The Other Wes Moore Blog #8

The Other Wes Moore Blog #8

          The main theme in this chapter was life choices. In this chapter sadly Wes decided to make another terrible mistake that would affect his future and family. A sergeant was shot when he tried to interfere with the robbers. Four of them were arrested and Wes was one of them. He got arrested for a jewelry store robbing and was found guilty in the trial after lying about not being there. The guards placed their hands on Wes and shuffled him away. The hands of the state would stay on him for the rest of his life. Wes had spent much of his adolescence incarcerated, and he knew that occasional bids in the pen were part of the game. But he'd never figured this. Maybe it was because he‘d never thought long term about his life at all." This was the incident where Wes realized he really messed up and he was sentenced for life in prison. Now Wes couldn't get out of this tough situation he put himself in. While the other Wes was not in the best place in life the author Wes was in a great place that would affect his future positively. Wes met the director of admissions of John Hopkins University and the director helped him out a lot. He helped Wes get his acceptance even though his grades weren't the best and gave him a scholarship. Wes was very grateful and said " Having an advocate on the inside someone who had gotten to know me and understood my story on a personal level had obviously helped. It made me think deeply about the way privilege and preference work in the world, and how many kids who didn't have luck like mine in this instance would find themselves forever outside the ring of power and prestige." Wes also took advantage of great opportunities like studying abroad in South Africa. Being there changed his views in life and made him more thankful. Wes described his experience as "Living in the Bronx and Baltimore had given me the foolish impression that I knew what poverty looked like. At that moment, I realized I had no idea what poverty was even in West Baltimore we lived like kings compared with this (the shantytown in South Africa). An embarrassing sense of pride tentatively bloomed in the middle of the sadness I felt at my surroundings." Wes viewed life in another perspective and was thankful for where he was now. 

The Other Wes Moore Blog #7

The Other Wes Moore Blog #7

           The main themes in Chapter 7 was education and poverty. An example of education was "As I started to think seriously about how I could become the person I wanted to be, I looked around at some of the people who’d had the biggest impact on my life. Aside from family and friends, the men I most trusted all had something in common: they all wore the uniform of the United States of America…" Wes was becoming more focused in his education and he became the highest ranking cadet from over 700 students. Wes was becoming the leader he felt like he was born to be in the chapter it said "His quick success had Wes thinking differently about his life…Many of the other students were now looking to Wes for help with their GED prep, for assistance with their personal issues, and for friendship. Just as he had on the corners of Baltimore, Wes became a leader." Also Wes was thinking of more realistic goals like maybe being a writer since he enjoyed reading. Wes wrote 

“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 your other options,” The other Wes also really wanted a better life and wanted to get away from the drug and gang life. Wes went and got his GED and wanted to be able to provide for his kids. In the novel it said “While at the Job Corps Center, Wes had problems floating off the soft country air of Laurel. A year after graduating, he realized they had not disappeared – they’d simply returned to Baltimore, waiting for him to come back. In his absence, they’d compounded. Tears welled in Wes’s eyes but never fell. He’d realized long ago that crying does no good.” He realized his life choices before was still affecting his future and it was hard to get away from it. He felt like he had to be apart of the drug dealing and selling because he felt like he didn't have a choice since he wanted to provide for his family. Also the other Wes' realized how the mother of his kids was also affected by the drugs very negatively and didn't like her being apart of that life. In Chapter 7 it said "The sight of her coming off her high, stumbling to the bathroom, disgusted Wes. 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 Cheryl was just like them…Wes was tired. The other Wes felt like he was stuck and had no way out.

The Other Wes Moore Blog Chapter 6

The Other Wes Moore Blog Chapter 6

On Chapter 6: "Hunted", in the novel The Other Wes Moore was mainly focused on the themes of  life choices and the importance of education . For example the Other Wes was still in the drug selling business and felt like it was a huge part of his life even though he was in so much trouble with the police already. In the novel it said "He was surrounded by some guys from his crew…He had to get moving, but he lingered. He liked the feeling of holding down a corner with his boys. It was the one place he felt safe, or at least in his element," This shows how the other Wes was so used to his crew that he felt like they were his family and would have each other's backs in any difficult situation. The other Wes also was out of juvie from shooting the and came right back the the people that were a bad influence on him but he thought the opposite. The other Wes believed "This was the crew. They would work together, fight together, stay together. An unbreakable bond united the crew for many members, it was the only support system they had. It was family." This shows how the other Wes felt about his gang he hung around with and the type of bond he shared with the people he felt was like a family to him." Another example of life's choices was from the author Wes was attacked because of his race and was hit in the mouth and got a broken tooth. The author Wes wrote "My mouth was aching. 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." This shows how the author Wes chose to be the bigger person and he didn't go attacking them or doing something to give revenge like he would've done before. It shows how military school changed him and was a positive impact on his life.  Also the author Wes knew how his decision really changed him as a person and he was very proud of himself. He said "The irony of the situation forced me to smile, featuring my newly cracked tooth. Years earlier, I had run through these same woods with all of my might, looking for safety, trying to get away from campus. Tonight, I ran through the same woods looking for safety, but in the other direction," Wes realized how his life changed and how big of an impact his education and future was to him. In the novel Wes wrote "I felt like being at military school was keeping me in a bubble, ignorant of what was
going on with my people on the outside. There was a comfortable distance between my life now and the levels of confusion that had engulfed me just a few years ago. This uniform had become a force field that kept the craziness of the world outside from getting too close to me, but I wondered if it was just an illusion."