Wes Moore's The Other Wes Lee

The only thing that the other Wes Moore saw was a jail cell. He will be on in inside looking out onto what would be a loved one. Wes had no future but the jail cell. When you are all alone in life it is easy to loose hope. When he first started off in life Wes never tried to do anything to better himself. Selling drugs and stilling were the only things that he knew

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.

These school were poorly funded and were ill-equipped to teach the students. Because of this, Many students ended up dropping out to make money for their family or themselves. This lead Wes toward his career in the drug trade. “He knew what game this was, the same game that had consumed Tony and put a bullet or two in him. The same game that Tony continually urged Wes to stay out of…. His disenchantment with school was beginning to wear on him. All he really wanted to do was either play football professionally or become a rapper. If he could earn some cash in the meantime” (58). This was a huge turning point in Wes Moore’s life. This part in the story is when Wes got into the drug trade and ultimately quit school. He made the choice to stop going to school because he wanted to get some money, he took the easy route. That was his choice, even though his mom and his brother tried to keep him in school, he ultimately is his own persona and makes his own choices.

Facing something traumatic as losing a loved one is extremely difficult to deal with. But since he was young, he might not have understood what happened and there was nobody who could explain to him what happened. The one who helped him was his father, but he was gone. As Wes grew older, he probably got it, and that led to his poor decisions. The other Wes Moore, the one that came in and out of prison, made poor decisions also.

The author Wes Moore went off to military school where negative environmental influences were cut off and he was able to receive an education, which he himself considers a turning point in his life. His entire atmosphere and the dynamics of the schools he was accustomed to were altered. Although he attempted to run away several times, there was a point after speaking with his mother that he made the decision to stop running and embrace the experience and it helped make him the person he is today. The imprisoned Moore dropped out of school and like the overwhelming majority of African American male drop outs, ended up in the system. While the imprisoned Wes may have not had access to private or military schools, he could have finished school and decided to make an honest living. Later in his life he did decided to earn a GED and learn a trade, but he didn’t make the decision to dedicate himself to turning his life around and as soon as things got difficult turned back to what he knew instead of taking path toward something more positive. He gained mentors working under Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore, and a friend in his former Captain, Ty Hill at the military school. His decision to pursue a life full of criminal activity was his alone.

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 reasoning as to why I believe the other Wes Moore could have went down a path to success is if the other Wes Moore had the same family support as the author Wes Moore and if his brother who had a big influence on Wes, was not involved in the drug game. While both Wes Moore’s are both fatherless, the author Wes Moore was a lot luckier than the other Wes Moore, because he had his grandparents to help raise him. With the support of his grandparents, Wes had someone to look after him and also help steer him in the right direction if needed. His grandparents gave Wes and his sisters a set of rules and chores to do every single day. Compared to the other Wes Moore, he did not have any sort of discipline or rules to go by in his house due to the fact his mother and brother were never really at home. Furthermore, with the other Wes Moore, he only had his mother and his brother Tony, who both were not a good influence on him at all. The other Wes Moore looked up to his brother and wanted to be exactly like Tony. For example, when Wes got into a small

“I sat back, allowing Wes's words to sink in. Then I responded, "I guess it's hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances"(Page 67). In "The Other Wes Moore" the environment of both Wes Moore's were completely different from each other. They both made some stupid decisions over time but who is perfect? It is expected of everyone to make some mistakes, in my opinion the main influence on their choices came from their environment. In their environment they had peers that would influence them to do things that they did not necessarily want to do. This caused them to get into trouble, but at the same token, their environment also gave them some opportunities to make it through some rough times. For Example: Wes #2

Bad Influences, Stressful Situations, and Abandonment led to the incarceration of the Other Wes Moore. The Other Wes Moore was a man that lived in the same neighborhood as the successful Wes Moore, but he had more negatives than positives in his life, which causes him to be influenced by all of the bad influences.

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.

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.

Role models play a huge role in shaping an person in either a positive or negative way. In this case education, parenting , poverty played the biggest roles in developing the Wes Moore’s. Wes once said “when were young it sometimes seems as if the world doesn't exist outside our city, our block , our house, our room.we make decisions based on what we see in that limited world and follow the only models available.(moore178). Not only did role models play a huge role in their transition into adulthood the education system in which they were offered affected them very differently. Each was not offered the same opportunity to have the the best education. Living in poverty played a significant part in the making of them as individuals because

Wes Moore explain his life events and how he over came all the obstacles. He was a man who grew up just seeing his father twice, and he saw him at four an seeing him die in his face. That when him and his family move to New York, and his attitude change toward life and his family. So his mother sent his to military school and then he went to finish college. Then, a tragic thing happen near the place he was brought up, a police officer with five kids was off duty and he was shot three times. The police officer died on site and it was a national 12 day man hunt. The killers was found and one of their names was Wes Moore, and the Wes Moore that went to college wanted to learn more about him. So, he found out that him and the other Wes Moore had

I think that Intrinsic factors, such as mindset, and drive, had the most impact in how each Wes turned out. Many people argue that the most impacts are opportunities and family support. What this argument fails to consider is both Wes’s had opportunities and supporters but only one used their last opportunity to do something good in life and be successful and the other one didn’t which is why he is locked up for life.

In the chapter 7 and 8 of the book “ The Other Wes Moore” written by Wes Moore, they are mainly about how both of them had chose their path the end of the story and how it fulfilled to their expectations. It was such a tragic ending to the other Wes as he ended his life in prison. Others would probably feel that he deserved the penalty, but not me. I am not saying that I supported his action that led his life to a dark path. It is just that I found him unfortunate for being born in such place.