The Other Wes Moore PDF

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1 Professor Katherine Johnson COLA 100E 16 November 2015 The Other Wes Moore There are many factors in a person’s life that influence the path in which someone will take whether it be beneficial to that person or not. The author Wes Moore grew up around the same area and same time as the other Wes Moore, but their lives were turned out differently despite having almost the same factors influencing their lives. The author Wes grew up without a father and in a lower-economic position and the other Wes, similarly grew up in the position that the author did, but chose to take a different path when it came to his life. Through the experiences of Wes Moore, the author, and the other Wes Moore as well as my own, I am able to conclude that some important factors that dramatically influence the direction a person’s life can take are having and/or not having a father figure, the presence of siblings, and the presence of a mother. The author Wes Moore was lucky enough to have a father presence with him when he was about three years old. Whenever he misbehaved his father talked to him, not condescending, but as a person so that he would understand what he did wrong and so that Wes would truly understand it rather than understand the fear of getting in trouble because it was not his father’s “style to yell” (6). The author Wes had an extensive knowledge of his father and his father’s childhood and family lineage. He knew his father was “his parents’ only son” and the story of how his father and mother met during his job position as his “writing assistant” (11-12). Even though the author Wes’ father died because of a misdiagnosed “sore throat” that turned out to be a treatable “acute epiglottitis” in which he “suffocated” to death, he held on to a good image of

2 his father which helped him get through his life and not turn to bad habits as a kid (12, 15). The other Wes grew up without a father and with barely any knowledge of his father. “He had never met his father” and that affected Wes greatly in his childhood (16). Even though he had no present father, his father’s grandmother “spoiled him” and through her he was able to meet his father one day while visiting her. The visit was not expected, nor did it turn out well. Even though Wes finally met his father, it was not like his father decided to quit his bad habits and become a better father to Wes. Because his father was never around, it greatly affected the other Wes and he decided to take a turn in his life choices far from the author Wes. In my life, my dad has always been around. I have many great memories with him from the time I was born to about the age of five to six. After that, my dad had seemed to change. He got a little meaner and more secretive. Little did I know, but it turned out that he had a gambling problem and it messed with his head a little. Now when I think of my dad, it is plagued with bad memories and all of his coarseness that came with them. Even to this day he has his good days, but can be very cruel on his bad days. I do not know if my teenage rebellion or defiance could be linked to my father being distant and not all there, but I did end up taking a bad path before I realized what I was doing and finding a better path that would benefit me and help me let go of my anger and resentment towards him. The presence of siblings greatly influenced the other Wes Moore. The other Wes completely looked up to his older brother, Tony. Even though Tony “continually urged Wes to stay out of [the drug game]” Wes ended up following in his footsteps because he wanted to be just like him (58). The other Wes tried to rationalize his entry into the drug business by telling himself that he wasn’t actually “selling drugs” because he knew how disappointed Tony would be (58). Tony had tried hard to keep Wes away from his life and “keep Wes in school,” but it all

3 seemed pointless because he himself was in the game and it made it all seem hypocritical (71). “Wes wanted to be just like Tony. Tony wanted Wes to be nothing like him” (72). The author Wes was very close to his older sister, Nikki, and to his younger sister, Shani. His older sister, when they lived with their grandparents, looked after him and his younger sister, but her “hands were always full with her…high school experience” and because of that, Wes looked after his younger sister Shani. (77). An example to how much he cared for his family and how much of an influence they were to him was the day he found out that a neighborhood girl had bullied his younger sister. He went to confront the girl that attacked his sister and even though she had a bigger, older brother, it did not matter because he was there to protect his sister and make sure that nothing like that ever happened to her again. His siblings represented a big part of his life and without them he might not have grown up to respect women as much as he does and he might not have been able to learn what it was like to care for others other than himself. In my own experience, my siblings are my world. I would do anything to make sure my brother has a better life than me and gets to experience more than I was able to at his age. I will do anything to make sure that my little sister will grow up happy with a go lucky spirit with enough confidence to really be happy with herself and what she wants to do in her life. The choices I make now I take into consideration what my siblings would think if they ever found out what I did. I want to make sure that I am a good influence and role model that they can look up to in their time of need when they need help and do not know who else to look to. The author Wes’ mother, Joy, had a strong belief of “never putting hands on a woman” and instilled that on the author as a kid (5). She was there for him when he needed it and when his father passed away she was not afraid to ask her parents for “help only [they] could provide”

4 with the kids as she worked to help support them alone (37). His mother worked hard to give him a good education at a prestigious school so that he would have a chance at a college life like she had. She wanted nothing but the best for her children. On the other hand, the other Wes’ mother cared a lot about her children, but got pregnant at an early age when neither she nor the father was ready to have kids. She was still young and was going to college, but did not have the chance to complete her degree. She was in denial about both of her sons being in the drug game and even goes as far as believing that the other Wes was “making money DJing” (70). Mary, his mother, even kept the company of a married man and did not prove to be a good influence herself because she even had marijuana stashed in her closet that the other Wes found and got his first high with. My mom had always wanted the best for me and had always wanted me to strive for better and to not take no for an answer. She believed in me and knew that whatever I set my sights to, I could accomplish. Sometimes it would get a little overwhelming and overbearing, but in the long-run I knew that everything she did—working long graveyard shifts, taking us out to shop and eat when she had extra money, making sure me and my siblings did our homework and went to bed early—was for my benefit so that I could live a better life than she did and ever could. Because of my mother, I am able to say that I am a college student and I am on my way to starting my life. The life that one chooses is influenced by many factors and varies depending on what affects that person. Factors like having and/or not having a father figure, sibling’s presence and the presence of a mother can influence a person’s life in good or bad ways and the way that they handle it depends on the way that they allow it to affect their life.

5 Works Cited Moore, W. (2011). The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (p. 250). New York, New York: Spiegel & Grau Trade Paperbacks....