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Similar Circumstances
November 12, 2012
Two Boys, Same Life, Different Fates What would you do if you found out that someone grew up only a few blocks away from you, bearing the same name, the same fatherless childhood, yet ended up with different lives in the end? Wes Moore went out to find the answer to the question in the book The Other Wes Moore. Both the author Wes Moore and the other Wes Moore had similar childhoods. Both grew up fatherless and living in Baltimore, Maryland, both lived a life on the streets, and both ran into trouble with the police. At a glance, their lives sound similar growing up. After looking at the details of both of their childhoods, it becomes more apparent that they were not so similar growing up. Although they share many similarities that lead to the deviation in both the Author Wes Moore and the …show more content…
The other Wes had his first run in with the police during a pick up game of football on his street. Wes didn’t believe in taking it easy, and while playing defense, pushed a boy to knock him off balance. That resulted in the littler boy punching Wes in the face. Wes was infuriated, and the author quoted him saying, “The sight and taste of his own blood set Wes off. He clenched his fists and forced his was past Woody.” (32). Wes ran home, not in defeat, but because he wanted to settle the fight a different way. He went home, grabbed a knife, and was ready to attack the smaller boy. Wes was facing the smaller boy, but the police were right behind him. The author wrote about the event, “After repeating the order one more time, and watching Wes ignore it again, one of the officers stepped forward. He lifted all eighty pounds of Wes off the ground, slamming him face first on the front of the police cruiser” (34). Wes and his incident with the police was sparked by a violent action and ended with yet more