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Many individuals believe that fate is established by one’s surrounding environments, whereas others see that people are in control of their destinies. Fate is a prominent theme found in both the memoir, The Other Wes Moore written by Wes Moore and the poem, Winds of Fate written by Ella Wilcox.

In a conversation with the other Wes Moore, Wes asks about his stance on fate, particularly if it is due to how people are pre-conditioned in society or if people hold absolute power. “Do you think we’re all just products of our environments?” (Moore 127) In his response, Wes says how fate is the outcome of other people’s expectations and how people are able to choose what they think is best for them. Wes disagrees with him as he is blaming his current situation in jail is being influenced by others’ outlooks. Wes was in full control of his future; however, he is upset with his circumstances due to luck, even though Wes was in the same boat as he was.

Ella Wilcox shares a similar feeling to Wes about how everyone has the ability to determine their own fate:

"One ship drives east and another drives west

With the self-same winds that blow;

'Tis the set of the sails

And not the gales

That tells them the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the winds of fate

As we voyage along through life;

'Tis the set of the soul

That decides its goal

And not the calm or the strife. (Wilcox)"

Ella uses a ship and wind to express the relationship between individuals and their life choices that lead them to their destined path. The ships represent people and how every person goes in their own direction in life as the wind represents the path to one’s future. For Wes, his goal is to receive an education and gain work experience in the real world because he knew it would be beneficial for his future. In his life he followed something similar to what Ella said through choosing the right path. He became an author, a White House Fellow, and a Rhodes Scholar, whereas the other Wes continued to live a life sentence in prison. Generally, making an effort to change one’s path for the better is more important than letting your fate dictate your future.

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The Underlying Problems of Drugs in Families

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The Underlying Problems of Drugs in Families

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Growing up in Baltimore was not easy for Wes, as he found himself deep in the drug dealing business. This was influenced by what he saw on the streets, which is where Wes began to follow in other’s footsteps in his community. Wes began dealing drugs at a young age and continued to pursue it. Overtime, this led him to many of his future arrests as he became a known dealer in his community:

“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).”

He wanted a change for himself, as he knew the dangers of dealing drugs had both on himself and the people around him. He knew outcome of the use of substances was ruining lives in Baltimore. However, Wes continued his ways as he was earning a lot from it. This is not only an issue in Baltimore, but it is a societal issue around North America. Many families in low-income neighbourhoods experience this in their lives, resulting in broken households, unsafe and unstable environments for the general public.

“My parents started using crack in my early teens. By the time I was sixteen, I spent my first winter without heat… Not only did I lose my extended family, relationships in my own family fell apart. My brothers and I lost the ability to count on our parents and family…The crack epidemic devastated my family and community” (Imani 2013).

Growing up in an inner-city neighbourhood brought many challenges to Jakada’s relationships, household, and opportunities. This is a widespread issue in poorer areas because many people want a change away from this lifestyle, however, it is unlikely for most. It becomes unlikely and tough for people to change because they tend to struggle to remove themselves from this negative cycle due to lack of support and segregation from the rest of the population. Unfortunately, these people continue to reside in their current situations which holds them back from exploring new opportunities for themselves.

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Tony and Wes are known to be criminals in their communities. They have been surrounded by drug dealing and violence their entire lives and have been arrested on numerous occasions. A jewelry store, J. Brown Jewelers, gets robbed one day by Wes and Tony that left an innocent man dead. This man was a father of five and a policeman- Sergeant Bruce Prothero. This case was brought to many viewers’ attention,

“Then the reporter described the final two suspects. The reporter warned those watching that they should be assumed to be “armed and very dangerous.” 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).

The decisions they made completely changed their lives forever; for the worse. Ultimately, their foolish and harmful actions led them to conviction and ending up in jail. This quote displeased me as they both knew the outcome of their choices, from previous experiences that led to their past arrests. I felt that what they did was unnecessary, and I was annoyed because they were continuing to go back to what was getting them in trouble and not learning from other times. The both of them have been arrested several times, and I think that they should have thought through their actions before reacting. Hence, I was not surprised of this outcome for Tony and Wes, as their fates were a direct consequence of their actions. This made me feel relieved because their poor decision making was the main factor that led to their punishment. Hopefully, this punishment was a lesson-learning experience for both. Overall, I believe that Tony and Wes were in full control of their fates and therefore, rethinking this decision could have possibly changed their lives completely.

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Growing up was tough at times for both of the Wes Moore’s. They shared similar challenges in their childhood, one being the lack of having a father figure present in their lives. Nonetheless, they were both fatherless for completely different reasons, “Your father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, my father wasn’t there because he chose not to be. We’re going to mourn their absence in different ways” (Moore 1). Wes had a strong bond with his dad, however, he passed away when Wes was three years old. This was unfortunate for Wes’ father to be eliminated from him at such a young age. The other Wes’ dad was alive but refused to be in his life. It seemed that he had some feelings of abandonment toward his father. Though both of these situations were quite similar, they manifested two completely different outcomes for their futures. Wes always had positive memories of his father. They shared a strong relationship, and he gave him important life lessons that followed him after his death. Even though he passed, his mother continued trying her best to keep him on the right path and to stay in school. The other Wes had no memories of his father, except knowing that he was absent in his life. Instead, he follows in his older brother’s footsteps because he did not have any other male figure in his life to guide him. History repeats itself, as Wes is also not present in his children’s lives. This situation executes the theme of Fate vs. Choice. Fate is what you’ve been given, and choice is what you can control and do with your fate. Wes was given the loss of his father; however, he made the decision to go on the right path. The other Wes was given the absence of his father and chose to do the same with his children. This image displays this theme in the novel because although having similar pasts, their destinies were completely opposite due to their choices. Ultimately, the influence that parents have on their kids is significant as their behaviours usually dictate the outcome of their child’s future.

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Imani, Jakada. “How the Drug War Destroyed My Community and Why It Must End.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 4 June 2013, www.huffpost.com/entry/how-the-drug-war-destroye_b_3010650.

Wilcox, Ella. “The Winds of Fate.”