The Other Wes Moore Summary
What does family mean to you? If you're like most people, then you most likely believe that we are products of our environment. “You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success - or are they holding you back?” (W. Clement Stone) This idea could not be better represented than the two young boys that this story is about. In “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” written by Wes Moore, two fatherless young boys that grow up with the same name and that live in the same neighborhood couldn't have taken more different paths in life. Wes Moore becomes a Rhodes Scholar, veteran and
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The author's mother finished college and took on multiple jobs so that all of her kids can go to a private school. When wes started to fall behind in school, she sent him to military school. The difference between the mothers is rather preposterous. The “other” wes’s mother didn't finish college and wasn't to concerned with how her son did in school. Just before Wes failed the 6th grade, he found a stash of marijuana in her closet and smoked it. After smoking it he decided to sell it. Joy made every effort to keep her son out of the drug business while Mary is the reason why wes started selling drugs in the first place. Both of the Wes’s went on the path their mother made an example of. Mary didn't finish college and does drugs. The “other” Wes doesn't go to college and sells drugs. Joy finishes college and is a hard working women. Wes goes to military school and becomes a very dedicated and skilled worker. The parallel between the two is to prevalent not to see.
They’re fathers also played a big part in their lives. “Your father wasn't there because he couldn't be, my father wasn't there because he chose not to be” ( The author's father was a very strong and hard working man with a stable career. Although wes didn't know his father very well he still became a very valuable role model for him, even after his passing. The “other” wes’s didn't really have a relationship with his father. Not because he is dead but because his father didn't care to have one with him. The only times he saw him was when he went to Mamie’s
The author's mother finished college and took on multiple jobs so that all of her kids can go to a private school. When wes started to fall behind in school, she sent him to military school. The difference between the mothers is rather preposterous. The “other” wes’s mother didn't finish college and wasn't to concerned with how her son did in school. Just before Wes failed the 6th grade, he found a stash of marijuana in her closet and smoked it. After smoking it he decided to sell it. Joy made every effort to keep her son out of the drug business while Mary is the reason why wes started selling drugs in the first place. Both of the Wes’s went on the path their mother made an example of. Mary didn't finish college and does drugs. The “other” Wes doesn't go to college and sells drugs. Joy finishes college and is a hard working women. Wes goes to military school and becomes a very dedicated and skilled worker. The parallel between the two is to prevalent not to see.
They’re fathers also played a big part in their lives. “Your father wasn't there because he couldn't be, my father wasn't there because he chose not to be” ( The author's father was a very strong and hard working man with a stable career. Although wes didn't know his father very well he still became a very valuable role model for him, even after his passing. The “other” wes’s didn't really have a relationship with his father. Not because he is dead but because his father didn't care to have one with him. The only times he saw him was when he went to Mamie’s