The Other Wes Moore

by

Wes Moore

The Other Wes Moore (Wes) Character Analysis

“The other” Wes was also born in Baltimore and is the second child of Mary and the younger half-brother of Tony. Moore’s father, Bernard, is absent throughout his life. Although Tony and Mary make efforts to keep Wes on a responsible path, he ultimately ends up following his older brother into the drug game. Popular with women, Wes has many girlfriends and is the father of two children with Alicia and two with Cheryl. In 2000, he is arrested for the murder of Sergeant Bruce Prothero, which took place during a jewelry store robbery he conducted with Tony. Sentenced to life in prison, Wes converts to Islam and assists Moore in his research for the book.

The Other Wes Moore (Wes) Quotes in The Other Wes Moore

The The Other Wes Moore quotes below are all either spoken by The Other Wes Moore (Wes) or refer to The Other Wes Moore (Wes). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Luck vs. Choice Theme Icon
).
Introduction Quotes

The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his. Our stories are obviously specific to our two lives, but I hope they will illuminate the crucial inflection points in every life, the sudden moments of decision where our paths diverge and our fates are sealed. It's unsettling to know how little separates each of us from another life altogether.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: xi
Explanation and Analysis:

We definitely have our disagreements––and Wes, it should never be forgotten, is in prison for his participation in a heinous crime. But even the worst decisions we make don't necessarily remove us from the circle of humanity. Wes's desire to participate in this book as a way to help others learn from his story and choose a different way is proof of that.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Related Symbols: Prison
Page Number: xiii
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

'Wes searched around his room for his football jersey. He played defensive end for the Northwood Rams, one of the best rec football teams in the nation. Wes loved football, and his athletic frame made him a natural. Even if he was just going out to play in the streets with Woody and some other friends, he wore that jersey like a badge of honor. The crimson "Northwood" that blazed across his white jersey gave him a sense of pride, a sense of belonging.”

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
Part II Interlude Quotes

From everything you told me, both of us did some pretty wrong stuff when we were younger. And both of us had second chances. But if the situation or the context where you make the decisions don't change, then second chances don't mean too much, huh?

Related Characters: The Other Wes Moore (Wes) (speaker), Wes Moore (Moore/The Author)
Page Number: 66
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

In Baltimore in 1991, 11.7 percent of girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen had given birth. More than one out of ten. He also didn't feel burdened by the thought that early parenthood would wreck his future plans––because he didn't really have any future plans. And he wasn’t overly stressed about the responsibilities of fatherhood––he didn’t even know what that meant. But in some unspoken way, he did sense that he was crossing a point of no return, that things were about to get complicated in a way he was unequipped to handle.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

Wes had his entire operation organized with the precision of a military unit or a division of a Fortune 500 company. The drug game had its own rules, its own structure. He was a lieutenant, the leader of his small crew. Everyone in the crew had a specific job with carefully delineated responsibilities.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: 110-111
Explanation and Analysis:
Part III Interlude Quotes

"I think so, or maybe products of our expectations."
"Others’ expectations of us or our expectations for ourselves?"
"l mean others' expectations that you take on as your own."
I realized then how difficult it is to separate the two. The expectations that others place on us help us form our expectations of ourselves.
"We will do what others expect of us," Wes said. "If they expect us to graduate, we will graduate. If they expect us to get a job, we will get a job. lf they expect us to go to jail, then that’s where we will end up too. At some point you lose control."

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes) (speaker)
Related Symbols: Prison
Page Number: 66
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

"Fuck God," he said, drawing in a lungful of smoke. "If He does exist, He sure doesn't spend any time in West Baltimore."

Related Characters: The Other Wes Moore (Wes) (speaker)
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Other Wes Moore PDF

The Other Wes Moore (Wes) Quotes in The Other Wes Moore

The The Other Wes Moore quotes below are all either spoken by The Other Wes Moore (Wes) or refer to The Other Wes Moore (Wes). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Luck vs. Choice Theme Icon
).
Introduction Quotes

The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his. Our stories are obviously specific to our two lives, but I hope they will illuminate the crucial inflection points in every life, the sudden moments of decision where our paths diverge and our fates are sealed. It's unsettling to know how little separates each of us from another life altogether.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: xi
Explanation and Analysis:

We definitely have our disagreements––and Wes, it should never be forgotten, is in prison for his participation in a heinous crime. But even the worst decisions we make don't necessarily remove us from the circle of humanity. Wes's desire to participate in this book as a way to help others learn from his story and choose a different way is proof of that.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Related Symbols: Prison
Page Number: xiii
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

'Wes searched around his room for his football jersey. He played defensive end for the Northwood Rams, one of the best rec football teams in the nation. Wes loved football, and his athletic frame made him a natural. Even if he was just going out to play in the streets with Woody and some other friends, he wore that jersey like a badge of honor. The crimson "Northwood" that blazed across his white jersey gave him a sense of pride, a sense of belonging.”

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
Part II Interlude Quotes

From everything you told me, both of us did some pretty wrong stuff when we were younger. And both of us had second chances. But if the situation or the context where you make the decisions don't change, then second chances don't mean too much, huh?

Related Characters: The Other Wes Moore (Wes) (speaker), Wes Moore (Moore/The Author)
Page Number: 66
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

In Baltimore in 1991, 11.7 percent of girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen had given birth. More than one out of ten. He also didn't feel burdened by the thought that early parenthood would wreck his future plans––because he didn't really have any future plans. And he wasn’t overly stressed about the responsibilities of fatherhood––he didn’t even know what that meant. But in some unspoken way, he did sense that he was crossing a point of no return, that things were about to get complicated in a way he was unequipped to handle.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

Wes had his entire operation organized with the precision of a military unit or a division of a Fortune 500 company. The drug game had its own rules, its own structure. He was a lieutenant, the leader of his small crew. Everyone in the crew had a specific job with carefully delineated responsibilities.

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes)
Page Number: 110-111
Explanation and Analysis:
Part III Interlude Quotes

"I think so, or maybe products of our expectations."
"Others’ expectations of us or our expectations for ourselves?"
"l mean others' expectations that you take on as your own."
I realized then how difficult it is to separate the two. The expectations that others place on us help us form our expectations of ourselves.
"We will do what others expect of us," Wes said. "If they expect us to graduate, we will graduate. If they expect us to get a job, we will get a job. lf they expect us to go to jail, then that’s where we will end up too. At some point you lose control."

Related Characters: Wes Moore (Moore/The Author) (speaker), The Other Wes Moore (Wes) (speaker)
Related Symbols: Prison
Page Number: 66
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

"Fuck God," he said, drawing in a lungful of smoke. "If He does exist, He sure doesn't spend any time in West Baltimore."

Related Characters: The Other Wes Moore (Wes) (speaker)
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis: