Influences in The Other Wes Moore People are born into certain circumstances. These circumstances are the foundation of the self, and later influences build on it. The initial circumstances of one’s life are an influence itself. Influences can be a determining factor in people’s lives, it can be the difference between success and failure, freedom and imprisonment, power and despair. This dynamic is demonstrated in the autobiography and biography of Westley Watende Omari Moore (hereinafter the author Wes), and Wesley John Moore (hereinafter the other Wes) respectively, recounted in The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. This book follows the lives of these two men with the same name, and compares them, showing how the author ended up as a Rhodes …show more content…
In each Wes’s life, their peers had indeed often influenced them for the worse. The peers from the environment the Weses grew up in had spread the customs, values, ideals, and generally the entire culture of that environment to them. This environment the Weses were born into were the streets of the Baltimore region in Maryland in the latter half of the 1970s. While by 1984 the author Wes and his family had moved in with their grandparents into the similar environment of the Bronx, New York, where his grandparents had a similar positive, protective influence on him as his mother, the other Wes for the most part remained in the Baltimore area. This environment is that of poverty, drugs, and crime, and its culture has formed from these conditions. The peers of the Weses have propagated this culture, and acted in ways that influenced them, spreading it to them. Among peers who expect one to do certain things, one is obligated to do such in peer pressure. In the environment of the Bronx, the author Wes’s peers from its impoverished streets expected him to act as they do. However, courtesy of his responsible mother, the author Wes was going to Riverdale Country School, a prestigious, predominantly white school in its respective island of affluence within the Bronx. Its environment was alien to Wes’s peers from the streets of the Bronx because it was one of wealth and prosperity. Coming from the streets of Baltimore himself, the author Wes had a hard time fitting in in this foreign environment. He was torn between the affluence of Riverdale and the delinquency of his Bronxite street crew. The peers of each side were dismayed by Wes’s association with the opposite side. When at Riverdale, Wes’s crew expected him to command respect and fear, and when interrogated by his crew about his life at Riverdale, Wes had to embellish a story about him
These towns, each with its unique characteristics and inhabitants, serve as a microcosm of society. They reflect the diversity and complexity of human nature, with people who are flawed, kind, helpful, and accepting. Through their interactions with the people in these small towns, Emily and Sloan experience the power of human connection and kindness. They learn that true identity transcends labels and appearances, and it is the genuine connections and relationships that bring out the best in
Moore is establishing his indisputable motive to write this book; his motivation I believe is much more significant than just a mere interest in the coincidence, but also an opportunity to explore how the choices that one makes can alter one’s future. Upon his return from Oxford University, Moore recognized how Wes Moore and himself had both been raised in Baltimore, a breeding ground of violence and crime, a situation in which few can flourish in. Moore is exploring what the tolls of living in a twisted, urban area have on a young, child and how certain characters can leave such dissimilar influences. Moore secures validation over his motivation, yet others and he even himself questions “so what?” , however, I feel many, youth, in particular,
In Baltimore and Harlem, many people have to deal with issues like the one I stated earlier. In The Other Wes Moore, we looked into the lives of two Wes Moores who lived in the same city and just a couple blocks apart. In this book, we saw how the two boys were starting off similar getting involved in drugs and dealing with family issues, and how
Growing up in the projects of 1970s and 1980s New York, Dalton Conley witnessed the blatant social inequalities embedded in his environment and many others. His experiences were unique compared to his peers, especially due to the fact he was one of the only white boys in a predominantly black and Hispanic area. Conley recognized that he had privileges that many of his peers did not have and often rejected the present social inequalities. Throughout the course of Conley’s book, Honky, he also examines the social structures of class and race and how affected the trajectory of his peers and himself.
Unlike the other Hughes’ novel, the protagonist in this text struggles with his racial identity and his place in both Black and white communities. However, because this novel includes female characters that impact the narrator’s life, the source is useful in demonstrating the impact characters have on
The author’s intention in this book is to advise all people, from children to young adults, to understand that everyone is going to face life’s struggles. Life can throw severe situations at anyone at anytime. The choices you make in those opportunities can cause consequences that better your life or change it for the worse. These two men, were born into an atmosphere where violence and drugs were present in their daily life. The narrator states, “Fear and apathy had become the new norm in what had once been a close-knit community.
