Truth and Tragedy
In literature, a tragedy is a work in which the protagonist is brought to ruin as a consequence of a tragic flaw, a moral weakness, or the inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. The tagline for The Other Wes Moore is "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his."
What do you think the author means by this? Considering the definition above, do you see the Other Wes Moore's story as a tragedy? Pull your thoughts together and explain in one complete paragraph. Include text evidence in your response. Proofread and edit carefully before publishing.
I think the author means that both him and the Other Wes Moore’s lives could have ended up differently based on the decisions they made throughout their life. Author Wes could have gone down a bad path and ended up spending his life in jail like Other Wes, and Other Wes could have made the decision to rise above all the negative things in his life and be better like Author Wes did. The outcome of their stories could have been switched if they would have made different decisions in life. An example of this is when Author Wes was attacked by getting hit in the face with a rock. He describes how he felt after the experience, “I was beside myself with anger-- and still confused. And embarrassed. Embarrassed to be called a nigger in front of my comrade. And embarrassed by my reaction. Because after being called a nigger and having my tooth broken, I’d decided to flee back to campus. Should I have stayed there in the middle of the street, waiting for the boys to come back, somehow gotten them out of their car, and tested them blow for blow? Part of me was aghast when I decided that the answer was no” (The Other Wes Moore 121). After getting attacked, Author Wes could have just gone after the boys to defend himself and his honor. He wanted to fight back, but he decided against it because he didn’t want to get in trouble. If he would have fought back, the police could have gotten involved and Author Wes could have gone to jail for committing a violence crime. He could have gotten the same fate as Other Wes and spent the rest of his life in prison. On the other hand, if Other Wes wouldn’t have chosen to fight back and get involved with selling drugs, he could have ended up becoming successful like Author Wes. I do see Other Wes Moore’s story as a tragedy because he got sent to prison so young and he will never be able to live life ever again. In the epilogue the author gives us an update on Other Wes’ life by saying, “Wes has spent every day of his life since 2000 in the Jessup Correctional Institution, a maximum-security facility in Maryland. His day begins at 5:30 A.M. He works as a carpenter, making desks and tables, and sometimes he makes license plates. He gets paid about fifty-three cents a day, which he can use at the prison commissary to buy toothpaste, snacks, stamps, and other miscellaneous items. Lights go out at 10:00 P.M. Guards tell him when to wake up, when to eat, and when to go to the bathroom” (The Other Wes Moore 173). The Other Wes Moore is basically a slave, and he has no control over his life. He will never leave prison and will spend the rest of his life like this. I think that his story is a tragedy because he could have chosen to be better and not end up living the rest of his life in prison.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the story The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore the tagline is, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his”. What the author means by this is that if small changes were made in both Author Wes and the Other Weses life then they could have turned out to be one another. Growing up Author Wes's mother was insistent that he wouldn’t hit women. Due to his mother's past, in which she was abused, she ensured that Author Wes wouldn’t hit any women. After Author Wes hits his older sister, Nikki, his mother lashes out on him by saying, “I told you, don’t you ever put your hands on a woman!” ( Moore 5). Later Author Wes explains that his mother had an abusive past. Since then, she ensures that her son, Author Wes, doesn’t hit any women. Imagine if Author Wes wasn’t corrected as a child. He could have gone his entire life thinking it is acceptable to hit women. It is common knowledge that you could end up in jail for abuse. Author Wes could have gone on in life abusing women and ended up in jail like Other Wes. This change in his life could have been the tragedy he spoke about; however, in the Other Wes life he could have ended up as successful as Author Wes. Growing up Other Wes's father wasn’t there. Not having a father figure in your life can take a toll on a young man, especially when it was a choice. He tells this by saying, “Your father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, my father wasn’t there because he chose not to be” (Moore 4). Other Wes didn’t have a good father to guide him through life. It may have been different if he passed like Author Wes father, but he didn’t, he simply chose to not be there. If Other Wes's father had stayed in his life then he could’ve turned out differently. With that father figure he could have made better decisions in life leading up to be a successful man. I don’t see the Other Wes Moores story as a tragedy but just a series of unfortunate events. Some people are just simply unlucky in life like the Other Wes Moore.
