Challenges In The Other Wes Moore

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

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

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.

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.

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).”

In the text, the intrinsic factor that most influences the author is perseverance, while the intrinsic factor that most influences Wes is motivation. Early in the book we find out that the author’s father died and that his mother wasn’t “coping well with her husband’s death” she was “losing her grip.” (Moore, 37) And very soon after she’d realized that she moved everyone from Maryland to the Bronx in New York. The author was “apprehensive about moving away from my (his) friends, from the only world I’d (he’d) known.” (Moore, 38)  But still after his father’s death and moving so quickly from Maryland he was motivated and tried his best and later went on to do big things despite what would effect a lot of kids’ attitude on life. The intrinsic factor that affected Wes was motivation. He lacked motivation to be a better person even after he was arrested for carrying a knife to “send a message” (Moore, 34) to a kid who tried to mess with him and after “Tony tried to keep Wes in school and away from the drug game for as long as Wes could remember” (Moore, 71) But Wes continued to deal drugs and get arrested for trying to assault a person (and other reasons). These intrinsic factors are about the same thing but the author didn’t let obstacles get in the way of perseverance and Wes lacked in

In the book, The Other Wes Moore it is difficult to believe the great similarities in the lives of the two Moores, who share a name and other aspects of life. The two were raised fatherless and were born in the late 1970’s in the neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. They also happen to have encountered similar experiences when growing up, but at one point one of them became a criminal and the other a scholar (the author of the book). The author of the book seems to be interested in the similarities of the two boys as opposed to their different experiences. The story is interesting and makes one imagine what would have become of the writer if he did not by any chance come across the people who guided him to become what

The Other Wes Moore is a book about two young African-American lives that share the same name, Wes Moore. Both Wes Moores grew up with similarities, they both grew up in the same hometown. One of the Wes Moore is free and the other one is spending his life in jail. They both grew up without fathers. The author's father died in front of him when he was just three years old and the other Wes Moore barley knew his dad. The Author's father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, and the other Wes Moore, father wasn’t there because he chose not to be. Both mothers were working hard towards setting their families and to support and care for their sons.

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.

Tony, Wes’s older brother, tried to tell him to stay away from drugs but he didn’t listen. The narrator, on the other hand, grew up with a mother who made it a point to learn right from wrong. When the narrator was little his mother said, ”I told you, don’t you ever put your hands on a woman(Moore 5)!” His mother made sure that he knew that it was not okay to treat people like that which showed that he would learn right. These differences may seem very small, but they are a major cause for why they both turned out so

Tony felt his little brother's life could be saved, even if he felt his own had already, at age fourteen, passed the point of no return." (Moore 27). On the other hand, Wes Moore has no such close relation or relationship dragging him down.

In The Other Wes Moore, the author views his father as a beneficial influence and a supporter. When the author was three, he playfully hit his older sister, infuriating his mother. Because of that, she sends the author to his room. Eventually, the author's father comes inside and comforted him. The author recalls, "As I sat there, all of my anxiety released. I could not have felt safer, more secure” (11). Within these lines, the author begins to feel "safer" around his father. His father helped the author let go of his anxiety and put him at ease. After that scene, the author and his father went downstairs to talk apologize to Joy. As the author walks with his dad, his "...whole hand wrapped tighter around [my father's] middle finger. I