Other Wes Moore Theme Tracking: Chapter 4

1.  Adolescent decision making can lead to loss of opportunities.
"These incarcerated men, before they’d even reached a point of basic maturity, had flagrantly—and tragically—squandered the few opportunities they’d had to contribute productively to something greater than themselves."

This quote is a way that the theme of adolescent decision making gets developed. It shows that when in difficult circumstances people of a low maturity level tend to make bad decisions. These decisions cause many peoples incarceration including the imprisonment of Wes Moore. The problem is that the people in similar situations as Wes Moore do not have the proper guidance to make appropriate decisions. Therefore, the decisions they make might be beneficial in the short term but are truly devastating in the long term. Additionally since there is not enough parental guidance regarding their decisions, the circumstances in which they make the decisions can have extreme repercussions. This is how many people take small steps towards becoming criminals.

2. A role model's profession can be seen as more important than their guidance. 
"He knew why his brother felt obliged to warn him off. But it was clear that Tony himself didn’t have any better ideas or he would’ve made those moves himself. 

The quote shown is able to define one of the underlying themes of the Other Wes Moore. It shows that when someone is looks up to a role model they want to be just like them. Therefore when there are role models who have a bad background and want a better life for the people they are guiding, it can be hard seeing that they contradict what they are talking about. This is how the dynamic of Wes and Tony is; Tony wants more opportunities for Wes but since Wes looks up to Tony, he wants to be just like him. This makes guiding someone in the right direction difficult especially when the thing the role model does seems beneficial similar to how Wes sees drug dealing.

"Wes had to a role model. But the more he tried to be like his brother, the more his brother rejected him. The more he copied him, the more Tony pushed back. Wes wanted to be just like Tony. Tony wanted Wes to be nothing like him."

This quote is a perfect example who role modeling and guidance can completely backfire. Although Tony wanted the better than what he got for Wes, Wes wanted the complete opposite. This demonstrates that although role models want the best for the people they are guiding, those people being guided sometimes just want to be exactly like their role model, and that can be a bad thing.

3. The drug game appeals to many people in poor socio-economic circumstances.

"And the truth was, Wes now had more money in his pocket than he’d ever had before, which kept him outfitted in new clothes—including the two-hundred-dollar Cross Colours set now covered with grass stains and dirt."

This quote shows how the drug game benefitted Wes in the short term. It shows with dealing drugs, people can have a way to make easy money, fast. Therefore, people who do not have that much money to buy nice clothes or shoes will see the appeal of getting into drug dealing. This is another way in which people in the same circumstances as Wes take another step towards their own imprisonment. 

4. It is hard to not get involved into criminal activity when criminals were respected. 

"First off, Shea was one of the most respected young hustlers in the neighborhood. He was a worker, we all knew that—and while some of the kids were smart enough to be disgusted by what he did, other kids, even the ones who weren’t in the game, respected his position."

This develops the theme because it shows how drug dealers who were high up in the drug dealing pyramid where respected amongst the people of the neighborhood. This shows that if criminals are respected, people will be more include to participate in criminal activity due to the respect they eagerly seek. 

The Other Wes Moore Characterization Sonnets

The Other Wes Moore

Gone wast his father 

For his brother wast the role model he got 

Although the life of Tony did seem to falter 

Too busy was his mother to beest distraught 

Not there was his mother

When he came across her stash

He found something like no other

To make himself some cash

Important wast not school

But wast having the newest robes 

For greed was an important tool

Down into the drug game he goes

Dark is his future 

For it will be like the sewer

The Author 

Went did he to a white school

But lived he in the hood

Having old robes wast not cool

And going to Riverdale did not do him any good

Loving was his mother

Rushed home did he

For she loved him like no other

And the streets at night were nowhere to be 

Hard was being too rich or too poor

His personality was cleaved

He did not know who he was anymore

For it seemed he was suffocating whenever he breathed 

Confused was he

Though the clarity resided with his family

Title Justification Paper #1

The first collection of chapters is titled Fathers and Angles in the Other Wes Moore. This collection of chapters touches on the loss of fathers in the life of both of the Wes Moores. This title of Fathers and Angels is aligned with the authors purpose because it points out a similarity and a difference in both characters in the book. These similarities allow the reader to see how the circumstances were very similar in the lives of both Wes Moores. This aligns with the purpose to show how easily the Wes Moores positions in life could be reversed.

The title Fathers and Angels suits the collections of chapters in many ways as well as being aligned with the authors purpose. Fathers and Angels is a good title because in the chapters the author's father dies and the other Wes Moore finally is able to see his father for the first time. Therefore the topic of fathers is shown in the title as well as the chapters. Although the chapters both make it clear that both characters do not have fathers, the circumstances in each of the fathers absences is different. The authors father was gone involuntarily and he was thought of fondly, therefore he can be a role model and that accounts for the Angel part of the title. However the other Wes Moore's father was absent voluntarily, he did not contribute to the Wes Moore's family. This causes his father to be less of a role model and is a difference that contributed to the fate of the other Wes Moore.

In conclusion, Fathers and Angels is an appropriate title for the collection of chapters and it reflects the authors purpose. It shows that all absent fathers are fathers buts some can be angels like the author's father. Additionally it shows the reversibility of the two fates of the Wes Moores.