ReplyDelete"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." This tagline by Author Wes is hard-hitting because a tragedy is considered something that a person would have a hard time dealing with. Would Author Wes be able to deal with the life Other Wes was given? Would Other Wes be able to deal with Author Wes’s? This is something unanswerable because frankly, we have no idea. We cannot choose where we are born or raised, but we have the capability to change the way our life turns. Life is full of many choices and whether we choose one or the other, it changes our life forever. I believe the Other Wes believes this as well because even though his thoughts went against his actions he never knew better. Author Wes explains Other Wes’s thought process by saying,"He saw this every day. The people who would line up around the corner for drugs. The people who would do anything to score. He knew these people because he was the one who got them what they needed. It was his job. And it pained him to realize that the mother of his children was just like them. Wes grabbed his keys and walked out the door. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he knew he couldn't stay there. Wes was tired. Tired of being locked up, tired of watching drugs." (Moore 138) As I said before, we can’t choose where we are placed in the beginning of our lives and that was a tragedy for Other Wes. Other Wes was born into drugs, violence, and growing up way too soon. From the text we know the Other Wes was tired of all the violence and drugs, but this was all he knew. The idea of only doing what you have been around and others who grow up differently don’t understand. Author Wes explains this idea by saying, "When we're young, it sometimes seems as if the world doesn't exist outside our city, our block, our house, our room. We make decisions based on what we see in that limited world and follow the only models available." (Moore 179) This explains why the Other Wes went through so much because he only knew what was okay in his circle and what other people did around him. The drugs and violence was just a lifestyle he was sadly born and brought into.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBoth Wes’s lives had been very eventful. Their lives ended up taking very different turns along the way. The author says that Other Wes’s tagline is, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” By saying this, he is stating how if his life would have followed Other Wes’s life, he would be in a very drastic situation since Other Wes is in jail. He is also saying that it’s a true tragedy that Other Wes’s life didn’t change for the better like his did. Other Wes went through many horrible events as a child such as nearly stabbing someone over a game of football and drug dealing. Author Wes went through some very horrible things as well such as witnessing his father die but, he overcame these struggles, unlike Other Wes. He did try to stop dealing drugs and head towards a bright future by getting a job, “Wes was tired. Tired of being locked up, tired of watching drugs destroy entire families, entire communities, an entire city. He was tired of being shot at and having to attend the funerals of his friends. He understood that his thoughts contradicted his actions; he had long since accepted that” (Moore 138). Unfortunately, he was not making enough money to support his family, so after a meltdown, he started dealing again, “He reached over to the drawer that held his cutlery and pulled out a knife, brought the blade to the corner of the plastic bag. As the baking soda swirled in the rapidly heating pot, Wes held the plastic bag with both hands and poured in nine ounces of cocaine” (Moore 145). If only Wes could have held in a little longer, he may have gone down a different path and his life wouldn’t end as such a tragedy. Now, the rest of his life will be lived in prison.
ReplyDeleteI think the author saying that both of their stories could have been each other’s, means the paths they went down were very similar. But, each of them followed those paths differently. Author Wes knew he didn’t want to go down a rough path. He stopped himself before he went down too far. When his mom sent him to military school, he ran away multiple times. But, after a while being there, he started to succeed more than he thought he could. On page 90, Wes states how much he disliked military school in his short days being there: By the end of my fourth day at military school, I had run away four times” (Moore). Author Wes didn’t realise his mom wanted to help him not go down the wrong path. Other Wes’ mom seemed to not show much care when it came to Wes and his bad actions. I do see other Wes’ story as a tragedy. Personally, I think Wes could’ve had better influences around to help him. His mother never punished him, so he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. Also, Tony had also gone down the wrong path of selling drugs. Tony, as an older brother, probably influenced Wes to do the same. When other Wes went to the Job Corps, he was doing much better. After he left, he realized he couldn’t get a high enough paying job for his family to survive. He then came to the conclusion that the only way for him and his family to survive was to start selling drugs again. Afterall, his story was a tragedy but can be seen as something for people to look at so they don’t go down that same path.
ReplyDeleteI believe that one sentence can hold a lot of meaning. The author may have had more than one meaning, but In my opinion he meant that Other Wes had a good thing gone bad. I also do believe that Other Wes’ story is a tragedy. Although things started out good, Other Wes ended up walking down the wrong path. Other Wes had the opportunity to be the odd ball out, but he decided to fit in with all the other wrong doers. Other Wes looked up to his brother and interpreted his message, “Send a message” (Moore). Even though he knew it was wrong, Other Wes used his brother's advice to perform audacious acts. The tragedy of the story is that, if Other Wes wouldn’t have received this advice, he could have prevented going down the wrong path. Those three words would have never motivated him to pick up a knife. Other Wes would have never reverberated in his mind. He would have sent a message to others that he wasn’t going to end up in the streets. Other Wes was led astray by his brother, and the real tragedy is that his disastrous future could have been avoided by three words.
ReplyDeleteWhen the author Wes Moore makes this the tag line, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” (Moore). He means the author Wes Moore and the Other Wes Moore could switch life stories. The author is talking about the Other Wes Moore has been to jail multiple times and in jail for the rest of his life. Many kids did not make it out, “Many of the kids I grew up with in the Bronx—including guys like Shea, who stayed outside the law—never believed that they’d have a shot. Many in the generation before mine believed that maybe they did, but they had the rug pulled out from under them by cuts in programs like the Pell Grants or by the myriad setbacks that came with the age of crack. Reversals spun them right back to the streets and away from their true ambitions” (Moore). Author Wes Moore found a way to make it out because he didn't want to end up like his family. Wes Moore could have gone down the wrong path, but worked hard to make it out. The Other Wes Moore ended up spending life in jail for an armed robbery, “With the knowledge of the sentences his brother and the other two defendants had received, he’d known his fate would be the same. He would spend the rest of his life in prison” (Moore). He tried to turn his life around before, but the streets got the best of him, right back to his roots. The Other Wes Moore and author Wes Moore could have and did have very similar lives, but author Wes Moore made his way out.
ReplyDeleteWhen the author Wes Moore makes this the tag line, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” (Moore). He means the author Wes Moore, and the Other Wes Moore could switch life stories. The author is talking about the Other Wes Moore has been to jail multiple times and in jail for the rest of his life. Many kids did not make it out, “Many of the kids I grew up with in the Bronx—including guys like Shea, who stayed outside the law—never believed that they’d have a shot. Many in the generation before mine believed that maybe they did, but they had the rug pulled out from under them by cuts in programs like the Pell Grants or by the myriad setbacks that came with the age of crack. Reversals spun them right back to the streets and away from their true ambitions” (Moore). Author Wes Moore found a way to make it out because he didn't want to end up like his family. Wes Moore could have gone down the wrong path, but worked hard to make it out. The Other Wes Moore ended up spending life in jail for an armed robbery, “With the knowledge of the sentences his brother and the other two defendants had received, he’d known his fate would be the same. He would spend the rest of his life in prison” (Moore). He tried to turn his life around before, but the streets got the best of him, right back to his roots. The Other Wes Moore and author Wes Moore could have and did have very similar lives, but author Wes Moore made his way out.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading the Other Wes Moore I believe that there's major tragedies in both Author Wes and Other Wes lifes. They both grew up in bad neighborhoods with long and dangerous nights. The Author Wes got out of poverty and completed outrages personal goals. He could have been in the same situation as the Other Wes behind bars. But he has a very protective mom that is going to try her best for her son to stay out of trouble. The Author Wes shows this when he writes, “I was beside myself with anger-- and still confused. And embarrassed. Embarrassed to be called a nigger in front of my comrade. And embarrassed by my reaction. Because after being called a nigger and having my tooth broken, I’d decided to flee back to campus. Should I have stayed there in the middle of the street, waiting for the boys to come back, somehow gotten them out of their car, and tested them blow for blow? Part of me was aghast when I decided that the answer was no” (Other Wes Moore 121). I believe that this is a great step for Author Wes getting out of his old mentality. He is growing as an adult and becomes a better person in general. But the Other Wes did not make as good of decisions. Upon Wes' bad decisions, Author Wes writtes,”It was a risk, and Wes knew it. But taking risks is at the heart of the drug enterprise, and scared money didn’t make money. “Hey, come here real quick,” Wes yelled to the man, still wandering aimlessly around the block. The man’s head snapped up quickly. Wes looked him up and down again, desperate to recognize him and put his mind at ease. He couldn’t. The man moved closer. Wes grabbed his right shoulder and pulled him in close. “I don’t know who it was that told me, but if you give me twenty dollars, you can go over to that phone booth and they said you would be taken care of” (Other Wes Moore). The Other Wes was scammed into selling drugs to a police officer. This made the Other Wes very upset when ten cops with silver badges were surrounding him. I believe that both sides of the story have major tragedies. The Author Wes made great accomplishments in life while the Other Wes will be stuck behind bars for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteIn tagline for The Other Wes Moore “ The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his,” the author means that both the author Wes and the other Wes’ lives could have ended up different. It explains that Wes Moore’s life has become more different than the other Wes Moores, and that if the situation switched so would the outcome. I see the other Wes Moore’s story as a tragedy, because he didn't turn out to be successful. The other Wes, which was a troublemaker, didn’t care about the outcomes of things. Both Wes Moores came from very similar backgrounds but ended up with very different lives. The author Wes Moore, who had been being followed by people, was hit with a rock. Author Wes Moore shows he is being the bigger person when getting a rock thrown at him: “But I had to let this one go. I had to look at the bigger picture...this was not a fair fight, and the best- case scenario was nowhere near as probable as the worst- case scenario” (The Other Wes Moore). He decided to be the bigger person and not do anything back. Since military school, he has learned a lot. However the other Wes Moore, would have done the opposite and fought back. Other Wes Moore’s brother Tony always told him: “Rule number one: if someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again” (The Other Wes Moore 33). If the author Wes Moore would have fought back, he would have gotten in trouble with the police. He would be in a similar situation as the other Wes Moore, because he has got in trouble with the police before. So if the other Wes Moore were to have fought back if he was in author Wes Moore's situation, it wouldn’t have been any different. It would be no different because he was used to things like this happening to him. If author Wes Moore would have done things like other Wes Moore, his life would have ended differently. The same thing goes for other Wes Moore.
