Montana 1948 By Larry Watson

As a direct result of his years at the military school, Wes graduated high school on time and continued his education. On the other hand, “Other” Wes did not graduate from high school. Rather than attempt to turn his life around, “Other” Wes turned to a life of pushing drugs and committing crimes, a lifestyle that would later result in long prison sentences for him. This is a result of him not receiving any effective disciplinary action from his mother or any other important role models in his life because rather than try to live his life according to any standard set for him early in life, he disregarded the law and those around him. Author Wes’s self-discipline, family discipline, and military discipline all resulted in him having a prosperous life starting immediately after he graduated. He eventually attended college and interned at the Baltimore city's mayor's office. While the “other” Wes had no discipline in his life which led it to spiral out of control. After trying getting back into selling drugs, “other Wes” committed a robbery with his brother Tony which went from bad to worse when it resulted in the death of a policeman who had taken up a second job as a security guard at the jewelry store Wes

The other Wes Moore faced a completely different life experience. Other Wes also struggled through school and never had a strong sense of ambition or aspiration to succeed in life. He later gave into drug dealing pressures at a young age and seemed to have lost all control of his life and his actions. Though his brother Tony had a drastic influence on his decisions, he blamed others for his faults and never took responsibility for his accountabilities. He denied any control over his fate and considered himself a victim due to his occurrences. He lacked any true power and outlook over who he will become and what his future will hold. When it comes to the concept of a vice, Wes Moore made two major mistakes that will follow him for the rest

By having multiple roles in the community and being the Sheriff of Bentrock, it puts Wesley in an even tougher position. Wesley is seen as a well respected member of the community, but during the novel he becomes very conflicted with himself and has to face one of the biggest decisions of his life when he has to chose between family or justice. He overcomes this conflict with himself by making the right decision no matter what anyone else thinks or is trying to tell him. There is plenty of description of Wesley at the beginning and through the novel. His conflict can be seen When he challenges gail “Are you telling me this because i’m Frank’s brother? Because i’m your husband? Because i’m Marie employer? ... Or because i’m the sheriff?”. This shows us that he is not sure what to believe anymore or what to do. Another time that we are shown Wesley's internal conflict is when he locks Frank in the basement instead of taking him straight to the police. He knows that Wesley needs consequences for his actions, but he is not sure how to do it, he just wants to do what's best for everyone, but sometimes that isn’t always possible. The technique of dialogue is used to show us the conflict Wesley has with himself and the true battles that he has to be able to face justice. We are shown all the barriers that he has to overcome and how this has shaped him into a person. Through the aspect of Wesley’s conflict, Watson has helped to understand the concept of how hard it actually is to chose between family and the law, sometimes it is harder than we think to do the right

In this quote, narrator Wes Moore is describing an event of the other Wes Moore’s life, where his older

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

During the two Wes Moore’s teenage years, they had run ins with people that turned violent. Part of how they reacted to these situations are attributed to what their peers are doing and where they live but how they overcome, or fail to overcome these obstacles helped put each of them where they are today. When Wes had a run in with Ray for sleeping with Ray’s cousin, Ray put a pretty big beating on him, but it was how Wes chose to react that put a nail in his coffin.

i. The similarities with the Other Wes’s mother was that she too was never home, but the contrast lye with the mistake she made with leaving Tony as the only guardian. “Wes, now eight years old, was free from any adult supervision till then. His brother, six years older, was the closest thing Wes had to a caretaker during the daylight hours and was fiercely protective of the little brother who idolized him. But lately even Tony hadn’t been around much (Moore 26).”

Wes #1 grew up without his father; his father died near the beginning of the story with a rare disease. Wes #1 did not understand the responsibility that he would have to uphold until he got older because he was only three years old. Wes #1 needed a father figure because he needed a manly structure in his life. Even though Wes already had a loving mother, willing to play both roles as a mother and father, a mother can only do but so much. Young men need fathers/father figures because they help out with the things mothers can not explain. This takes us back to the subject of environment and family, because Wes #1 had a environment that strived off of respect, he had a family that strived off of doing the right thing.

