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While reading The Other Wes Moore, many different themes have been noticed throughout the book. These different themes are both positive and negative which have been expressed in both Wes Moore characters. Themes such as poverty, family and friend influence, hope, and the affects of drugs and alcohol are found throughout the novel. Hope is one of the themes that stood out most in the novel. In chapter seven of the book, Wes (#2) had a girlfriend, Cheryl, who was a drug addiction for heroin. During that time, Wes had four kids from two different women he had dated who he had to looked after and cared for. Once Wes finally figured out that the drug life was not going to lead him anywhere positive in life, he quickly tried to change his life by enrolling into classes at Job Corps, and working many jobs that did not pay more than nine dollars per hour. Hope started to rise in Wes, until he managed to mess that hope up by getting arrested for drug related charges. The other Wes (#1) took hope into his own hands and used it for good. While Wes was growing up, right after his father died, Wes was living in a dangerous part of Maryland. His mother decided to move to the Bronx to live with his grandparents who lived in a dangerous part of New York. Wherever Wes went, danger followed. While Wes was in the Bronx, he found a passion for basketball, and used basketball as a tool to get further in life. Once Wes became a teenager, he was sent off to Valley Forge military school in Pennsylvania, which made him a much better, more educated and athletic person. During his time at the military camp, Wes received division 1 scholarship offers to numerous universities. Hope is something that flowed throughout the book. The difference between the first Wes Moore and the second Wes Moore is that the first Wes Moore took that hope, and used it in a positive way, while the second Wes Moore took that hope and threw it down the garbage.

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In my life, I have not been in any situations in which I have been addicted to drugs, been arrested, lived in poverty, lost my father, not known my father for numerous years, or been a victim of racism to the extent where I have been called the N word. The memories and experiences that both Wes’ have lived through I have never experienced. But, I do connect with Wes (#1) more than the other Wes. In particular, Wes and I share the same love for basketball while growing up. Wes and I share the same aspirations for basketball, as we both wanted to become a professional NBA player at one time in our lives. Not only do we connect with basketball, we connect through our education too. In the beginning of Wes becoming a teenager, Wes did not like school at all and he was full of attitude. He was a lazy worker, did not get good grades, and simply, hated school. What school was for Wes was nothing but a joke, until his mother got involved. Wes was later put on academic probation because of how low his grade point average was. The instant Wes moved to the Valley Forge military school, Wes’ attitude, and performance both in the classroom and on the court, rose drastically and Wes became an honours student, and an amazing basketball player. I can relate to Wes' experience and what he went through. In 2016, when I was still at my old school, St. Maximillian high school, my grades, and my attitude were at an all time low. I hated school and everything or everyone who tried to help me. I was a mess, until Villanova came into my life. Once I heard there was an opportunity for me to get a better education, and at the same time have a better chance at making it far in basketball, I could not pass the offer up. The moment I transferred schools, my average went up fifteen percent, I became a lot happier, I started to opened up to the people that truly loved me, I was treating everyone around me like I would want to be treated, I became better at basketball, and most importantly, I found myself. I truly believe that if I had not found myself this year, I would be the same old Tyler Pryce everyone hated.

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Entry #3 Social Justice Issues in the Novel

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Entry #3 Social Justice Issues in the Novel

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Drug dealers, drug addicts, and alcoholics are all a major social justice issue in the novel. Both Wes Moore’s had grown up with these social issues, since the start of the book, to the last page. For Wes’ (#2) whole life, he had always been around drugs and alcohol ever since a young age. The first-time Wes had ever met his father was by surprise when his mother decided it was time to meet him. When Wes first saw his father at a young age, he was already drunk before Wes got there. His father could not stop drinking alcohol he was an alcoholic who did not know his own son. This was not the only time Wes saw his father, the third and last time Wes saw his father, he felt the anger to punch him in his face because the only words that came out of his father’s mouth was “who are you”. Not growing up with a father, knowing he is an alcoholic, knowing he does not know his own son is infuriating. Tony, who is Wes’ older brother, had been in the drug game since Wes had been a baby boy. Wes wanted to be exactly like his older brother, but the one thing Tony wanted from Wes was for Wes to become the man he was. Tony wanted Wes to become a better man than he was. Sadly, for Tony, Wes did the exact opposite. Wes had been in the drug game ever since he was eleven years old. Wes’ actions eventually lead to him being a known drug dealer, known murderer, and at one point in his life, getting arrested was “starting to feel routine.” (Moore 114). Wes had become a man who was use to being arrested. He had become worse than his brother. Drugs and alcohol had a huge affect not only the person who was drinking or using the drugs, these have an affect on the people you may love the most. Statistics in the novel say that “There were over 100 000 known addicts in Baltimore, and the number was arguably higher” (Moore, 111) and Wes was one of them. If Wes’ father did not become an alcoholic, and Tony had not become a drug addict, Wes’ life would be a lot better, not only would he have two role models in his life who were doing some good in the world, he would have people to direct him in the right path.

