The Other Wes Moore Compare And Contrast Essay

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

“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.

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

Their fathers also affected their lives in the same way as their mothers. Wes’s father, Wes, was a strong, peaceful man who had a stable career. He passed away when Wes was three, leaving Joy with their three children (Moore 15). He still had a positive impact on Wes’s life, though. He was a positive role model for Wes even after his passing. The “other” Wes didn’t have it quite as well, however. His father, Bernard, was still alive and well, but left Wes with Mary, and didn’t care to have a relationship with his son. One of the few times Wes interacted with his father was when he went to his Mamie’s house. His Mamie was his father’s mother, and his father just happened to be drunk and passed out on the couch at

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

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 Moore, the author of “The Other Wes Moore” had many accomplishments in his life. He however gained notoriety with this book it was a New York Times best seller. In Chapter 7, the main idea is that two people living in the same environment had different outcomes in their lives by making entirely different decisions on how to deal with the adversities they faced in their lives. These decisions led to the lives that they ultimately lived. The tone was intense and high energy to begin with but then seemed to turn neutral in both men’s stories. The purpose is to inform the reader how the same environment can take two people and based on their decisions lead to very different out comes in life. The author takes each man’s thoughts and show how

In the book The Other Wes Moore, it has two different guys with the same name but different lives. Wes one, had a good family to take care of him. Wes two, wasn’t so fortunate, his family didn’t really care about him. I’ve never been in a situation like this but if you grow up like this on the streets and you want off bad enough you will do whatever it takes. You make your own life no one else.

In both the book The Other Wes Moore and poem “If,” the theme is expressed through characterization. The authors explain the build up of the characters by showing the expectations and decisions for them. Wes Moore describes how both boys were supported differently during the early stages of life. However, individuals can notice that each child was shaped differently. Moore explained, “I was taught to remember, but never question. Wes was taught to forget and never ask why” (page 1). This shows that both Wes’ did have a childhood in which was built up by their moms. Wes got lucky in having a mother (Joy) who truly cared about his education and future. Because Joy raised Wes to follow the positive route, he did not end up in the same boat as the the other Wes. On the other hand, the other Wes’s family did not care as much about him. Since his mother did not do much to help his

The two Wes' grew up in very similar situations that differed in only a few, yet crucial, ways. Neither Wes' had their father's involved in their lives. The other Wes never saw his father. He left Wes and his mother alone to fend for two children as soon as Wes was born. Wes' dad was so unfamiliar to him, that "the smell coming

The author notes that his life turned out drastically different from the other Wes Moore's; however, they grew up with amazingly similar childhoods. They grew up in the same area, had similar social experiences, and both of their fathers weren’t around. The author mentions that Wes Moores older

The first was heavily influenced by his parental figures while the second was more or less uncared for. Although the first Wes had a father both trying to be as equally involved in their children's lives “ ‘I told you, don't you ever put your hands on a woman!’ ”(Moore 5). This quote showed Wes's mothering introducing morals to her child such as respect.“ ‘Wes, he needs to learn what is acceptable and what is not!’ My father agreed…” (Moore 6). This quote is demonstrating the involvement in Wes’s life and parenting. Sadly his father passed and Wes’s mother, Joy, soon grew took over the family on her own making her own decisions on the state of her family like relocating her children for a better education because she was quite involved as a single parent. The second Wes was not as privileged with parental figures and leaders dictating and impacting his life. With a mother consumed by drugs, a missing father ,and a brother also involved with drugs there was no real surprise of the second Wes’s outcome. “Wes knew all about weed… He cautiously put-the rolled up joint to his mouth and inhaled…” (Moore 60). The second Wes was never introduced to the same morals of women, “ ‘The one right there, with the red dress… Honey is Thick ’ ” ( Moore 60). . There are few similarities other than family as both have no father, a mother, a sibling and grandparents. But, the two Wes have different morals and