Rhetorical Paper of "The Other Wes Moore"

We’re born to manifest our own destiny. Our future is determined by the choices we make, and our decisions influence our overall fate. “The Other Wes Moore” is a novel about two boys who’ve grown up with the same name, community, and moral beliefs. What sets these two men apart from one another are the decisions they made which led them to where they are now. Wes Moore, the author, is now attending a scholar university achieving his goals, while the other Wes Moore is being trialed in court for murder. How could two men with very similar backgrounds become so contrasting from one another? Both Wes Moore’s were born in Baltimore within the same neighborhood. They each were innocent children who were left fatherless and faced with heavy life-changing responsibilities. They were raised by single moms who worked extremely hard to provide and take care of their children.

One major part of “The Other Wes Moore” is when the author uses pathos to make the readers emotional towards both the young boys struggles. Wes moved to the Bronx from Maryland after his father died of a rare disease. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore’s family moved to get away from his alcoholic father. All of these factors play a major role in the shaping of both Wes Moores’ futures, but the factor that ultimately determines the outcome of their lives is their school environments. “She flatly told me that it didn’t matter to her if I showed up because the class ran smoother when I wasn’t there”. This is a problem for students everywhere, especially ones who’ve come from less privileged areas. This quote is important in this novel because an environment such as this does not benefit students; it just influences kids to become lazy.

Irony is another strategy that’s used commonly throughout “The Other Wes Moore.” “But I knew there was no way my mother would allow her only son to be shipped off to military school. Regardless of the grades. Regardless of suspensions. It was too remote, too permanent.” Wes’s mother Mary, consistently told him to straighten up and get his grades up but instead, he rebelled and misbehaved. This resulted in Mary sending him away to military school. The first 4 days of Wes attending military school, he admitted to running away 4 times. He had originally been sent to military school due to his academic and disciplinary probation at a private school. Wes attending this school is important to the storyline because it structuralized him to become very successful later on in the book. The author uses many metaphors in the novel to express his resentment towards the world due to not fitting in with society. “Where was God when kids were selling rocks at twelve year old, and their parents encouraged it because the kids were the main breadwinners in the home?… Where was God when a kid had a question and looked to his friends in the streets for an answer because his father was locked up and his mother strung out?”

Wes is making excuses and blaming other people for his poor life decisions. He feels that him being raised a certain way is the reason behind him making bad decisions. I personally recommend this book to everyone. It’s an inspirational novel that explains to people how powerful choices are and inspires them to make positive, responsible decisions. Both the Wes Moore’s had troubled childhoods and due to one of them making good decisions, he was fortunate enough to turn his life around for the better. Even though they each had critical moments and different standpoints throughout the entirety of their lives, it was the choices that they individually made that determined their future fates.

Works Cited

1. Moore, Wes. (2010). The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Spiegel & Grau.
2. Deffinbaugh, B. (2011). Destiny—The Other Wes Moore. Bible.org. Retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/destiny-other-wes-moore
3. McGlone, M. (2012). Book Review: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 40(1), 57-59.
4. Hughes, Z. (2011). The Other Wes Moore: A Call to Action for Educators. Journal of Negro Education, 80(3), 370-371.
5. Greene, R. (2011). The Other Wes Moore: A Story of Choices, Resilience, and the Power of Education. Education Digest, 77(2), 34-38.
6. Pinkney, A. (2011). The Other Wes Moore. The Journal of African American History, 96(3), 471-474.
7. Vaughn, N. A. (2012). The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (Book Review). NACADA Journal, 32(2), 93-95.
8. Morales, J. (2013). Living with Purpose: A Review of "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates". Journal of Correctional Education, 64(2), 9-12.
9. Lary, B. M. (2013). The Other Wes Moore: A Story of Two Fates (Book Review). Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 16(4), 87-90.
10. Lattimore, D. (2013). The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (Book Review). Journal of College Admission, (220), 27-28.