The Other Wes Moore - Essay Example

One two fates Moore a black American on his way to Oxford met his sake Wes Moore. Moore realized that his corefriend was only two years older. They resided in the same neighborhood of Baltimore and Moore frequently wrote to his friend and maintained their conversations even during his detention. His high feelings towards his friend and their close association showed how deeply he was rooted to their relationships. He even wonders how they interacted frequently through letters. While in prisons, he was visited by his relatives and his friends. This is the time he realized their relationship’s strength. To the author, this was the main reason why he wrote his classic about his fellow friend. He writes his book in 2010 as a tribute to his friend who was under the chains of the prison for killing a police in a robbery fraud. Thus, we can deduce that Moore has brought out many similarities with his friend, Wes Moore and thus the title “The other Wes Moore” best fits the story. Moore tells his friend, “listen, your dad wasn’t there for he couldn’t be same to mine, he chose not to be”. The author has brought out his work in a skillful manner. He brings the story set in a village and contrasts their lives. From the Rhodes Scholar, he intercuts his experiences in comparison to that of his friend. They were age mates in the village of Baltimore. They were both poor and fatherless and had social problems such as crime and they had easy access to drugs. For Moore, he pitied his imprisoned friend; the other Wes Moore murdered a police officer in trying to acquire a bling from the jeweler shop. He asserts that, “Wes episode could have turn to become mine.” In his writing, he does not understate the value of life (Moore 12). He maintains that all things in life have some difficulty. The book has wise themes and it shows how fate cannot be predicted by human life. The book places those people living in the society and lead low rated lifestyle at different state and scene of fate and choice of fortune. In the introduction, Wes Moore explains how he was perplexed about his name appearing on the list of those who had been awarded Rhodes scholarship. He wanted to join Oxford and take his postgraduate studies. This was the main story in the local newspaper and it was in contrary with the case of his namesake who was in the chains of the prison. Wes Moore’s story about the shooting of the police officer during the raid of the jeweler store surprised many people. The episode is told in upheavals in the narrative arch, which arouses the emotions of the readers. These two episodes arouse the feelings of redemption (Moore 23). According to Moore, his friend had been imprisoned because of a bling he stole from a jewellery shop. He blames his friend for causing such a great irony for the two close friends. This showed that Moore was more unethical than his friend was as two young men having similar names could be featured for two incompatible stories on the top page. His friend had done a heinous act that had cost his life as an inmate for cheap jeweler. Moore remembered their close association while in Baltimore (Moore 32). Both were of the same origin and had the same skin color that is they were both black Americans and had similar interests. This was a burning curiosity and in the mind of Moore, he was disturbed by this memory and it forced him to move back to England. At this time, he thought about contacting his former friend Wes about his take on the matter. He referred to his friend as lesser and weak. He was under life sentence and he had no hope of leaving the prison bars. Despite the chain barriers, he continued to contact his friend, which made him to be a frequent visitor to the prison gates. In one of the letters to his friend, Wes described his condition as, “I had become too ‘rich’ for the children from my neighborhoods and very ‘poor’ for the children at school…judging means too much in every circumstance and getting tangled in the opposition linking my two worlds”. Despite their differences, they remained intimate friends. This was because they had common interests. From their background, they had single parents and the only big deal was their fates, which were different. For Wes, he had an ill fate while Moore had a rightful fate that was composed by blessings of being awarded a scholarship. During their youthful stages, police officers in their village always roughed them. Both were school dropouts at one time in their lifetime. They left the class to the streets to look for themselves. Wes was very lucky as he was taken back to the military classes. He changed and adjusted to the new wave of education. This is in contrary with Moore who got no mentor to advice him and takes him back to the class (Moore 37-38). He is described as having gone back to the classes through the cracks. The book describes their desires in life as being quite engaging. In the “the other Wes Moore,” Their life is described in line with feelings and deep memories. These encounters reveal the illuminating nature of their life encounters. Moore brings out the tone of the book as he embraces fortune in their lifetime for growing fatherless. He blames his situation “My mum could coach me to be a excellent person, but she couldn’t lecture me to be an excellent man”. In addition, he has traumatic feeling about the death of his father. He said, “for instance, when I won the scholarship, it would be great to call mum, ‘pass over the phone to dad’ but it was god’s plan. He attributes to the temptations that finds his friend and claims that it was holier and he does not implicate any character about his fate in life, although he thanks his mother and the teachers for intervening his character. He refers to the egos that sent his friend to jail doors as evil. Wes attempted to recognize his act as being sorry to the murder he committed but all his efforts were in vain. He excused himself before the widow and his children due empathy he felt for them. He defended himself that he was giving excuse for his murder. He said that he wanted to be clear about his intention to attribute the police as a hero (Moore 49). He felt so sad to the family members of the late sergeant and his relatives. Moore in his book he wants to set the attention of Americans to address and bail the young man from the prison. He emphasizes, “It’s not an issue of race” but “It’s an issue of national concern which is a threat to the future of United States.” The author has the knowledge, which is behind saving life. It required many hands to revive life. As similarities in their lives, they both shared a common name, Moore. Though having an age difference of two years, they were more of the same age. At the age of twelve, they both found themselves behind the prison bars but luckily, Moore finds he is free. Maryland was their place of birth and they were fatherless. The story reveals that at eleven, they had been handcuffed. Therefore, in their youth stages they had similar lifestyle. They had rough time with the police for minor crimes. In their life, the difference comes in when Moore graduates at Johns Hopkins scholar while his name sake serves as a prisoner at Jessup Correctional Centre for his lifetime for murder of an off duty police officer. The author speculates that the main aim of his writing is not to show either the ‘bad’ or the ‘good’ Moore. He manages to bring the similarities between the two individuals who are fatherless. In conclusion, Moore describes the life of his fellow Wes Moore in an artistic manner. He describes their experiences as youth until Wes departures to the prison gates. Moore described further, how they went on with their friendship even when his friend was detained. He described how they exchanged their thoughts through the letters. He even went occasionally to the prisons to visit his friend. The author gives detailed similarities between their experiences while in Baltimore. They are both black Americans who had similar background in that their mothers raised them and lived in the same conditions. Works Cited Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. New York: Spiegel & Grau Publisher, 2011. Print. Read More