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While Wes (#1) was growing up, he had no passion for school and was beginning to go down the wrong pathway with his attitude towards everything. One night, Wes and his mom got into an argument that changed Wes’ life. “She was devastated. She was losing her son, and was not sure how to turn the tide” (Moore 89). Before Wes and his mother got into this fight, Wes’ mother had threatened Wes to send him to military school, but, Wes did not think for a second that his mother would send him to military school. Unluckily for Wes, his mother sent him to military as a last resort to save her son. When his mother decided to send Wes to military school, that sight of hope was there with them. During his first days at Valley forge military school, Wes was not the most co-operative person there, as he did not listen to the staff there, disrespected everyone there, and he even tried running away multiple times. What the staff decided to do was make Wes look like a fool. What they had done one night is draw up a map to the train station where Wes needed to get in able to go home. They drew a fake map, leading him into an unknown area, and making a complete fool out of Wes. That exact same night, Wes was granted a phone call to one person only. That person was his mother. When his mother picked the phone up, she explained to Wes why she had sent him off to military school, and told him what she had to go through to get him there. After that phone call, Wes was a totally different person, as he got rid of his attitude, got a better relationship with his mother, and was doing well in school. Wes’ personality was defined in that moment, as he decided not to give up on military school, but decided to take the challenge of military school on which made him the person he is today.

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Drugs, alcohol, violence, gangs, are all apart of Wes’ (#2) life. Growing up as a kid, it looked like there was no escape for Wes. With a father who turned into an alcoholic, and him wanting to be exactly like his brother who was a drug addict that is involved with gangs, all the odds were against Wes as he grew up, until he realized how much he had messed up in the past. Now, with four kids of his own, Wes had his hands full with child support bills to pay, nagging wives always telling him that he is not doing enough for his kids etc. After a conversation with his girlfriend, a spark lit up in him. Wes was “Tired of being locked up, tired of watching drugs destroy entire families, entire communities, an entire city” (Moore 138). Wes wanted to change his life and do some good in the world rather than selling drugs, getting into violence or seeing drugs and violence ruin his community. Before he even thought about trying to change his life around, his friend Levy told him that it was going to take a lot of hard work and effort to change his life. Wes did not even think of changing his mind, he was determined to change his life around. Wes had enrolled into classes at Job Corp to get him started which eventually will lead him to get a fulltime job. Wes’ life looks like it is turning around now, until Wes choked in the same situation he had been put in throughout his whole life. One day, Wes was walking home and had to pick a package up from his old town where he used to live in West Baltimore. Wes arrived to his house, with the package with him. While entering his house, he went to the kitchen, put the package on the counter, got a knife, and opened the package. Once the package was fully open, “Wes held the plastic bag with both hands and poured in nine ounces of cocaine” (Moore 145). When Wes tried to change his life around, joy and happiness is shown by the readers because of the determination he is showing to change his life from good to bad. As soon as Wes poured that nine ounces of cocaine on the counter, all that joy and happiness disappeared.

