Compare And Contrast The Other Wes Moore

The novel, The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore tells the story of two boys that have the same name: Wes Moore. Both boys grew up in struggling families and rough neighborhoods, but somehow their lives turn out to be completely opposite. One is serving a life sentence in jail while the other became a bestselling author.
Some people believe the reason their lives turned out so different was because Wes Moore (the author) had more opportunities and his family had more privileges than the other Wes Moore. I believe that Wes’s family had more opportunities than the other Wes’s because Wes’s parents were more educated. They were able to find steady work and that helped them raise their family in a better environment than the one that the other Wes Moore’s family lived in. Joy Moore (Wes’s mother) was also able to send her son to an expensive military academy through the generous donations of family and friends. The other Wes’s mother did not have the connections that Joy had. …show more content…
Both Weses grew up in drug and crime ridden neighborhoods. Both were raised by single, working mothers who loved their children and tried to provide for them as best as they knew how. When Wes (the author) started to preform badly in school, his mother sent him to Valley Forge. Joy knew that Wes’s environment needed to change. She knew that Wes would not be successful if he continued on the path he was starting on. At Valley Forge, Wes was surrounded by people who cared about his well-being and success. He was taught discipline and to respect others. Valley Forge provided Wes with more opportunities to help him be