The Other Wes Moore Theme Tracking: Chapter 3

1. The drug game appeals to many people in poor socio-economic circumstances.

"He’d pleaded with his mom earlier in the week for an upgrade to his wardrobe. Tony, he complained, was wearing all the newest clothes and was now sporting a thick gold rope chain on top of it" 

This develops the theme of the appeal of the drug game because it demonstrates how it seems attractive to people in poor socio-economic situations like Wes. The quote shows that by getting involved with the drug game, one can get money to buy nice things. Although there are ways that people can make money, drugs is a way to get a lot of money fast. Therefore, it appeals to kids like Wes Moore who are sick of having beat up, low quality things and want a taste of what it would be like to be wealthier. 

"And he understood, faintly, how addictive that feeling could be, and how easy it would be to make some money off selling that feeling to people who needed it. As Wes placed the headset over his freshly cut fade and adjusted it, he remembered this story. The headset now fit perfectly. There was definitely money to be made"

This quote also is able to touch on how becoming involved with drugs can be appealing in situations like that of the character Wes Moore. The quote shows the convenience of the drug game, it demonstrates how easy it is to get involved and how the financial benefits of participating are immediate and attractive. Therefore it seems that if there are all these benefits, it would be stupid not to participate despite there being legal and safety issues. When people do not have what they want and there is an opportunity to get a lot of what someone wants people will take that opportunity and that is how the drug game is for many people in similar situations as Wes. 

2. Due to society's view of good schools, succeeding academically was difficult.

 "It was a sore spot. In the hood, your school affiliation was essential. Even if you weren’t running with the coolest clique, you still got some percentage of your rep from your school, and the name Riverdale wasn’t going to impress anyone"

This develops a the theme of society's view towards schools because it shows how good schools were regarded. This means that if someone was doing well in a good school they probably were not "running with the coolest clique" and due to how influential society is regarding adolescent decision making; it was hard to do well in school. The social pressures are very prominent in life therefore there is no motivation to succeed academically.

"I was becoming too “rich” for the kids from the neighborhood and too “poor” for the kids at school. I had forgotten how to act naturally, thinking way too much in each situation and getting tangled in the contradictions between my two worlds. My confidence took a hit... I began to let my grades slip"

This quote also exemplifies another way in which the theme of society's view of good schools makes succeeding academically difficult. It shows that with the social pressures, people will due whatever they can to fit in even if it will not benefit them in the future. This is how succeeding academically is challenging if the social pressure do not align with academic success which is a problem all over the world in developing locations.

3. Education affects opportunities in the future

"Later in life I learned that the way many governors projected the numbers of beds they’d need for prison facilities was by examining the reading scores of third graders."

This quote develops the theme because it gives evidence about how education can affect someone's opportunities in life. It implies that third graders with low reading scores will probably end up in prison. This shows that if one does not take advantage of their education, they could end up in prison or with very few options regarding a job or a house due to there lack of academic success. 

The Other Wes Moore Theme Tracking: Chapter 2

1. Less parental attention can lead to criminal activity

"Tony had started dealing drugs in those shadowy hallways of Murphy Homes before he was ten. By the time he was fourteen, Tony had built a fierce reputation in the neighborhood".

The author shows that since Tony's mom is working all the time, he has been involved with drugs. This reveals that when less parental attention is given, there is no one to apprehend them from doing bad things. This can cause perfectly good people to turn into criminals when proper attention is not given to them which is exemplified into Tony's situation.  

 "But the tough façade is just a way to hide a deeper pain or depression that kids don’t know how to deal with. A bottomless chasm of insecurity and self-doubt that gnaws at them."

This quote reveals that without proper attention of parents, kids can get insecure about themselves when nobody is there to reassure them. To cope with this insecurity they try to act tough instead of revealing their true feelings. Sometimes while putting up this façade, it can lead to violence which turn kids into criminals. This situation also revolves around the developing theme of less parental attention can lead to criminal activity because it demonstrates exactly how less parental reassurance can impact one's life negatively. 

2. Mentors usually want to give a better life for the person they are mentoring. 

"Tony, by contrast, was desperately trying to give his little brother information he thought he needed, the kind of information that Tony never got". 

The quote shows how Tony wants Wes to have a better start than he got when he was Wes's age. This develops the theme that mentors usually want to give a better life for the person they are mentoring because it shows that people want to give others a better chance than they ever got. It reveals that humans want to feel better about their mistakes by making sure other people do not commit the same mistakes. Therefore by showing people what and what not to do, one is living through that other person making them feel better about themselves and happy to see the person they mentored succeed. 

" Baltimore City had a 70 percent dropout rate at the time. Tony had already joined that statistic; Mary wanted to keep Wes away from the same fate."

This quote also develops the same theme in a similar sense. Tony had already dropped out of school and Mary mistakenly let that happen. Therefore to feel better about her mistake she makes sure Wes stays in school. This applies to the theme because it demonstrates how people learn from there mistakes and apply them by showing other people how not to make the mistakes that they made. 

3. Education affects the amount of opportunities one might have.

"He was a veteran of the drug game at eighteen. He’d graduated from foot soldier and now had other people working for him. School was a distant memory; Tony hadn’t seen the inside of a classroom on a regular basis since eighth grade."
This quote touches on theme of education affecting opportunities. Since Tony has not really been in school regularly since 8th grade and has been more committed in the 'drug game', his options further in life regarding a profession are limited. This develops the theme because it gives an example of someone limiting their choices. If one does not go on to further educate themselves, getting a a steady, well paid job will be tough. Without a good job financial situations can be hard and on will not move up economically throughout their lifetime. Therefore education affects opportunities.