Where we’re from, who we know, and how our mental makeup is, is very important in our lives. It can be the deciding factor between life in prison and a life dedicated to giving back to others. In The Other Wes Moore, The lives of two young men are examined through three distinct lenses, how the role our environment, social capital (How we get ahead by helping each other) and how our mindset can dictate who we become later on in life. Both of these young men grew up in roughly the same environment, the ghettos of Baltimore, Maryland and the Bronx, New York, respectively. It’s interesting to note that while Author Wes was able to avoid the pitfalls of said environment because of the benefits social capital and a strong growth mindset …show more content…
Wes didn’t start off on the right path initially, due to the friends he surrounded himself with such as shea, a young drug runner, and the low standards he set for himself academically, which Author Wes mentions that he was “disappointed with D’s, pleasantly satisfied with C’s and celebratory about a B I allowed my standards at school to become pathetic” (Moore 54). He allowed a fixed mindset of mediocrity along with his environment to almost determine his life path. Without social capital, Author Wes Moore would’ve been doomed for failure but the intervention by his mother, a few of her friends and his grandparents, he was able to attend Valley Forge Military Academy where he was able to benefit from the effects of social capital from his superiors and peers in the form discipline, comradery and leadership. From there, he totally changed his perspective as he developed a growth mindset which was fairly evident when he realized that basketball wasn’t in his long term plans; Wes states “When you step on the court with players like Kobe Bryant or six foot eight point guards who can dunk from the free throw line, your mind begins to concentrate on other options” (Moore 130), that moment of clarity showed the benefits of social capital and a strong growth mindset. Another instance of social capital being beneficial in Author Wes Moore’s life is when he was granted a scholarship to attend John Hopkins University. Due to his Military school experience, overall admirable progress in life and the right connections, he was able to speak with the assistant director of admissions via his advisor at Valley Forge Junior College. Now, this instance of social capital would be lost on some but not Author Wes Moore, he states; “having an advocate on the inside -someone who had gotten to know me and understood my story on a personal
In the book, The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen Rosa shows that she is a very helpful person. Rosa was a very sweet girl who just so happened to be in Jessica's math class, even though she was a freshman and Jessica was a Jr. Rosa is a brilliant girl and she loved math and helping Jessica with it. “Hey!” Rosa calls,…… I hobble in and sit in a chair near her.
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude for achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” This quote said by Thomas Jefferson relates to both Wes Moores throughout the book. The Author Wes had to make an important decision that would point him into the right direction by getting enrolled into military school, and deciding to join college too. The Other Wes got his General Education Diploma (GED) and was enrolled in the Job Corps to try and turn his life around by leaving the drug game, ultimately wanting to provide more for his kids in the future. Both had positive goals that they wanted to achieve but one was mentally stronger than the other thus leading to the fact that one is a very
This leads to drugs, drinking, and other pleasures that help you wash away stress, and sadness. Most of Wes’s family pushed through it, but like any other person they had their ups and downs. Wes joined military school and it really helped him later on, even though he didn’t really want to do it. All things considered, things really turned up for the best, even without a father to show him how to do great
The author Wes Moore success came from loving and supporting family, role models, and the opportunity for education. However the other Wes Moore didn’t have family support, good role models, and education which caused him to be
A great deal of people would say we are all just products of our environment― for two adolescent boys from Baltimore this couldn't be any truer. In the autobiographical memoir, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore, unbeknownst, two fatherless African American boys with an identical name and living in the same neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, ended up on two entirely different paths of life. One evolves to be a Rhodes Scholar, honored and respected combat veteran, and business leader. The other is spending the rest of his life in a federal prison for committing a murder. However, in their separate lives, they both started out as young boys that grew up in single mom households in the rough streets of Baltimore.
