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Analysis of the other wes moore
Analysis of the other wes moore
The other wes moore analytical essay
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Expectations versus environment has been an ongoing argument on which is more effective on a destiny. However, environment has much more effect in a destiny. It is nearly impossible not to see this play out in today’s society. “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore is a prime example of how environment overrides expectations when it comes to creating a destiny. This book is primarily about two boys with the same names, but incredibly different fates that were predetermined by their uncontrollable environment. Wes Moore(a) grew up to fulfil a role in the U.S. Army and write a book. Wes Moore(p) sealed his fate by committing a felony and earning a life sentence in prison. The environment runs through primary lives, late teens, and early adulthood, …show more content…
As an adult, you've typically reached your social, economic, and environmental pinnacle. In Wes(p)’s case his destiny had already been sealed at this time. At age twenty-five he was convicted of felony murder and was sentenced to a life in the Jessup Correctional Facility. When asked about this for an interview on CBS May 10, 2010, 4:16 PM, Wes(p) quotes, “I thought that I had to be on the streets and live a life of crime. I thought that was my only real talent…” This, proven by Wes(p) himself, goes to show how influential environment is on destiny. Because Wes(p) was basically raised and grew up on drug ridden streets, he was thought to believe he would never be anything more than a product of the Baltimore streets. For that reason, Wes(p) ended up as nothing more than a product of his poor environment. Wes(a), however manipulated his environment to make the most out of his destiny. From the summer of 2005 to the summer of 2006 Wes(a) was deployed in the town of Khost, on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He describes the environment as, “Spending so much time with my fellow soldiers reminded me why I had joined the military. The camaraderie, intensity, and passion for the job, and the sense of duty to something larger than myself, was something I had missed deeply. (Moore 177)” All individuals in the service have been trained to be adaptable and meet the constantly …show more content…
This makes sense because Wes(a) explains his experience at Valley Forge as, “... leadership was honored and class clowns were ostracized…” If a level of authority expects a certain standard of you, you are inclined to uphold that standard for them. Expectations are exercised universally as well on the streets of Baltimore where Wes(p) grew up. His older brother, Tony Moore had high expectations for Wes that were unfortunately never fulfilled; “If you will not listen that is on you. You have the potential to do so much more, go so much further. (Moore 72)” The expectations that others have set for you no doubt affect you it is just a matter if you are willing to live up to them. That which is expected is what happens. It is not just kids on the streets that have expectations placed on them it is also kids in the classroom and in government offices; “I learned that the way governors projected the numbers of beds they'd need for prison facilities was by examining the reading scores of third graders. Elected officials deduced that a strong percentage of kids reading below their grade level by third grade would be needing a secure place to stay when they got older. (Moore 54)” Governors expect children reading below a third grade reading level to automatically end up in prison later in life. This is very over exaggerated because
Therefore, one of the two Wes Moores became a prisoner, convicted for robbery and murder. And the other one is Rhodes scholar and become a famous author. Even though they grew up in the same environment, but there is a big difference: the author Wes’s parents graduated from college and well educated, while the other Wes’s parents even didn’t finish school. So, according to the book, the most significant effect in the two Wes Moores lives is the education level of their parents.
In the memoir, The Other Wes Moore, the author Wes Moore compares his life with another man's, whose name was also Wes Moore, and shows how shockingly similar they were. Particular coincidences are certainly strange, like the fact that both of their fathers were not around, both mothers cared about their child's well being, they both lived in the Bronx at one point in their childhoods, and the obvious one, their names are the same. Not only were their home lives similar but they also had similar social experiences, including being caught breaking the law; however, this book also illustrates, through these social experiences, the subtle differences in their lives as well.
Last Chance in Texas: The Redemption of Criminal Youth, by John Hubner, follows Hubner as he observes the “worst of the worst” juvenile offenders at Giddings State School. This treatment program is truly a “last chance” for may of the adolescents there – their last chance to change the direction of their lives before ending up in jail. Hubner takes the reader through a gripping and emotional journey as the teenagers go through the Capitol Offenders group and delve into their past hurts, childhood years, and reasons that contributed to their involvement in crime. Each member of the group must tell their life story and crime story and relive them by observing both in a drama, as well as participating in their crime drama as the victim. Once they have experienced this, they attempt to identify what caused their behavior, change it, and learn how to prevent future crimes.
In “The Other Wes Moore”, by Wes Moore, the author takes the readers through his life growing up as well as the life of someone who was a stranger to him during his childhood but turned out to be a huge part of his life later on. His name was also Wes Moore and both he and the author grew up in poverty and did not have the best childhood. Although they grew up similarly, their adulthoods were the polar opposite. The author Wes Moore became the top in his class, a Rhodes scholar, and studied at Oxford University to later become very successful. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore is in prison for the rest of his life for a robbery and murder. How did these two grow up so similarly, yet had completely different adulthoods?
The story of two men growing up in the same neighborhood with similar backgrounds with the same name and eerily similar circumstances that leads and ultimately has each character ending up in very different places in life. Taking completely different paths to their futures is the setting of this story “The Other Wes Moore”. The way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does undoubtedly play a huge role in the type of person they will become in life. The author Wes does a good job of allowing you the ability to read this story and the circumstances surrounding the character his mother joy played such an important role in his success, while comparing the roll of Mary the other Wes’s mother. Both boys grew up with strong, hardworking black women in their lives and yet it still allowed for two completely different journeys. I think the lack of fathers and having not so good male role models was also a contributing factor.