ReplyDeleteBecause of how similar the author and other Wes’ childhoods were, each of them could have ended up like one another. Instead, because of choices made during their early adult lives, they ended up polar opposites. One is a very successful published author while the other has to spend his life behind bars. The author Wes Moore made good decisions when he was a teenager. Other Wes made some decisions in his life that weren’t very wise, and those decisions got him in trouble with the law. An example of this is when he cooked cocaine to make crack, “As the baking soda swirled in the rapidly heating pot, Wes held the plastic bag with both hands and poured nine ounces of cocaine” (Moore 145). When he figured out that his job wouldn’t pay enough money to support him and his family, he resorted back to the drug game. What other Wes did was highly illegal and not a good decision. Decisions like these are the reason both of the men ended up with different adult lives. "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." These words written by the author means that his life could have been like other Wes’. Because he didn’t make any major mistakes, he ended up successful unlike other Wes.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think the author means that his and The Other Wes Moore’s life story could have been completely different. In the novel, “The other Wes moore '' by Wes Moore; Wes Moore explains his life, and another person, who is also named Wes Moore, who’s life was quite similar. Both stories started out when they were children, they both came from poverty, but one has turned to a famous author, while the other turned to drugs and prison. The Other Wes Moore story was very much a tragedy, this family was poor, he was in an area where drug crime was high, he got mixed in a couple bad events, his ex lover died of overdose, and he ended in prison. In the novel, “The Other Wes Moore'', Wes explains how The Other Wes Moore did not waste his time in prison, “even the worst decisions we make don't necessarily remove us from the circle of humanity. Wes's desire to participate in this book as a way to help others learn from his story and choose a different way is proof of that” (Moore). The Other Wes knew millions of people would read his mistakes, but he knew that people would learn from his mistakes. The Other Wes has made some bad decisions and he has learned what he has done wrong. Even before he was sentenced to life in prison, he went to school and got a real job to support his kids. Sadly, the corrupt system has failed him, “none of these jobs paid over nine dollars an hour” to support his family The Other Wes had to take a “detour on the way home” (Moore). By “taking a detour”, the Other Wes Moore went to buy and sell drugs, he really wanted to have a normal job, but he knew selling drugs can earn people a lot of money, so in his situation this was his only option. In the end, he has learned from what he has done, and he’s now learning from them. His name and his story is far from a tragedy, he has now taught young boys and girls around the country that there are other ways, and their is other decisions that people can make.
ReplyDeleteIn The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, a distinct theme is distributed throughout the book. The tagline is “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” The author means that differences in both Wes’ lives could have led to each other's tragedies and decisions. The Other Wes Moore’s story is a tragedy, and a lifelong consequence. The Other Wes would be known as a protagonist, leading the story with trial and error. During an armed robbery, Other Wes's freedom was taken away. Growing up in the drug game had given Other Wes an unfavorable concept of life. Other Wes’s mother knew what her son was surrounded by and knew there was no way of stopping it, he’s surrounded by it: “Who is to blame for this? Tony, the neighborhood, the school system, Wes’s friends? She put them all on trial in her mind. She was furious at Wes for what he’d done and knew that this probably would not be the end of it” (Moore 74). Growing up surrounded by drugs would eventually have an impact on Other Wes, and they did. Other Wes enjoys selling drugs, but doesn’t yet know the consequences. Tony, Other Wes’s older brother, eventually beat him for being in the game. Neither Tony or Other Wes would understand how bad their decisions would impact their lives. During Other Wes’s childhood, being surrounded by crime was normal. Eventually these crimes were Tony and Other Wes’s crimes, “Mary’s large-screen television was now filled with photos of these suspects. Her heart broke when she saw Tony’s and Wes’s faces staring back at her” (Moore 149). Tony since his arrest, has passed away. Other Wes has now just seen the consequences of growing up in a toxic society. Since his arrest, Other Wes has had a different outlook on life.
ReplyDeleteIn the book The Other Wes Moore the author describes the tagline, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” I think the author's meaning for this is to explain how different his future could have been if he made different choices. Author Wes and Other Wes experienced many similarities growing up, but they ended up in two very different situations. If Author Wes did not attend the military school his life could have been much different, and if the Other Wes listened to his brother and stayed off the streets his future could have been better. Author Wes explains in the book the struggles Other Wes dealt with, “He had not seen his father in years and didn’t know what he would say to him, or if he cared to say anything at all” (Moore). The Other Wes grew up without a father the only role model he had was his brother, Tony, who had a big reputation in the streets. I believe the Other Wes Moore’s story was a tragedy, because he did not have someone who set a good example for him growing up. The Other Wes Moore got into trouble when he was so young, and he had a very hard time staying out of trouble as he got older which led to his future behind bars.
