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Liyah Lopez

Medina

CTW 1

October 12th, 2017

The Other Wes Moore

Growing up in a low-income community, expectations differing throughout

socioeconomic classes were evident. The local private school was known for producing the most

articulate students and the best athletes; my public high school was known for its gang-bangers

and its low percentage of students who go onto college. The main barrier differing the two

groups of students: the income their families brought in. Students at the local private high school

paid $12,580 in tuition to attend school in 2016. The same year, families at the public high

school struggled to make double that number. Commercials for the local private high school

displayed the prestigious colleges their students had been admitted to. Meanwhile, only 22% of

students from my public high school proceeded their studies following graduation. Students

dropping out of my public school was expected; students dropping out of the local private school

was unheard of. Although the two groups of students resided in the same city, their expectations

were held dramatically different. In the memoir The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by

Wes Moore, the narrator displays how expectations can influence the development of character

as well as whether they predetermine your fate through the use of logical and emotional appeals.

While pondering over where their lives led them, Other Wes Moore introduces the idea

of expectations and how people tend to be products of them. Narrator Wes Moore uses

statistical information to convey to the audience the likelihood of Other Wes Moore not

completing high school. Other Wes Moore grew up in an environment where college was a
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privilege and graduating from high school was rare and he states, But in Baltimore City, where

Northern High School was located, it [graduation rate] was a dismal 38 percent (108). For

Other Wes Moore, dropping out of high school was following the majority, he would be part

of the 62% of students at his high school who did not make it to graduation. To the reader, it was

only logical that Other Wes Moore would follow the majority of his peers and not complete his

education.Other Wes Moore did not have the guidance or resources to reshape his path himself

so instead, he fell susceptible to the statistics held before him.

There comes a point where the expectations others hold for you become parallel with the

expectations you hold yourself to. The inevitability of it is the fact that we tend to falter towards

the opinions of others, using them to justify the insecurities we hold ourselves to. Narrator

Moore emphasizes this idea as he adds the perspective of Other Wes Moores mindset. This

then permits the reader to connect with Other Wes Moore on an emotional basis and begin to

understand his decisions more. In the case of Other Wes Moore, he explains this idea as the

deciding factor between his life and Narrator Wes Moores life when he states, We will do

what others expect of us If they expect us to graduate, we will graduate If they expect us to

go to jail, then thats where we will end up too. At some point, you lose control(126). Through

this quote, Other Wes Moore displays the dangers of expectations, particularly the

expectations of your environment. From this, the audience is capable of inferring that Other

Wes Moore would strive to only fulfill the negative expectations associated with him.

As an adolescent, you are susceptible to understanding the opinions of elders as the truth,

never questioning their opinions and this lack of critically considering others outlook on your

own life is what allows expectations to be altered. Moore uses both emotional and logical

appeals to connect the audience to the importance of a support system. Narrator Wes Moore
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explains this concept through the eyes of Other Wes Moore considering the life path of his

brother Tony, Young boys are more likely to believe in themselves if they know that theres

someone, somewhere, who shares that belief. To carry the burden of belief alone is too much for

most young shoulders(28). For youth like Tony, it is easy to understand how terrifying standing

alone is as you face the possibility of judgement a ridicule. These factors play a significant role

in your life and influence your character as most young adults strive for acceptance.

The most important individuals in terms of influence are parents as they sit as the largest

support system. Moore entices an emotional appeal to the audience as he emphasizes parental

expectations. Other Wes Moores mother resorts to believing her son is obtaining large amounts

of money through DJing on the weekends rather than accepting that Other Wes was selling

drugs. Moore explains, She knew what her older son was into but didnt think there was

anything she could do for him now. She hoped that Wes would be different(71). The audience is

capable of acknowledging the significance of living up to the expectations of our parents and can

empathize the impact falling short of them causes. From this, the influence falling short of

parental expectation has on self-esteem can be perceived. This relation can further comprehend

how this instance contributed to Other Wes Moores future.

During an internship with Baltimores mayor, the mayor suggests that narrator Wes

Moore applies to be a Rhodes Scholar. Narrator Wes Moore is hesitant, especially as he

considers the prestige of the award and the high status of its recipients. Moore uses emotional

appeals to draw the impression of how influential positive expectations can be. Moore states, I

found out years later that it was Judge Robert Hammerman and Senator Sarbanes who gave

Mayor Schmoke the confidence to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship. I hope that, in some way,

Mayor Schmoke felt like he had returned the favor(162). Whether it is encouragement to try
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something new or apply to college, the audience understands the leverage others expectations

can play on decision making. The audience can relate to Moores Rhodes Scholar narrative by

empathizing how high expectations can positively influence lives. For those who have not had

the opportunity to apply to colleges or scholarships, the emotional appeal may not be as effective

as they cannot relate off of first-hand experience. Although they may not be able to make a direct

connection, they may have had some experience where the support of others guided their

decisions. In this case, the appeal may still have relevance but might not invoke as strong of a

connection.

From the encouragement Mayor Schmoke gave narrator Wes Moore, to the

encouragement Moore then gives to his audience, it is evident of the influence expectations can

play on decisions. Although students from my public high school were much more

disadvantaged socioeconomically, the positive expectations held before us by teachers, mentors,

and parents allowed us to excel. With admissions to Yale, Brown, Harvard, Stanford, NYU,

UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC, and Santa Clara University, my class substantially outperformed the

students from the local private school. In our case, our environment did not define us, it was our

expectations that ultimately allowed us to decide our destiny. In the memoir, The Other Wes

Moore: One Name, Two Fates, the narrator Wes Moore accentuates the role expectations play

and the significance those hold on the direction of your life. By utilizing appeals of pathos and

ethos, Moore is able to connect the audience directly to the life experiences of himself as well as

Other Wes Moore.

WORKS CITED

Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Spiegel & Grau, 2010.
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St. Francis High School Salesian College Preparatory. Tuition & Fees - Educational Support -

St. Francis High School,

www.stfrancishigh.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=206887&type=d&pREC_ID=455663.

Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA - May 2016 OES Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area

Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau

of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_42100.htm.