Many know of the tune “It’s a Small World” played at the Disney Parks. It’s lyrics repeat, “It’s a small world after all,” over and over until you have it cemented in your brain for eternity (but that’s beside the point). These lyrics connect with the book, The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, because of how closely connected two men living in Baltimore were. Both men named Wes Moore with a father out of the picture made it an oddly “small world.” But although they had very similar upbringings, their lives took extremely different paths. Three key differences that make them different are: why their fathers weren’t apart of their lives, what they grew up around, and how their mother’s dealt with troubled kids. Although their lives very …show more content…
Moore was a troubled kid, getting into fights, getting in trouble for graffiti, running away was sent to many different schools. He was the poor kid in a sea of rich kids (so he didn’t fit in). But he was given the opportunity to change when he was forced to go to a Military boarding school. He eventually decided that he wanted to be apart of something bigger than himself and this was it. He knew he wanted to change. When deciding how he could change he thought, “Aside from my family and friends, the men I trusted most all had something in common: they all wore the uniform of the United States of America,” (Moore pg. 132). He decided he wanted to become a Lieutenant and be someone other people could look up to. This was a major moment in Moore’s life. But Wes, on the other hand, experienced the same bad childhood and never got out of the “bad”. He never had a defining failure where he said ‘this is when I change’. He got onto a path and started making patterns with his decisions and never made the right one to get him to where he needed to be, unlike the other Wes. Their mothers were very influential to how the Moore’s lives turned out. Wes’s mother was not around much and left Wes with his brother, Tony. Tony was often involved with drugs, dangerous situations, and not very good people. So Wes grew up around strong drug abuse, addiction, and crime because his mother was often gone. At a young age, he learned about these drugs that his
In the first chapter of “The Other Wes Moore” the author Moore talks about both his and the other Wes Moore’s childhood; including what each of their parents had to go through at the time. Moore discusses how similar their childhood was in that they both grew up with the absence of their fathers, and how both their mothers wanted to give them the life they never had.
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.
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
The author Wes Moore’s family greatly influenced him and definitely helped him become a successful person today. As a kid, Wes often struggled in school. His mother made many sacrifices, worked many jobs so her son could go to school out of the neighborhood.went to school out of the neighborhood because his mother wanted him to stay on positive path. His mom made many sacrficies for her son because she wanted him to get the education he needed to become successful. When Riverdale wasn’t helping him to get the education he needed, his mother sent him away to military school.In order to do this, his mother made more sacrifices. His mother worked several jobs so she could pay off military school. Also, his grandparents gave his mother the money
G. Stanley Hall once said “Man is largely a creature of habit, and his activities are more or less automatic reflexes from the stimuli of his environment.”. This quote from the late psychologist speaks volumes to the question: “Are we all products of our environment?” and to both of the Wes Moores. Both started their lives in Baltimore which was a very difficult place to grow up in at the time. Both didn’t have a father in their life. Although they started on equal grounds why did one get sentenced to life in prison and the other become a Rhodes Scholar and become one of the youngest officers in the entire U.S. Army? I believe that we are all products of our environment because of who we look up to, how we are houses are run, and the environment we live in.
In the book Other Wes Moore, the author, Wes Moore, tells his side of the story which is about his childhood and his life. Moore has grown up in a poor family and in bad conditions. His family struggles to make it by with what they just have. Moore’s mother has to drop out of school to help keep food on the table for her kids. Since Wes Moore’s father has been missing from Wes’ and his mother for a significant amount of years.
First, both Wes Moores had “jobs” with similar structures and a chain of command. The author Wes Moore recalled his role in the structures of military school: “I was now a platoon sergeant, a cadet master sergeant and the youngest senior noncommissioned officer in the entire corps.” (Moore, 115).
The book The Other Wes Moore show you can live with nothing, live with no father and in a run down neighborhood, run the street with your crew, and stop going to school and be a dropout selling drug and still change and be the better of who you. Wes Moore (1) was sent to going to military school by his mother for try to be a drop out and trying to do nothing with his life. Wes Moore (2) didn’t have the support he need to change his life for the better of who he is. His Mother was to busy to be there for Wes to see he was struggling with school and going down the wrong path and the path he choose to go down was to follow his brother Tony. Tony was selling drug so Wes Moore want to be like his brother but from that he lost his brother bc Tony
The novel, The Other Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore, compares and contrasts the experience of two African American males who were born in Baltimore, Maryland; the novel explores the divergent life paths of these two men who come from similar cultural backgrounds and environments. The author, Wes Moore, begins the novel by explaining about his childhood and the death of his father which impacted his family at a very young age. The author contrasts this with the childhood of the “other” Wes Moore, whose father was not present during his childhood. The novel transitions to the adolescent experience of these boys, describing how schools and the environments of their neighborhoods influenced their transitions from children to adults. The author
Wes Moore was a good kid. His parents were Wesley and Joy, who also had two sisters whose names were Nikki and Shani. Wes’s father died at a young age which made him have a hard time growing up especially without a father figure. Wes was sent to military school by his mom which turned his whole life around. His behavior and grades improved and so did his view of life and how to live.
Both Wes Moores had bad influences around them. Other Wes had his brother Tony, a big time drug dealer. (26-28) Author Wes had Shea, a young man who had gotten involved in the drug game. (79-80)
“The Other Wes Moore” is written by Wes Moore himself. In the book “The other Wes Moore” there is two black African American boys who share the same name but, ended up in different paths in life. Both boys have absent fathers for their various reason and with mothers being the head of the household. The purpose of the story is to illustrate how nurture is responsible for a individual success. Author Wes Moore uses parallel plot structure, flashbacks, and diction to prove that nurture determines an individual success.
Perhaps the most obvious difference in their challenges was that the other Wes lacked positive role models in his life. While the author Wes had the role models of both his grandparents and fellow students at military school, the other Wes only had Tony, his drug dealing brother, to look up to. This can be seen by Wes’s motto, given to him by Tony, “Rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again,” (33). This motto played a role in the poor choices that Wes made, especially those involved with violence. Whenever Wes made the choice to either physically attack someone or attack someone with a weapon, the motto ‘send a message’ was mentioned. Tony’s negative impact on Wes affected him by allowing Wes to justify his actions and choices by saying that he was ‘sending a message’. In addition to this, despite Tony’s efforts to keep Wes out of the drug game, Wes was involved in the drug game before his teenage years. His choice to become involved in the drug game led to a crime-filled life, in which “getting arrested was starting to feel routine,” (114). This apathy towards getting arrested exemplifies Wes’s bad choices and the impact they have on his
To develop a theme, Wes Moore used diction and characterization. Wes and the other Wes both had opportunities to make good and bad decisions, which ultimately decided their fates. The other Wes had Tony, a drug dealer, as a role model, therefore he wanted to be like Tony. When the other Wes got beat up by another person, he, “could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony’s words rang through his mind. Send a Message.” (Moore 104). The other Wes felt as if he had