ReplyDeleteIn the tragic novel “The Other Wes Moore”, two men with the same name, who were born in the same neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, grew up around drugs, violence, and poverty. However, both took different paths and lived drastically different lives due to the dissimilar life choices made throughout their adolescence. Dealing with depression subsequent to her husband's death caused by a rare disease that was misdiagnosed, Joy, Author Wes Moore’s mother, moved to the Bronx with her children in order to cope with her loss. Shortly, Author Wes Moore began to fail his classes and get into legal trouble, Wes is sent to military school by his mother to better shape himself and his future, “My mother made the decision to intervene--and deciding that overdoing it was better than doing nothing at all. She felt that my environment needed to change and my options needed to expand” (Moore 95). After a failed attempt to run away from his military school, Author Wes Moore decides to take advantage of the opportunity in return of his mother’s sacrifice and benefit his future as a man. The other Wes Moore, who was abandoned by his father at a young age and raised by his single mother, baegan to sell drugs as a result to be a product of his environment. After a jewelry store robbery turned into a homicide of off-duty police officer, Bruce Prothero, the other Wes Moore was faced with a life sentence in prison with no chance of parole. In the introduction of his book, Author Wes Moore reflects on how “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” (Moore Intro). The purpose of this story is fore readers to understand that the choices we make as people, especially at an early age, determine the fate of our lives and our future.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteOne important topic that Author Wes Moore is trying to get across in his book is that both his life and the other Wes Moore’s life could have turned out differently based on a couple of decisions they made in their life. Other Wes Moore, could have never killed and lived a good life for his children, and author Wes Moore could have stayed on the streets and not have gone to military school and end up in a very bad place. Small acts in both of their lives had big effects on the outcome of their life. The other Wes has a more tragic story. The rest of his life will be hopelessly spent in jail. On the other hand, author Wes Moore turned his life around. Some of the small decisions he made in his life, where he stopped to look at the bigger picture, had a huge impact on his life. One example where Wes made the right choice is when he got hit in a face by a rock thrown out the window of a car at him. Wes thinks, takes a step back and thinks about what would happen and says, “But I had to let this one go.But I had to think about the bigger picture. My assailant was unknown, unnamed, and in a car. This was not a fair fight, and the best case scenario was nowhere near as possible as the worst case scenario.” (Moore 121). This was a major choice in Wes’ life. Something that the other Wes lacks is that he doesn’t care for the future and just lives in the present. He probably would have fought back and would have liked to feel that revenge. This is where the two men differ. Author Wes made way more of a smart decision, which is why he is a very successful man to this day. On the other hand, other Wes will be in jail the rest of his life regretting his choices.
I think what the author means by saying “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” is that the other Wes Moore could have had the life the author had, and the author could have had the life the other Wes Moore had. Little decisions in both the other Wes Moore and the authors lives had a big impact on how their lives ended up the way they did. In 1983 the author Wes told Justin that, “My mother had begun to threaten me with military school if I didn’t get my grades and discipline together” (Moore 54). Joy did indeed send Wes off to military school, and Wes hated the school but learned to like it. That little decision to send the author off to military school made a huge impact on the rest of his life and if that didn’t happen he could have ended up like the other Wes Moore. I do see the other Wes Moore's life as a tragedy, and the other Wes Moore could have had a better life than what he had. When Wes was younger his brother Tony would say to Wes “do as I say, not as I do” trying to push Wes to be better than he was and stay away from the drug game, but with his father not around and his mom working a lot he didn’t have much supervision to keep him from what went on in the streets. Unfortunately the other Wes Moore started to go downhill when he became a corner boy for some money and it escalated from there. The other Wes would end up having four kids with two different girls, and after seeing the mother of two of his children struggle with heroin he wanted things to be different. The other Wes was “ Tired of being locked up, tired of watching drugs destroy entire families, entire communities, an entire city. He was tired of being shot at and having to attend the funerals of his friends” (Moore 138). He then tried to change and went to join the program Job Corps for carpentry. That soon fell through after he realized none of his jobs paid over nine dollars an hour and was barely making enough money to feed and clothe his kids. He then went back to the drug game. Then in 2000 the other Wes was arrested for the murder of Sergeant Prothero after after a robbery of a jewelry store. He was found guilty of first-degree felony murder and would spend the rest of his life in jail. The other Wes Moore was a tragedy because Tony and Mary both tried to keep Wes away from the life he ended up living and he had a chance to get out but he gave up early because it got hard.
