The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates Book Analysis

Through the effective use of pathos and logos, in the book, The Other Wes Moore One Name, Two Fates, written by Wes Moore, the author claims that even if someone goes searching for help, they may not receive it exactly how they wanted, their outcome is based on luck and circumstances that person gets themselves into. 

The author uses pathos to argue that when the author asks for help, he receives it and turns his life around but when the other Wes Moore asks for help, it only ends up backfiring in the end. They were raised in tough neighborhoods and both ended up with extremely different lives. The book, The Other Wes Moore One Name, Two Fates, is about two kids named Wes Moore who grew up without fathers in their lives and grew up in similar neighborhoods. They both ran into trouble with the police but one ends up in prison serving a life sentence and the other ends up a veteran. According to Wes Moore, “It broadcast an exaggerated version of our complicated interior lives to the world, made us feel alone in the madness of the era, less marginal” (Moore 76). In summary, this indicates that the author felt alone in the craziness of the world and not involved with everyone. This is relatable to many people because some people feel alone in the world. Also, this is significant because the author felt less important to everyone else. He has been afraid to ask for help because no one seemed to care about his life or problems. His mom just expected the best from him and that he was perfect. If the author asked for help, he was afraid he would get brushed off. He does not want to be a burden to anyone. He just felt alone in the world and does not know what to do about it. Later, he put his anger out on spray painting and gets caught by the police. The police let him go, so he gets lucky. What the police said to the author made him want to get help, and he ends up being in the Military. His mom could provide him with going to the Military, she had the resources. As Moore states, “‘I’m done man’, he said. ‘I want to get out. Do something different with my life’” (Moore 138). In brief, the other Wes explains that he was sick of the way he was living his life and wanted to change his life around. This is significant because the other Wes Moore knew the way he is living his life right now is bad for him and his family. He seeks help from a guy named Levy and Wes ends up going to the job corps. The job corps is a federal program designed to help disadvantaged youth. When the other Wes is at the job corps, he feels all of his problems go away. The second he comes back to his neighborhood it is just how he left it. Full of drug dealers. As he gets home, there is a package full of drugs waiting for him. Then the next day he becomes a suspect for a robbed jewelry store. The other Wes Moore gets very unlucky and gets put in some terrible circumstances for not getting enough help. Therefore, the author gets help and the other Wes Moore does not. The author gets the help he needs to get into Military school and turn his life around while the other Wes Moore tries to get help but then the help fails him and he returns to his old habits and gets into unlucky circumstances that ruin his future. The author uses pathos to create empathy in the readers. 

The author uses logos to explain how Crime is big in Baltimore; it is full of drug dealers. It can be hard to be a black folk in this country because they have a difficult time with law enforcement. It is difficult to get the help they need with the other Wes Moore getting in trouble with the police. The author and the other Wes have both been arrested and caught up with the police. One got out of it and the other unfortunately did not. The other Wes has a mom that is not very involved in his life as much as the author. As Moore explains, “For almost as long as black folks have been in this country, they have had a complicated relationship with law enforcement” (Moore 81). This is stating that for a while black folks have gotten into a complicated relationship with the police and that is a difficult thing. Therefore, this is significant because, in Baltimore where they live, black folks have gotten into trouble with law enforcement whether they should have or not. For example, when the other Wes Moore is arrested for robbery and killing a police officer. He did not get the help that he needed before. The other Wes and his brother did not think things through when going to rob the jewelry store. They stole a lot of money. Then the other Wes Moore and his brother end up getting arrested and serving a life sentence. If he got the help he needed earlier from his mom and other friends that realized he was struggling he would not have gotten into this situation. Wes insists he was not there the day of the murder, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. According to Moore, “… and even if you were the one of the lucky 50 percent who made it out in four years, it was not all that clear that you’d be prepared for college or a job” (Moore 47). This is saying only at least half of the students at school make it out and graduate. A lot of other people are struggling with school. This is significant because the other Wes Moore has to drop out of school. After he had his child, he could not juggle school with a family. But he did not have a high school diploma, and he had a criminal record so it was very hard for him to get a job. The other Wes Moore did not get the help he needed at school to graduate. He is by himself so he is forced to drop out. He wants to be a wonderful dad to his child. Also, the other Wes’s brother, Tony, dropped out of high school when he was younger so he uses him as a good example to do the same. But, the author goes to Military School for high school. He gets the support and help from his family to graduate and go to Johns Hopkins University. Then becomes a decorated veteran. The author gets the help he needs throughout his journey through his schools. He gets it from his family, peers, and teachers. He becomes very successful, he gets into the right circumstances. Whereas the other Wes Moore got unlucky. If the other Wes Moore had an example to go by or some help along the way from his brother to encourage him to finish school, he would have. But the family and neighborhood he lived in did not let him do that. Thus, the author had a successful future and the other Wes did not. The author got the support, and guidance along the way and the other Wes did not have any of that. Wes had to succeed all on his own with little or no help at all. The other Wes gets himself into dangerous circumstances with the drugs in his neighborhood in the Violence. He looks up to his brother Tony who is also into Violence. He does not know what was right or wrong because he never got the comfort or assistance growing up. So they ended up with completely different lives. The author uses logos to describe the facts about school dropouts and the trouble with law enforcement and how it affected them. 

In conclusion, this story is about two boys, both who grew up in unprivileged homes, who were both searching for help. One of them receives it, the other does not. They both have similar struggles yet one becomes a Rhodes Scholar, and the other is serving a life sentence for a deadly crime. Both men lost their fathers. In the book, The Other Wes Moore, the author uses pathos and logos to argue that he got the help he needed to have a successful future and the other Wes Moore did not get all of the help he needed to turn his life around. The other Wes Moore ends up serving a life sentence, he is in the wrong place at the wrong time. The other Wes has trouble in school and trouble at home and the author had a successful future. He used pathos to show the struggles of him and the other Wes and how some of the readers can relate to that and share empathy towards them. He used logos to show the logic of the city they lived in and how that affected their lives. 

Work Cited

Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore One Name, Two Fates. Paw Prints, 2011.