The Other Wes Moore Essay

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

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.

“The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates Essay” written by Wes Moore, which is based on his and another man with the same name life. The book follows two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same city just within a year of each other. Both boys had similar circumstances, for which they both growing up in the middle of the crack epidemic in the 1980’s in the city of Baltimore. Both boys had troubling childhood grew up within a single parent household without their fathers in their life’s. Although both two men born into a similar position in the world ended up leading wildly different lives. The author Wes Moore grew up to achieve great things becoming decorated veteran, White House Fellows, and business leader. The other Wes

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.

“One name, two fates,” that what the author of the Other Wes Moore stated on the cover of his book. Two boys that were born in the same neighborhood in Baltimore, and had a difficult childhood since they both grew up fatherless. The coincidence was that the two boys were called Wes. They both shared a lot of similarities from living in a poor neighborhood and growing up in Baltimore street corners with their squads. However, their futures were completely different as one achieved the impossible and the other was a convicted murderer serving a life sentence. People may think that how could this happen since they both were living the same circumstances. However, in the book Wes Moore, the boys did not have equal opportunities in terms of parenting, education, and environment.

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.

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

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 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

Wes Moore also faced the unfortunate passing of his father. In the reading he states, “I could not have felt safer, more secure...I tried to copy his walk, his expressions. I was his main man. He was my protector.(11)” Throughout this quote he is able to describe both the relationship and connection he had with his father. He looked up to him and wanted to be just like him. That is why, when his father passed he knew he would have to take on the responsibilities of being the man of the

“This is a story of two boys living in Baltimore with similar histories and an identical name: Wes Moore. One of us is free… The other will spend every day until his death behind bars...” (Moore, XI) In The Other Wes Moore, the author, Wes Moore, and the other Wes Moore both grew up in similar, yet different, circumstances and had completely different outcomes. This captivating narrative demonstrates how the choices you make, make you. In the introduction, the author Wes Moore validates this statement by saying, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (Moore XI) The author, Wes Moore, shows the readers that a person’s environment, circumstances, education (or lack

In Wes Moore's book, The Other Wes Moore, he describes both his childhood and the early life of another boy of the same name who grew up near the author in the same Baltimore neighborhood. Moore's book explores the reasons why one boy, the author, succeeded in life while the other Wes Moore was overwhelmed by his struggles and will spend his life in prison. The author Wes Moore addresses different topics for the reader to take from the book.The ideas that are presented by him and should be recognised are the environment the boys grew up in, the motivation they got from family, and the influence from not having a father. The author Wes Moore has always had a supportive family while on the other hand the other Wes Moore had no one besides Tony, who even then was a big factor on why Wes is where he is at today. Their environment plays a big role in both of the boy’s life since they both were around the same things. The only difference is that one had a family who got him out of there to an environment that shaped him up to be the man that he is today and the one that never left will be the one that will never leave prison for the rest of his life.

How can two people with the same name, who lived very similar lives turn out so different? The other Wes differs from the narrator because he chose to get involved with drugs and the narrator was taught to make good choices. The narrator and the other Wes are similar because they both lived with their single mother. The narrator and the other Wes were very similar in important ways. In The Other Wes Moore, the narrator Wes and the other Wes Moore have many similarities, but they are also very different.

Wes’s decision to leave school for an easier life of street dealing guided him down a path of misfortunes. The first of many came with his violent outburst to defend his pride. After a woman in relations with Wes Moore sees her boyfriend show up to his house, he angrily punches Wes in the face. In shock, Moore “could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony’s words rang through his mind. Send a message” (104). Proceeding the attack, he grabbed a gun out of his drawer and shot the man to prove a point that you do not mess with him. He was incarcerated for six months. To no surprise, what occured later in his life was the infamous shooting of a police officer in the midst of a robbery. This landed Wes Moore in a life sentence for murder. It all started with drug dealing and ended in indefinite incarceration for murder.