The opportunities began building from the moment Moore’s grandparents stepped foot in America, and Wes Moore began to fully reap their benefits when he enrolled in military school. All the fortunate incidents and chances presented to Moore throughout his life lead to his achievements and overall success in life, making him an outlier of his time. What Wes Moore experiences can
Introduction Good morning distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to the 24th annual Queensland Literary Symposium I’d like to highlight another prominent book that has captured readers with its engaging and thrilling storyline alone with significant aspects of human society and culture The story I specifically refer to is none other but the novel Jasper Jones Written by the Australian author Craig Silvery, Jasper Jones was set in the scorching summer of Western Australia in 1965.
Have you ever been in a situation that you know what the outcome is and you know that it’s bad but you still do it anyways? In the book “The Other Wes Moore”, the Other Wes was headed down a path of drugs and getting in trouble with the cops. On pages 112-113 one day Wes was standing on the streets when someone came up and asked them “Do you guys know where I can buy some rocks?” (113), Wes knew that he looked suspicious and everything he knew pointed out to him that he was an undercover cop.
One of the theories that can explain this is Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. This theory states that development reflects the influence of several environmental systems. There are five environmental systems that are identified within the theory. The microsystem is the setting of an individual, the mesosystem involves relationships and connections between the microsystem and contexts, the exosystem includes links between the social setting in which the individual does not have an active role and the immediate context, the macrosystem involves culture, and the chronosystem consists of patterns and transitions during the life course (Santrock
Many individuals say that a person is a product of its surroundings. And for two young men from Baltimore, this could not be any more accurate. In “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, the author talks about two young boys who shared the same name and the contributions they did in their lives that made them turn out the way they are. Both Wes’ grew up in similar environment with tough childhood and without the presence of a father. Where one becomes very successful and a Rhodes Scholar, and the other is heavily involved in the drug game and receives a life sentence in prison for serving a part in a murder of a former police officer.
After reading, The Other Wes Moore, it intrigued me how so many of our young people are growing up in families where the parent or parents cannot provide a suitable environment that provides fundamental resources. This book talks about two males that could have ended up with the same fate only if there had not been any assistance to guide one of them on a different path. It is evident that our environment is an essential factor in how we adapt and attain the life that we live. With limited resources, our youth has become a statistic of their environments. As these generations continuously extend, minorities have become the target of a huge issue such as teen pregnancy.
The quote “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass it’s about learning how to dance in the rain” means that we should learn how to our lives even at struggling times of our lives. There are times when we are feeling down or going through tough times. Weather it’s bad grades or a tragic event. I can make a text to text connection from this quote. In the book “We Beat The Street” by George W Jenkins, Rameck Hunt, and Sampson Davis, is about a how three african americans from Newark, New Jersey became successful doctors.
Have you ever had to keep a significant secret from the people you care about because you were afraid to tell them? Well, in the novel Speak, the protagonist, the protagonist Melinda Sordino has the same problem. Melinda is just about to start high school and goes to an end-of-summer party only for it to become one of the worst days of her life. That night, senior, Andy Evans rapes Melinda. Going into high school is not easy for Melinda, with the rest of the student body hating her.
Complex Characters in The Other Wes Moore A man reads a newspaper article, in which somebody sharing his name is convicted of a serious crime and is sentenced to life in prison. The convict shares the name, is close in age, and grew up in the same town as the, now very curious, reader. The reader, a man named Wes Moore, is struck by this story, and couldn’t quite shake it off after a few years. He decides to write a book. In Wes Moore’s
“Today is not the victory – today is the opportunity,” newly elected governor of Maryland Wes Moore declared at the conclusion of his inaugural address on January 18, 2023. This mindset of taking events as opportunities for progress is part of the reason Moore reached the office he is in today. In his book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, Moore explores the path he took to his current successes in comparison to the journey of a man of the same name that grew up in the same neighborhood, but wound up in prison. Author Wes Moore (Moore) succeeded more fully than the incarcerated Wes Moore (Wes) partially due to Moore’s taking advantage of opportunities he was given, but also because of the luck Moore had to have specific role models