The Other Wes Analysis

Two men grew up in the same city, but are similar in many ways, created a difference in their lives. The author Wes had factors that affected his life, also the Other Wes. Wes had support from his strong mother and from the military. The other Wes didn’t quite have support from his mother and Tony, who wanted the best for Wes, telling him to stay in school and out of the drug game, but Tony was a bad influence to Wes. Due to both Wes’s path’s they took, led them to their destinies. The author Wes was growing up in a neighborhood that was a bad environment for everyone. He grew up with no father but had a strong mother that went out of her way to provide what was best for the family. Joy would always be protective of her kids. “My mother slept in the living room to stand guard. She was determined to protect us.” (pg. 36). Joy would put her life at risk to keep her kids safe. Joy decided to move the family elsewhere to get away from the violence. “But no matter how much the world around us seemed ready to crumble, my mother was determined to see us through it”. (pg.47). Wes’s mom really cared about how her kids would turn out and wanted the best for them to stay out of trouble. Wes went to a private school that was upper class and did well there, but got lost between living the “rich” and “poor” lifestyle. His grades began to slip and was almost put on probation. His mother threatened Wes to get his act together, if not he would be sent to military school. Eventually, Wes was sent to military school for accidentally hitting Shani in the lip but Joy didn’t see it that way. “I knew my mother was considering sending me away, but I never thought she’d actually do it.” (pg. 87) Since Joy had no other choice, she sent him away to
One with the support of his mother and also the military. The other, with no support and a mom that was weak at disciplining and a bad role model