The majority of students at Morris High were white or Asian, and the school had the latest computer technology, glorious landscaping, high teacher salaries, and offered students with a variety of foreign languages to study. The interactions that Kozol had with the students from East St. Louis were drastically different from those with the students of Morris High. The students from East St. Louis were poorly educated, as they had faulty grammar and vocabulary, struggled with the concept of time, and had inadequate social skills. These deficiencies are be observed through Kozol’s discussion with the children about the rape and murder of a young girl, who happened to be the sister of one of the children. The discussion Kozol had with the students from Morris High, on the other hand, was completely different.
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is about identity. Throughout the book, Wes Moore questions why he and the other Wes Moore had such different lives, even though, they shared a name. In doing so, it caused him to look deeper into his background and himself and wonder how he ended up where he was, along with the other Wes Moore. According to Wes Moore, “As I’ve puzzled over the issue, I’ve become convinced that there are some clear and powerful measures that can be taking during this crucial time in a young person’s life” (Moore 179). He had discovered that he and the other Wes Moore had similar upbringings, but the choices he made differed from the other Wes Moore’s choices.
The Other Wes Moore: One Tale, Two Fates , by Wes Moore, is an inspirational true story about the lives of two young men who share a similar background and the same name, Wes Moore. While the author grows up to be a veteran, as well as a Rhodes Scholar, the “Other Wes Moore” lands himself in prison with a life sentence. Of course throughout the story the author encounters many antagonists that, if he had allowed, could have pulled him toward a fate like the currently incarcerated Wes Moore. Yet at times the narrator is an antagonist to himself, showing the internal battle he faces throughout his life. Wes Moore’s internal battles begin at very young age, when he was in elementary school.
This is evident in their treatment of one another, as they begin to dehumanize their fellow humans and commit acts of violence that are unthinkable in a civilized society. The boys' descent into savagery underscores the importance of societal norms in maintaining order and regulating human behavior. The absence of such structures can lead to a deterioration of moral and social norms, and a breakdown in behavior that is otherwise deemed civilized. The “memory of the dance that none of them had attended shook all four boys convulsively” (Golding 175), serves as a message of the dangers that may arise when individuals are forced to navigate unfamiliar and challenging circumstances without the guidance of societal norms. It reminds us that human nature is not inherently savage, but rather, that the structure and guidance of societal norms are integral in preserving our humanity and preventing our regression to a primal
The Other Wes Moore reveals how intrinsic factors, mainly social relationships, play a significant role in establishing someone's success, based off of lack of emotional support and obedience. The other Wes Moore’s family lacked in emotional support and in positive influences, leading him to failure. Nurture refers to all the variables that impact who someone is. These variables include how someone was raised, their social relationships, and their surrounding culture.
The setting, the contrast between the children's ghetto and the affluent neighborhood, is crucial to the story's message. The descriptions of the children's poverty, combined with the luxurious stores and buildings of the upper class, highlight the enormous wealth gap that exists between the two groups. The setting's role in the story emphasizes the social injustice and inequality present in society, making the story's ending a call to
The narrator of this novel is a fourteen-year-old boy named Ponyboy who is part of a gang called Greasers. The Greasers were from the middle class with their rival group being the Socs, from the upper class. The Socs are from the West side meanwhile, the Greasers are from the East side. The west side is considered for the rich while the east side is considered for the poor. When Ponyboy is talking to Cherry he mentions, “Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different.
The drive to Max’s house in New Jersey remains one of the clearest memories of my childhood. The glistening skyscrapers of Jersey City gave way to the grey industrial parks of Newark, which were followed by miles of tranquil townships. Within an inconspicuous house located on a tree-lined street of cookie-cutter homes, I had created some of my greatest childhood memories with Max and several other friends from New York. Our Parents were all classmates, yet Max’s parents had moved to New Jersey for the suburban experience. Max had once explained to us how his school was filled with the snobbiest kids whom he didn’t get along with.
The narrator Frank McCourt tells how is parents meet in Brooklyn. The introductory paragraphs of this book distinguish frank the child telling this story, from McCourt, the grown man looking back on his life with an informed perspective. Franks younger sister margaret dies and his mother angela falls into a depression. His childhood could be described as one of poverty and deprivation but filled with humor and adventure. McCourts wry humor undercuts the bleakness of his early years , as he jokes a happy childhood “is hardly worth your while.”