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At eight years old, Wes (#2) played football for the Northwood Rams, which was one of the top ranked rec teams at the time. During this time, Wes’ passion for football grew and his grades declined. This is the age in which Wes wanted to be more like his brother and would do anything to be like his only role model. One day, when Wes and Woody started to become good friends, Woody invited Wes to play some football on the street. Later, while the boys were playing football, Wes was playing defensive against another boy from his neighbourhood, who was playing wide receiver. The way Wes was playing the boy was very up close and the boy got fed up with Wes. As any other young boy who lived in the hood, the boy told Wes to stop pushing him and Wes’ response was “Make me, bitch!” (Moore 31). Now, what Wes said to the boy, it would make anyone react the way the boy did. What the boy did was throw his right arm back, and hit Wes square in the face which created an open cut on Wes’ face. Blood was dripping non-stop. After Wes saw the blood, he instantly ran to his house in a tremendous amount of anger. ‘When Wes slowed the blood down from bleeding, but, Wes’ anger did not slow down one bit. “But when Wes had looked into the other boy’s eyes, he knew that he had to send a message. Tony flashed through Wes’ mind.” (Moore 32). Wes knew that he could not do nothing about him getting punched square in the face. “As Woody got closer, his attention was diverted from Wes’ left hand to his right, where he held a long-bladed knife.” (Moore 33). Wes’ anger is so tremendous that he is willing to hurt a boy, with a knife, because he got punched in the face. Once readers knew what Wes is willing to do to get even at the age of eight, the feeling gained is Wes has no hope in the future.

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When a story is told in first person rather than third person, readers only get one side of the story usually, and the emotions that are felt are similar to the person who is telling a story in first person. While reading The Other Wes Moore, there are two stories that are told differently. While the story of Wes (#1) is told in first person, the story of Wes (#2) is told in third person. Both stories have different feelings, and different perspectives than one another. In Wes’ (#1) story, you could feel all the emotions Wes was feeling at specific important moments in his life. For example, in chapter one of the novel, when Wes’ mother is screaming at him because he hit older sister Nikki, you can feel the fear that Wes is feeling in that moment. You can also feel the relief and the amount of protection Wes felt as his dad walks in saying “Hey, Main Man, do you mind if I come in?” (Moore 11). When a story is told in first person, you have only one perspective of any given situation all the time, which is a good nor bad thing while reading a novel. Wes’ (#2) story is told in third person, which is a totally different thing. In third person, you get the perspective of everybody that is involved in the current situation. You can also feel all the emotions everybody is feeling. For example, in chapter four, Tony who is Wes’ brother, did not want Wes to turn into him, a drug addict who gets into a lot of trouble. Tony knew that Wes was selling drugs and getting a lot of money for it. He kept asking Wes where the money he got came from, but Wes kept denying it. What Tony did was beat Wes up to teach him a lesson. Later, in the chapter, Wes’ mom found drugs in his room and was devastated to know she had two sons who are drug dealers. In first person, it is very hard to get many different perspectives. First person reading in the novel limits the amount of information you get from reading the novel.

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Starting at a young age, both Wes’ were introduced to drugs, alcohol and gangs, the difference between the both is Wes (#1) chose to accept a challenge and work to beat it. In the world, today, gangs and gang members are rising by the numbers. Statistics say that the total amount of gang members that are in the U.S.A today is one million, one hundred and fifty thousand. Forty percent of that number said above are kids eighteen and under. Sixty three percent of gangs are involved with drug trafficking, and forty four percent are involved with assault. Apart of that one million, one hundred and fifty thousand, thirty one percent of those gang members are black. In todays society, gangs and gang members are growing every second, becoming more powerful, trying to be better than everyone else. If Wes (#2) was in todays society, the number of gang members would go up by one. On the more positive side in the world, more and more people are entering the military, trying to help the United States be a safer place. Relating to Wes (#1), there are one million, four hundred-twenty-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five military personnel currently stationed across the U.S. In the world, today, there is not only bad things that can be related to the novel, The Other Wes Moore, there are also hero’s that try to help the world be a safer place, just as Wes (#1) tried to do.