ReplyDelete"The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his" (Moore). In reference to the tagline the author is trying to show how he and the other Wes had similar lives, but small changes could have completely altered what they became. In saying this he is trying to show that he and Wes were remarkably similar, and only by chance did they end up with such dramatically different lives. These two men both grew up in areas that are plagued by crime and drugs, yet they ended up following wildly different paths. In chapter four of The Other Wes Moore the author wrote that it was, “tough to do well in school as an eleven-year-old when you’re picking and choosing the days you go” (Moore). The author was having trouble in school because he wasn’t attending his classes. This situation is similar to when the other Wes also stops attending school after the birth of his kids. Both author Wes and the other Wes experienced a similar crossroad where they had to make a decision that would affect their future. The author could have easily been in the same situation as other Wes was at the time, if not for his mother’s expectations. Because his mother sent him to military school, he traveled on a different road to success. I do believe that according to the definition provided the story of other Wes was a tragedy. In chapter seven of The Other Wes Moore the author wrote that other Wes, “held the plastic bag with both hands and poured in nine ounces of cocaine” (Moore). The other Wes went back to making and selling drugs even though he had now been working as a carpenter. A tragedy is defined as if the protagonist cannot cope with unfavorable circumstances; this fits the other Wes to a tee. Wes was working as a carpenter but was unable to deal with the fact that he could not provide for his family. Because he couldn’t cope with his circumstances, other Wes fell back into the hole he had worked so hard to escape. The story of other Wes was a tragedy, and it also could have been the author’s tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI think the author means his life could have been like the Other Wes’ if he made the same choices. The author also means the Other Wes’ story could have been like his and Other Wes would not have gone to jail. I believe the Other Wes’ story is a tragedy because he learned he could’ve had a better life after his fate was decided. Other Wes did not always believe that he could get a better life, and he thought he would be trapped in the drug life forever. Other Wes did try to get out of the drug dealing, but he could not get a job that payed enough money: “That, and the fact that none of these jobs paid over nine dollars an hour” (Moore). Other Wes, who believed that he was stuck in a life of drugs, did not think of consequences when making decisions. He also tried to get out of his old life and could not find a job with decent pay. Later on, Other Wes realized that all he had to do to get out of his life was make good decisions. This is what makes his story a tragedy. Other Wes did not realize he could escape his life of drugs and get to spend his life as a free man when it mattered.
ReplyDeleteThe tagline of “The Other Wes Moore” could be understood in many ways. I think that it means that both Wes and the other Wes could have ended up in either story. Both the author and the other Wes grew up in Baltimore. Although they had similar childhoods, there was a turning point in each story. The other Wes’ story took a turn for the worse, and he ended up in jail. Other Wes grew up with drugs all around him, and he later got sucked into drug dealing. Other Wes tried to get a job, but “the fact that none of these jobs paid over nine dollars an hour.” (Moore). Because he had children to take care of, he could not live off of nine dollars an hour. He eventually found his way back to drug dealing and was involved with the wrong people. The big turning point was the shooting and killing of officer Prothero. After the shooting, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Other Wes’ story is a tragedy, and author Wes knew he could have ended up like him.