In their respective life journey, both Wes Moores often found them facing with some hard choices or decision to make or standing at a crossroads of life change without knowing which way to turn. Therefore, “for all of us who live in the most precarious places in this country, our destinies can be determined by a single stumble down the wrong path or a tentative step down the right one” (Moore xiv). During their early childhood, both Wes Moores struggle at school and had troubles with the law. However, for the author Wes Moore, attending the military school was the biggest turning point in his life. Aware of his mother’s determination, his family’s sacrifice, and encouragement from classmates and instructors as well as the influence of role models, the author Wes Moore finally made up his mind that he wanted to succeed in the military school. At the end, the author Wes Moore fulfilled his dream and did well academically from then on. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore had tumbled on a series of missteps along the road: dropping out of school, getting involved with drug trade, committing violent crimes, and being a father of four when he was so young and immature. Even though there was a time when he tried to reinvent himself: joining the Job Corp, getting a high school diploma, and finding some decent jobs, the reality and his making-quick-money mentality eventually brought him back to the original path with no return. At last, by committing an armed robbery that left a police officer dead, the other Wes Moore irreversibly drove himself to the dead end of life. Obviously, based on their early life experiences, both Wes Moores would have gone the same route to failure. Nevertheless, at some critical points of their lives, the author Wes Moore made some good choices with intervention and guidance of good people while the other Wes Moore lost his footing under undue
Expectations influence who we become. Many factors come into play when we assess the lives of both Wes Moores introduced in the short novel The Other Wes Moore. Some of these factors are the expectations that shaped each man’s life. Moore illustrates his point when he writes, “The expectations that others place on us help us form our expectations of ourselves”(126). The explanation to the quote was it will help people to see the expectation of “thinking outside the box” means that think freely for themselves with better judgment in everyday life for their moral action in their society. Expectations from others have a strong impact on the choices an individual makes, and both Wes Moore’s choices were strongly influenced by the expectations
Despite the tendency to treat West Point as if it is a world apart from the Army, the choices I make here and now form who I will be when it matters even more. Just as leadership lessons can be learned in a History of the Military Art class in an interdisciplinary manner, I need to focus on pulling as many lessons from my time at West Point so I can apply them when the stakes are potentially much higher. References Avolio, B. J. & Co. (2005). The 'Secondary' of the Leadership Development in Balance: Made, Born.
“I guess it’s hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances” (Moore 67). This is a powerfully central theme to the book The Other Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore. For the two men this book is about, it all begins with a wide-open future. The mothers that gave birth to them and the influences they had, along with their own powerful choices, sealed their fate . People don’t ever stop growing or improving and the two Wes Moore’s are no different. Throughout their lives, they are constantly changing and in some places calling the shots. One chose correctly, and one did not.
Wes Moore Paper Richelle Goodrich once said, “To encourage me is to believe in me, which gives me the power to defeat dragons.” In a world submerged in diversity, racism and prejudice it is hard for minorities to get ahead. The novel “The Other Wes Moore” is a depiction of the differences that encouragement and support can make in the life of a child. This novel is about two men, with the same name, from the same neighborhood, that endured very similar adversities in their lives, but their paths were vastly different. In the following paragraphs, their lives will be compared, and analyzed from a sociological perspective.
Control is the fight to grasp what is just out of reach. Throughout the novel This Boy’s Life, written by Tobias Wolff, the protagonist struggles and fails to achieve control of his life. Jack’s lack of control, and subsequent fall out to live in an artificial reality, is articulately shown through the scene in the novel where he dreams of murdering his stepfather, Dwight, in order to save his mother, Rosemary, from ongoing abuse (Wolff, 133). Here, the reader is given a glimpse into Jack’s twisted mind and his irrational logic. In order to win his mother’s love and attention, which he desperately craves, he desires to be a hero and to rescue her. In his mind, Jack equates murdering Dwight with justice and sees no wrong in the act of murder.
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
A majority of those individuals are still teenagers, leaving home for the first time, learning to adapt to the “freedoms” of being at school and on their own. While I can confidently say I have matured in ways a traditional route college student has not, I still have much to learn. Learning to be away from home and on my own is not a problem for me, but learning to adjust to civilian life after service will be a challenge; a challenge I will undoubtedly face head on with full tenacity and commitment. One cannot be scared of the unknown, one must embrace
Throughout my life there has been many events that have shaped the way I am. The one event that had the greatest impact and has been constant is my military career. Since I joined the military I have changed roles, conformed to new norms, and learned new values. Like most service members the parts that shape your military career is the beginning, so as a focus I will look at my basic training, technical school and first duty station which these three combined events in my life has shaped the last 14 years. Through these phases in my life I have learned a lot about the military society, society in the United States, the world and of course me.
Honor, Courage, and Commitment were expected from cadets, but LCDR Klag did not just expect us to act accordingly, he taught us how we could live by these values. As an active citizen, one must always be honorable in that we follow the laws and ordinances of the government, as it is rather difficult to play a part in the political process from prison. One must also require their representatives in our government to be men and women of honor and vote only for those who abide by the rules of their office and the laws of the land. Active citizens must also have the courage to speak out against dishonorable deeds by our government, as well as the fortitude to stand for what they feel is just. The final Core Value, Commitment, provides the basis for civic duty and civic responsibility, because if one is committed to their nation, one must be committed to the fundamental concepts of democracy that govern it. The American people have a duty to follow the laws and pay their taxes, as well as the responsibility to vote in all elections, local, state, and national, participate in jury duty, respect the rights of their fellow citizens, and hold our representatives accountable for what they do in our government. These things I did not learn from my parents or on my own, I learned from my