. The author Wes Moore had a superior upbringing than the other Wes Moore due to having more support from his family, friends, and community.
The book Montana 1948 by Larry Watson makes you think about the injustices throughout the novel. This book is based on a true story of a 12 year old boy named David, who grew up in Montana after WWII. David shares this book in first person perspective. He talks about what his family is going through and how they have to put up with Uncle Franks crime. While reading this true story we learn that taking advantage of our power can lead to mortal consequences.
The Other Wes Moore is a novel that uses the structure informative and narrative which provides information about the characters throughout the book and tells the story. This informative and narrative structure contributes to the overall effect of the book because Wes Moore the author explains how the two Wes Moore’s lives changed into completely different paths. One Wes went to military school and the other stayed home and dealt drugs. One wes kills a police officer and is arrested and the other one visits him in prison. One quote Wes Moore uses to portray this about Wes is that “It was years before Wes’s mom found out her son had been arrested that day. By the time
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is a book that uncovers two different stories of two people with the same name. However, the book does not simply tell you two different stories, but it also gives implications to the application of different criminology theories to understand reasons why people do commit crimes and why they do not. The story of two men named Wes Moore can be viewed from different perspective. For instance, it is possible to view their story from a biological type of way, according to which individual choices are the result of inherited behavior of individuals. On the other hand, it is possible to view their story from an environmental type of view. Nevertheless, whatever theory
How is it that two men that come from identical backgrounds end up being completely opposites? Wes Moore takes us back to his childhood growing up, and also introduces us to a character sharing the same name as him, and similarly, the same lifestyle. Both of the young men shared the absence of a father figure, living in poor neighborhoods, bad influences, and lack of education. While reading, we question “how?” and “why?” There is no exact answer to our questions. Inside of “The Other Wes Moore”, two similar tales are told, however, there are two different outcomes.
The Atlanta Child Murders was a horrific event that took place in Atlanta, Georgia from 1979 through 1981. A lady named Tayari Jones, wrote a novel called Leaving Atlanta. In this novel, the reader learns what life was like during the murders through the perspective of children. One of the main characters in this novel is Rodney Green. Rodney is a very shy and troubled young boy who is kidnapped during the middle of the story. Rodney, like most of Wayne Williams’ victims, was tricked into getting into his car after school Williams tricks Rodney by saying he was an off duty cop and that “there [had] been a bank robbery” and that he needed to come with him to be safe (Jones 122). This relays the history of how the murderer lured in his victims
The Atlanta Child Murders were a horrific event that took place in Atlanta, Georgia from 1979 through 1981. There were many different speculations of who the murderers could of been, but Wayne Williams was convicted in 1981. There was much recognition and mourning over the loss of the 28 children, including concerts performed by Frank Sinatra. Robert De Nero, after winning a grammy wore a green stripe across his chest that honored the victims of the murders. A lady named Tayari Jones, wrote a novel called Leaving Atlanta. This novel is a fictional book, but it is written through children’s perspectives of how life would have been. The main characters are Octavia, Rodney, and Tasha. Octavia is an outgoing person who also is very scared about
A 10 year-old black-girl named Tonya was brutally raped and almost killed by two overly intoxicated white-men named, Billy Ray Cobb and James Willard. After the incident, the two men were arrested by a black Sheriff Ozzie Walls at a local bar. The girl’s devastated father, Carl Lee Hailey seeks help to the young white lawyer, Jake Tyler Brigance who also has a daughter like Carl’s. Jake had a strong feeling that Carl might do something bad to the two men who almost slaughter the little Tonya. Jake told his