How is it that two boys with the exact same name grow up in the same area but lead two completely different futures? The Other Wes Moore is a story that answers that question. The author Wes Moore and the other Wes Moore both grow up in Baltimore surrounded by the same culture however one ends up with a bright future while the other will spend the rest of his life behind bars for robbery and murder. After the author Wes Moore learns of the other Wes Moore he spends a great deal of time visiting him and hearing his story. We then begin to learn how society and its people can have a major impact on our lives.
The Other Wes Moore is about two totally different boys who share the same name. They are one year apart from each other and were born blocks apart from each other in the same troubled city. One grew up be a successful man who was a Rhodes scholar, served in the army, and was a business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison for attempted murder. This story revolves around two main characters, which are both named Wes Moore.
The author suffered from many consequences as he was getting older. First, the lost of his father, which had a big impact on him because of the lack of parental support. Then, due to the consequences of just having one parent at home, Wes began having trouble with the school which led him to get involved in risky incidents, like trouble with the law and school. Although, the author was surrounded by many negative factors that caused him to not care about him and his family. His mother Joy, wanted to make a change in him because she knew that Wes was not
Two Distinctive Paths In the book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, the author writes about himself and another man of the same name, who lived near him as they grew up and who also happened to have the exact same name as he. The author becomes a successful man, while the “other” Wes Moore ends up being a convicted murderer, serving a life sentence. Wes Moore states, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” Throughout the book, Wes tries to figure out why their lives turned out to be so different. The most crucial ingredients in determining the different outcomes between the author Wes Moore and the other Wes Moore are the parenting, guidance, and direction each one had from his respective mother.
Invoking fear to one another has been a necessity to survive. On the first day of Ms. Louanne Johnson, she was not welcomed by her students because at the back of their mind, even if they learn or not, the culture where they grew up instilled in them that they will not accomplish anything outside of what they grew up with. They will be that kind of person sooner or later, they will eventually be one of the drug dealers or notorious gangsters of their neighborhood. Ms. Johnson, had a hard time surpassing the barrier between she and her students. Ms. Johnson had to think outside of the box in order to connect with her students better.
The author says it makes him feel uncomfortable. Staples says he was mistaken for a burglar and a thief because of his race. Staples also explains a time when his friend a fellow journalist was mistaken for a killer when his friend was just reporting the murder. Staples believes it was because his friend is black. Staples sees himself as a young educated black man staples states he was "one of the good ol boys” being only in a few fist fights.
Although Wes’ mother tried making it with her children on her own it was very difficult. His mother tried making life as normal as possible, however it became increasingly harder for her as time passed. She ended up moving her family to the Bronx as the children got older and ready to begin school. They had a lot of relatives in Maryland who were very supportive, however she decided to move back home to her parents and into the home she grew up in and had many fond memories of Wes’ (B) mother Mary did not have that option as a single parent. Her own mother died when
‘“You can’t just live like this”, I said. “Why not?” Mom said. “Being homeless is an adventure”.’ Even though Walls knows her parents made the decisions that led them to where they are today, she feels unhappy for them. Walls began to realize that her parent’s decisions weren’t the best for her family, and she began to have mixed feelings for what she needed to do. ‘“Mom, you have to leave Dad”, I said’.
The book is written to look like a boy with a mental disability wrote it, and I believe the author did a great job. The mind of a boy in Christopher’s condition may wonder off topic and start thinking about some other topic that he thinks is more important, or maybe he would even think it was related to the last topic. This book seems to catch that aspect of Christopher’s personality well. A few times when the author was going on about something having to do with the story, he would go off and talk about something else. For example, I was reading about when Christopher learns that his mother was having an affair, and then all of the sudden, I am reading about the Monty Hall problem.
What you have to do is trust your own story. Get the hell out of the way and let it tell itself.” (106). This comment reflects on the idea that the stories force their own way out, and in a way tell themselves. This is because after being repressed for so long, they sort of just blurt out. I found ‘The Man I killed’ to be a particularly interesting story out of this book.