Moore is establishing his indisputable motive to write this book; his motivation I believe is much more significant than just a mere interest in the coincidence, but also an opportunity to explore how the choices that one makes can alter one’s future. Upon his return from Oxford University, Moore recognized how Wes Moore and himself had both been raised in Baltimore, a breeding ground of violence and crime, a situation in which few can flourish in. Moore is exploring what the tolls of living in a twisted, urban area have on a young, child and how certain characters can leave such dissimilar influences. Moore secures validation over his motivation, yet others and he even himself questions “so what?”, however, I feel many, youth, in particular,
Where we’re from, who we know, and how our mental makeup is, is very important in our lives. It can be the deciding factor between life in prison and a life dedicated to giving back to others. In The Other Wes Moore, The lives of two young men are examined through three distinct lenses, how the role our environment, social capital (How we get ahead by helping each other) and how our mindset can dictate who we become later on in life. Both of these young men grew up in roughly the same environment, the ghettos of Baltimore, Maryland and the Bronx, New York, respectively.
The novel, Leaving Atlanta, brought back to light a dark time in Atlanta’s past. The novel, written by Tayara Jones, is told through the perspective of children who were living through the “Atlanta Child Murders”. One of the main characters, Rodney Green, stands out because he is one of the more notable murders. Rodney Green is naively tricked into getting into a fake police car, the child murderer’s car, because he in the back of his mind wants to get away from home and is told that “there [had] been a bank robbery” and he needed to be off of the streets (Jones 122). This is one of the main inspirations for the art piece being presented in conjunction to this paper.
The Other Wes Moore is a story about the lives of two people with the same name, but it seems as though each of them has been led down a different path. They started out in similar situations, made good and bad decisions, had decisions made for them, and some way, somehow, one Wes Moore overcame all the difficulties while the other Wes Moore now has to live a life of difficulty in prison. The book is told in first person point of view by the Wes Moore that overcome life 's difficulties. In the Baltimore Sun, they ran a newspaper about the author and how he received the Rhodes Scholarship. In the very same newspaper, series of articles were ran about the other Wes Moore stating that the police were trying to locate him on charges of robbery and
Civil rights issues stand at the core of Anne Moody’s memoir. However, because my last two journal entries centered on race and the movement, I have decided to shift my focus. In her adolescent years, Anne Moody must live with her mother, her mother’s partner Raymond, and her increasing number of siblings. As she reaches maturity, she grows to be a beautiful girl with a developed body. Her male peers and town members notice, as does her step father Raymond.
The Other Wes Moore was written by Wes Moore (the one not in jail). This book isn’t just one of the usual autobiographies written by a successful African American. The stories of the two men depicted in the book show how a person’s decisions can affect their entire life. The idea that two people can come from the same background and have similar ethnicity and economic status, but end up with different outcomes, is very intriguing and genius as a book. The responsibility, self-sufficiency and ability to be a leader all have an effect on how a person experiences life.
In Baltimore and Harlem, many people have to deal with issues like the one I stated earlier. In The Other Wes Moore, we looked into the lives of two Wes Moores who lived in the same city and just a couple blocks apart. In this book, we saw how the two boys were starting off similar getting involved in drugs and dealing with family issues, and how
A great deal of people would say we are all just products of our environment― for two adolescent boys from Baltimore this couldn't be any truer. In the autobiographical memoir, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore, unbeknownst, two fatherless African American boys with an identical name and living in the same neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, ended up on two entirely different paths of life. One evolves to be a Rhodes Scholar, honored and respected combat veteran, and business leader. The other is spending the rest of his life in a federal prison for committing a murder. However, in their separate lives, they both started out as young boys that grew up in single mom households in the rough streets of Baltimore.
He is humiliated by his own father that “beat him one Sunday in front of most of the parishioner on the church steps” (Richards 12). After being ridiculed by his own father, Sydney is further pushed as an outcast by the rest of the community always being accused of things he did not do. The author allows this to be a time for the reader to feel pathos towards Sydney. It clearly portrays the hardships and struggles Sydney goes through as a child and allows the reader to relish in the feeling of Sydney’s pain while his own father “tormented him in front of kids his own age” (Richards 13) as well as the rest of the community. With the public beatings, Sydney becomes the social outcast of the community and is considered “a danger to people” (Richards 26).
A reader might be changed after reading this novel by realizing how much negativity and unfairness goes around this town and time period because of their beliefs that all black people are criminals or that a person’s status determines who they are. Some stereotypes can be legit, but if it 's someone’s opinion it is not always true and it 's not fair to base someone on their skin
Quinn’s realization is powerful because it teaches the reader about the importance of questioning one’s own assumptions and the potential to change their beliefs and become an advocate for positive change. This demonstrates literary merit through its powerful and thought-provoking perspectives on issues of race, justice, and brutality. By telling the story from the perspectives of two teenagers, one black, and one white, the novel provides a deep exploration of these issues, challenging readers to critically think about their assumptions and biases. The novel also shares many literary techniques such as vivid imagery, and figurative language, to create an immersive reading experience. Additionally, the
Growing up in Oakland he encountered violence, hate, death, and crime. His section of the novel discusses his experiences and what led him to the turning point of the story, setting Sashas skirt on fire on the bus. Growing up with these negative influences, both his morals and beliefs were affected as well as the natural desire to conform to the majority. Other people have an immense impact on the principles and ethics of the individual, which inevitably affects their outward behavior. With the need to fit in with the majority being so common amongst humans, the need to find balance through embracing individuality is integral to living an honest and fulfilling life.
Elijah Anderson, a Yale professor, developed the concept or theory entitled the “code of the street” which explains the reasoning for high rates of street violence among African-American juveniles in a Philadelphia community. The “code of the street” is the way of life for many living in poverty-stricken communities which attempt to regulate behaviors. Anderson observed that juveniles in inner-city neighborhoods who are exposed to racial discrimination, economic disadvantages and alienation from mainstream society may lead violent behavior. The strain, social learning, and labeling theories are all directly related to Anderson’s work.
2) Both environments played a huge role into their personalities and their stories. For both Wes’s, the streets of the Bronx and Baltimore were filled with poverty, drugs, and violence. Chinquapins population of students was 99% black. (Moore 27) and it certainly did not help that the other Wes’s brother Tony started dealing drugs since he was 10. The personality he gained from Tony made him follow in his footsteps and join others selling drugs on the streets.
The imagery and description of Elwood’s mindset after the beating at the White House show that Nickel has injected fear into its students. The trauma has not only left changes on his body but also in his consciousness. A moral kid like Elwood has started to give in to fear even though all his life he has advocated for what is right. Furthermore, the personification of reality grabbing a hold of Elwood illustrates that Elwood’s ideas of a society being built off of logic and justice are irrelevant at Nickel. There, the students must choose between their dignity and their life.
Throughout the first half of the book He described how the social factors continued to play a huge role on how the African American and Latino youth gradually develop. As the novel progresses, He starts to further develop this idea by shedding more light on how these adolescents actually felt and why they chose to be deviant instead of becoming working members of society. As it is further explained in the novel, most of these adolescents want to make change of lifestyle, but there are many barriers that prohibit them from doing so. Change seems to be something simple, but can become difficult because of all the negativity the youth in the novel experience. It becomes next to impossible to strive to be better when the youth are constantly told they are worthless by people of higher authority and even their own peers.