Wes 2 remembered that his mother liked to go out dancing and partying with her friends at clubs. She showed herself to be a bad role model several times. One thing she did was going from one abusive relationship to the next. By the end of the book she had three children with three different fathers. She even had her last boyfriend, who was married to another woman, practically living with her and her sons. She would say with her words that she was against using drugs, however, when Wes 2 found the marijuana in her pocket he found out the truth. He also found himself trying to emulate and prove himself to his older brother, Tony, who was also a walking contradiction. Not only did Tony deal with drugs, he dropped out of school, and taught Wes to solve problems with physical force. His words were of encouragement for a better future for his brother, but his actions proved that he didn’t believe better was possible. The author writes “Wes didn't think Tony was a hypocrite exactly--he knew why his brother felt obliged to warn him off. But it was clear that Tony didn't have any better ideas or he would've made those moves himself” (Moore page 71). Wes 2 was learning through what he saw being lived out through his mother and

The book is based on twelve year old David Hayden’s memories of the events of his life in Montana. David is the son of Wesley Hayden, town sheriff and Gail Hayden. When the Hayden’s Indian housekeeper Marie Little Solider falls severely ill, Gail and Wesley suggest calling Wesley’s brother Frank, their close family member and local doctor. When Marie hears this she falls

The other Wes Moore is also considered to be deviant by his poor decision-making and careless choices. He dropped out of school, sold drugs, participated in a robbery of a jewelry store, and was a convicted murderer with a life sentence. There was many sociological factors that led to the other Wes Moore’s deviant behavior; the absence of his father being an important factor. Although both the author Wes Moore and the other Wes Moore grew up without a father, it affected the other Wes Moore a little more considering the fact that his father chose not to be in his life. Also, Tony had a big impact on the decision he made for himself. Throughout the story, Wes would remember what Tony told him about demanding respect. “Send a message,” And Wes would do as Tony said. The problem with the other Wes Moore was that he lacked positive influences in his life and he had no motivation to live a better life until it was too late.

In chapter 1, the author gives a brief yet detailed background story of both his and the “other” Wes’s family life. One key instance is shown on page 24, “Since leaving high school years prior, Bernard hadn’t found a steady job. He spent most of his time searching for himself at the bottoms of liquor bottles. Mary was left with two alcoholic, abusive men who shared the DNA of her two children but no husband or dad for her boys.” His father’s drug and alcohol abuse

The narrator Wes and the other Wes are similar because they grew up in a single parent home. “Mary looked down at her son and uttered the words she had never said before and never thought she would have to say. Wes, meet your father(Moore 25).” When Wes was growing up, he only had his older brother and his mom because his father was never in his life. The narrator's father died after the doctors told him to go home and rest. The narrator’s father would’ve been around and cared for his family if the doctors would’ve taken better care of him. ”The hospital looked at him askance, insulted him with ridiculous questions, and basically told him to fend for himself. Now my mother had to plan his funeral(Moore 15).” Beside

In order for the Wes’s to get respect, they need to show they are worthy. While the author was in private school he tried to gain respect by beating up other students and he tried to link up with the children in the “cool” crowd. This did not work very well for Wes, he was considered to be in a decent family. His mother was strict and tried everything to get him to stop with his attitude. Along with that Wes had a strict curfew, he was to be home when the street lights came on and he knew to follow that. Where the other Wes tried to earn credit by fight, smoking marijuana, drinking, and eventually getting involved with the distribution of drugs. His family was more street run, they were disorganized and lacked consideration for other. With his father choosing to not be involved his family is more prone to physical and verbal punishment, which showed Wes that everything can be solved with

The story of The Other Wes Moore and how different the two men’s fates turned out to be raised many questions and theories for the readers about how this could have happened. Was nature or nurture to blame? Could their stories have been swapped so easily? Moore included an excerpt from a poem from Sir William Ernest Henley which ended with, “I am the master of my fate /