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As Wes (#1) grew up with no father, not very wealthy, no commitment towards school, but amazing athletic talents, Michael Oher had a similar story. “The Blind Side” is a movie by John Lee Hancock about a teenager with no education, no family, but has great athletic abilities. Michael has a similar life like Wes, the only difference is that Michaels story begins a lot later in life than Wes. In the novel, Michael Oher does not have an education, or home to stay in, but he did have a lot of football talent. Michael was surviving by sleeping at his school, walking the streets all night, trying to find food. Until one day, when Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy took care if Michael, but did not adopt him yet. When Sean and Leigh Anne first took Michael in, they enrolled him into Briarcrest Christian School in Tennessee Memphis. Now, Michael did not grow up in a good neighbourhood, just like Wes, and Michael was not influenced by the greatest people. Growing up, Michael was never taught how to read, spell, or write, so when Michael first entered school, he could not comprehend any work that he was given and he was unable to do the work he was given. As Michael progressed through the year, his football skills went to the next level, he was getting good enough grades to get into university, and he was adopted by the Tuohy family. The similarities both Michael and Wes have are; they both have very advanced athletic skills, they had to overcome adversity and work for their future, they both started off without an education and ended up with university scholarships coming from every NCAA university, and they both grew up in a bad neighbourhoods with limited family support. Both characters have very similar stories, with the exact same past.

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April 4th, 1968, one of our most known leaders passed away. Martin Luther King Jr, was activist in the Civil Rights Movement against racism. Martin Luther King Jr had given many speeches throughout his life, but the “I have a dream” speech read on August 28th, 1963 is his most famous speech as he spoke of rights every man and woman on earth should have equal rights. After Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated, riots instantly began to erupt in the United States. Days after the assassination, riots begun by the racial segregation community in Baltimore city. The riots consisted of rock throwing, lighting buildings on fire, looting, arson etc. The whole city of Baltimore exploded with rampage after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. How the story ended for all of Baltimore after the riots were, six people were killed, seven hundred were injured, one thousand business ransacked or burned down, and at least fife thousand eight hundred people were arrested. In The Other Wes Moore Wes’ (#2) grandmother had to live through those moments of anger and despair. His grandmother explained the fear that was inside of her during the riots. Wes’ grandmother also explained how she was trapped inside of her house for days, by how dangerous the streets at the time. Anger, unfairness, democracy, flowed throughout the streets of Baltimore the moment Luther King Jr was assassinated. Throughout both Wes’ lives, they were stuck in the after math of the riots in 1968, as some of the communities are still destroyed. Both Wes’ had to grow up in an unsafe, poor community in both Baltimore and Maryland. The main reason why Wes (#2) turned to crime as an out is because of the after math of 1968. Destroyed communities, destroyed business, by the riots in 1968 were what destroyed Wes.

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Growing up as a little kid, my father’s dream was to teach his son how to get girls, play sports, and help him with his homework. As a child growing up, my father did not really have a father. What I mean by that is my grandfather never really helped my father with all the extracurricular events, like talking to girls, or, teaching him how to play any sports. Whatever my father did as a child, he taught himself how to do it. As my father got older and older, he became a phenomenal athlete, but was lacking in school. In the Other Wes Moore, Wes (#1) is just like my father when they were little kids. Both people have a gift that God gave them to make it far in life, but did not use it to their full potential. The only difference between both characters is Wes’ mom sent him to military school to learn discipline, while my father stayed in a regular school, failing in life. Once my father reached a certain age, he moved from England to Jamaica to Canada back to Jamaica then back to Canada again. Throughout those times where my father was moving from country to country, my grandparents were not with him. No discipline, no responsibility, no nothing. Growing up, my father was a very wise kid. He stayed away from the drugs, stayed away from the alcohol, stayed away from danger. The only thing he was not wise about was school. His drive to get good grades are what made him fall short of his dreams of becoming a professional athlete. Everyday, my father tells me, “I do not want you to end up like me, I want you to be better than me. I want you to use your potential and go somewhere great in life”. Everyday, he tells me that. But, everyday, I neglect him, ignore him, make him feel like he is worthless to me. The actions I decide to do everyday are going to make my story end up like Wes (#2). Everyday, my dad tries to lead me down the right path, down the path of success and fame, down the path of no regret, he tries his heart and soul to make me see a bright future no matter what I say or do! This is why my dad is my role model. This is why I love my dad to death. I know my dad will never stop loving me, never stop believing in me, never stop supporting me in every way he can. This is why nobody could ever be like my dad. Even though my dad’s life started out rough, he overcame so many obstacles, obstacles the whole world is not willing to face. My dad overcame those obstacles for me. For his dream of having a son. For his dream of being the teacher his father never was. The reason my story is not ending up like Wes (#2) is because of my father. He got me into Villanova, without my mother’s help. He emptied his pockets, to get me a better education and a better life. HE MADE SACRIFICES NO OTHER DAD IN THE WORLD WILL EVER MAKE! Without my father, I do not know what my story would be right now. Without my father, I am afraid to see my future. Without my father, I have no strength. Without my father, I am nothing.