ReplyDeleteThe novel "The Other Wes Moore", which is by Wes Moore, teaches people about the decisions they make and the consequences attached to them. Moore details his own life as well as the life of another person named Wes Moore, who grew up near him and experienced the same issues that the author did. However, one became a well-respected man who was a Rhodes Scholar and worked in the White House. The other is currently serving out a life sentence for murder. Moore explains that "the chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." Both of the people in this book had to deal with issues. What separated them, however, is how they responded to the problems. The author describes his experience at Valley Forge Military Academy as a place he did not want to be at, and he tried to run away multiple times. After he tries to leave and gets lost, he goes back to the Academy and gets a call with his mother. He then realizes the sacrifices made to get him in the school: "My grandparents took the money they had in the home in the Bronx, decades of savings and mortgage payments, and gave it to my mother so she could pay for my first year of military school" (Moore 96). The author had no idea about the sacrifices made to send him to the school. After learning this, he made a change and decided to stay. because of this decision, he is a well-respected veteran. The other Wes was also put in a situation where he needed to change. After being a drug dealer who was sent to prison, the other Wes said he would change his ways. He went into Job Corps and was doing well in carpentry. However, he wasn't making enough money, so eventually he "held the plastic bag with both hands and poured in nine ounces of cocaine" (Moore 145). Unfortunately, the other Wes went back to what he did in the past, which would snowball into him being sent to life in prison for murder. The Other Wes Moore is a tragedy, because decisions made in important moments split these identical lives and caused one to be a success and one to be a failure.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel "The Other Wes Moore," by Wes Moore, he wrote about the issues that went on in his and another man's lives. The other man, who's name is also Wes, went through a lot more violence than Moore, including guns and drugs. Moore wrote that the tragedy was that the story could've been his. What Moore meant by that is everybody isn't given the same opportunities he was given. In his novel, he wrote about the sacrifices his family put towards military school for him: “My grandparents took the money they had in the home in the Bronx, decades of savings and mortgage payments, and gave it to my mother so that she could pay for my first year of military school” (Moore). Both men grew up without fathers, but Moore had many family members who cared about him enough to spend thousands of dollars. The other Wes had people who cared about him too; however, he didn't have nearly as many as Moore did. Another difference between the two was that Moore was given a chance to learn how to be a man through his school, while the other Wes stopped going to school and began to sell drugs. I believe other Wes' story is a tragedy because everybody should be given the same chances.
ReplyDeleteIn the tagline of The Other Wes Moore, the author states that the way the other Wes Moore’s life turned out is a tragedy. Compared to author Wes Moore, the outcome of the other Wes Moore’s life is very different. While author Wes Moore is promoting his book and its message to young boys in poverty, the other Wes Moore is sitting in jail, contemplating his decisions prior. However, despite what some may say, the other Wes Moore’s story is in fact a tragedy. Some may argue that the other Wes was bound to end up the way he did. During his childhood, he was forced to deal with poverty, drugs and many other things. These variables in his story were major factors in the way he turned out, but the tragedy is that he could have avoided them. Author Wes Moore grew up in the same conditions, but early on he started to omit them from his life, unlike other Wes. Author Wes chose a completely different path. Other Wes wanted to divert from his previous actions, but he knew he couldn’t. The book states, “Wes was tired. Tired of being locked up, tired of watching drugs destroy entire families, entire communities, an entire city. He was tired of being shot at and having to attend the funerals of his friends. He understood that his thoughts contradicted his actions; he had long since accepted that. It was just that his tolerance of his own hypocrisy was wearing thin” (Moore 138). The high of the other Wes’ life was finally over. He started to come back into touch with reality and realized that the path he took was not the one he should have. However, it was too late. Wes was too involved with drugs and the people he surrounded himself with to change. Deep down, Wes knew that he was in trouble, but he could not do anything about it. Author Wes, however, found a way to change his path and is now a famous successful man. The fact that the other Wes was in too deep too early is exactly why the story of the other Wes Moore is a tragedy.
ReplyDelete