Jack Manley’s Reviews > The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates > Status Update

These pages show how important the little decisions in life turn out to be. The author highlights how similar both Wes Moores are, but how different they turn out to be, and the reason for this is the choices they make when no one is watching. Although neither of them tried to make poor decisions, in the heat of the moment, one stuck with making the right moral choice, and the other chose the easy one instead.

When reading about Wes and Tony's manhunt, it struck me how important the guidance people get from their family is. The author shows how people like Wes Moore are put first by their family, who make sacrifices for a better future, which is 100% the reason I believe he is a governor. But for the other Wes Moore, his family along with himself, drags down others, which is how two brothers ended up in a manhunt together.

The other Wes Moore may have returned to the drug game to make a living for his family knowing they depend on him. The author included this because Wes is not addicted to drugs, but is still drug dealing because he feels it's his only way to provide for his loved ones. This is a hint that someone might not be addicted to drugs but might not be making the right decisions for themselves, but out of duty to others.

Wes Moore's success in the classroom and basketball court, has shifted the way he carries himself. I think the author uses his apparent success, to show that the discipline, problem solving, and social skills learned in and out of the classroom, has allowed Wes to create a finer future for himself. I predict both Wes Moores will start to split even further apart, because of the value they put on academic importance.

So far, Wes Moore has struggled to fit in with the kid's around him. Wes lives in the Bronx, a very poor area, but goes to private school with wealthy kids. The author highlights how these are opposites, both groups of people make Wes feel on the outside, bouncing back and forth between the two groups, making it seem nobody wants him around. I think Wes will make a new friend soon, who will set him on the right path.

Sending Wes Moore to military school may have seemed like the right, or even only choice to his mother, but I think it will backfire on her. Instead of dealing with her problems, Wes's mom dumps those problems onto someone else to fix. I think the author is using this to show although military school might change Wes, it will demolish the mother son relationship, that is arguable the most special thing to a son.

Wes Moores weed experience made me think of how important role models are to children. The author used this scene to show how in Wes Moore’s life, selling and using drugs was normal. He saw Tony as the person he should be, and even though he knew drugs were bad, he believed drugs were a solution to his problems. I think a roll model will be introduced to Wes soon, to stop him from going down the same path as Tony.

I was hooked by the other Wes Moores fight with the smaller boy, and specifically how he reacted to it. Wes moved straight to escalation, using a knife as a weapon, to make others feel his power. Although Wes didn't kill anyone then, I think the author used this scene to imply how it led to him killing a man as an adult, showing how someones childhood experience affects the decisions they make later in life.