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Since I have now finished the novel, I have gained many feelings about both characters. First off, Wes (#1). Growing up, Wes did not have a father, and was not in the safest or wealthiest place ever. While reading about Wes, I noticed that Wes had made plenty of mistakes as a child, but he quickly learnt from them and did not make the same mistake again. One thing that I can connect to Wes about is if I ever get into trouble, I will try my hardest not to make the same mistake I made before. Usually, I will not make that same mistake which helps me move forward in this world. I feel the only reason Wes got so far in life, considering the circumstances he grew up with, is because he listened, then executed what he needed to do. The overall feeling, I got from Wes is he is a very intelligent man, when he wants to be, but when he does not want to listen or pay attention to the important detail, he will stop himself from going forward. I also feel like Wes is one of the strongest men on this world because all the obstacles he had to go through just to get to where he is now.

Now, the feeling I got from reading about Wes (#2) is that he does not care about anything but himself, he does not listen, and he does not learn from the mistakes he makes in this world. Reading more and more about Wes, I learnt that the reason why he is sentenced to life in prison is because he let everything around him affect his future. Now, I am not saying it is not hard to grow up with a brother who is in a gang, does drugs, and gets into trouble with the police, or growing up knowing your dad is an alcoholic who does not even know you exist, I am saying that I feel Wes used his dad and his brother as an excuse to grow up the way he did. Instead of trying to decide his own fate, he let his dad and brother decide it for him even before Wes was born.

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The novel, “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, is a novel about two people with the same name, a similar childhood, but different fates. Wes (#1) grew up in Maryland for his first years on earth, until he witnessed his father pass away with an acute epiglottis which is a rare disease. After his father passed away, his mother and two sisters (Nikki and Shani) were still living in Maryland, but, the amount of breaking and entering was rising where they lived. So, Wes’ mother decides to move to the Bronx, where his grandparents live. His mother believed that the Bronx was much safer for her family. Once they moved to the Bronx and entered their new home, Wes’ mother was talking to her parents about the crime that has risen. Wes’ mother tried to get her family out of danger, but it failed. One day, Wes decided to go play some basketball at the park. Once he got there, he got invited to play a game of pick-up, and he instantly found a passion for basketball, and continued to play it. Three years later, Wes is old enough to go to school. The school he went to was Riverdale. Wes did not do well in school, so his mother threatened to send him to military school. As Wes grew up, he was introduced to gangs. Wes and his friend Paris, who was a runner in the neighbourhood, went to draw graphite in an ally. As Wes and Paris were drawing the graphite, they got caught by officers. Luckily, the officers gave them the talk about staying out of trouble and let them go. A year later, Wes is in Valley Forge military school in Wayne, Pennsylvania because of his grades and actions. Wes hated everything about military school and wanted out. Wes tried to escape, the military staff found him. When they found Wes, they took him back to the main office as Colonial Batt granted Wes one phone call for five minutes. the person who Wes called was his mother, asking her to remove him from the military school. His mother told him the reason why he needs to stay. She also told him all the struggles she went through to get him into Valley Forge. After, a spark lit in him, and the next year at Valley Forge, Wes received not only an athletic scholarship, but an academic scholarship also. Wes later received multiple full scholarships, and moved on to become successful in life. Wes (#2) is a troubled boy who stayed troubled. Wes grew up with nothing but a mother and a brother who Was a drug addict/dealer. All Wes’ life, nothing but bad things have happened to him. When he was just thirteen years old, he had his first child. After that, he had three more, which made his life a lot harder. Wes had sold drugs, shot a man, had been on drugs, gotten beat up, all throughout his life. One day, while Wes was with his girlfriend, Cheryl, she was high on heroin. Wes decided he had enough of the life he had been living. Wes decided to go to enroll in training at Job Corps. Everything in Wes’ life was going to turn around, until he brought a package home, opened it, and out spilled nine ounces of cocaine. Wes’ life went south again as he is later wanted for murder. After being caught by the police, Wes and his brother Tony were sentenced to life for murder of a police officer during a robbery.