The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore

When reading, if the narrator is using first person, I, to tell the story, he is talking about his own life. If the narrator is using third person, “Wes” and “he,” that refers to the other Wes Moore.

Part I

  1. Explain the circumstances under which the two Wes Moore’s meet.
  2. What faith has the other Wes converted to?
  3. Explain the significance of the quote, “Your father wasn’t there because he couldn’t be, my father wasn’t there because he chose not to be” (3). Predict what impact this difference will have on each of the characters.
  4. Explain the quote, “I was taught to remember, but never question. Wes was taught to forget, and never ask why” (4).

Chapter 1/Year 1982(Author)

  1. Where did Wes’s mother live before coming to the United States?
  2. What was the deeper reason why Joy, Wes’s mother, was upset that Wes hit Nikki when he was three years old? How will this shape his future?
  3. Explain what happens to Wes’s father at the end of chapter 1.

(Other Wes)

  1. Explain why Mary, the other Wes’s mother, has to quit college and how this affects her.
  2. Who watches Wes most of the time when he is little?
  3. Describe Tony.
  4. Who does Wes meet at the end of chapter 1 and how does he react?

Chapter 2/Year 1984(Other Wes)

  1. Explain how Wes feels about Tony.
  2. Describe where Tony lives.
  3. Explain the term “ice grille” and its application in the story (28).
  4. Explain what happens to Wes during the football game.
  5. Describe what Wes does after running home from the football game and why it is significant.
  6. Explain the significance of the quote, “Rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again” (32). Predict how this will impact Wes as he gets older.
  7. When did Wes’s mother find out about Wes being arrested?

(Author)

  1. Explain where Wes’s mother moves the family and why.
  2. What was one of the first things that Wes saw as they entered the Bronx?
  3. Who helped James Thomas when he first arrived in the United States from Jamaica? What did that man become?
  4. Explain why Wes calls the basketball court in the Bronx the “neutral ground.”

Chapter 3/Year1987(Author)

  1. Explain where Wes goes to school and why.
  2. What famous person attended the school?
  3. Explain why Wes was suspended. What was the story Wes told his friends about his suspension?

(Other Wes)

  1. Describe what is happening in Tony’s life.
  2. What two things prompted Mary to move to BaltimoreCounty?
  3. Why is Wes jealous of Tony?
  4. Describe Wes’s new job and predict what impact it will have on his family.
  5. What does Wes find in his mother’s closet?
  6. Describe what Wes did to make himself feel sick.
  7. Explain what Wes learned on pages 61/62.

Part II (Conversation between the two Wes Moores)

  1. What does Wes say made him feel like a man?
  2. On page 67, explain what Wes means when he says, “I guess it’s hard sometimes to distinguish between second chances and last chances.”

Chapter 4/Year 1990(Other Wes)

  1. Explain why Tony is questioning Wes on page 70.
  2. What hurt Wes more than the beating that his brother gave him?
  3. Describe what Mary found when she searched Wes’s room and what she did with it.
  4. Explain what happened when Wes got home.

(Author)

  1. Explain why Wes is failing school.
  2. What agreement does Wes have with Mrs. Downs.
  3. What does Shani do for Wes in regards to school?
  4. Explain what happened between Shani and Lateshia. Explain what happened after and why.
  5. Describe why Shea and Wes are picked up by the police and what effect it had on Wes.

Chapter 5/Year 1991 (Author)

  1. Explain where Wes is and what conflict he is experiencing.
  2. Why did Wes’s mom slap him?
  3. Explain why Wes blames his roommate for his current situation.
  4. Describe what Sergeant Austin gives to Wes and what happened because of this “gift.”
  5. Who does Wes call and why?
  6. Explain what sacrifice Wes’s mother and family made for him and why.
  7. “With no intervention – or the wrong intervention – they can be lost forever” (95). Explain how his quote refers to Wes.
  8. Describe Ty Hill.
  9. What does Wes learn about respect by watching Ty Hill.

(Other Wes)

  1. Explain what “trouble” Wes has.
  2. Explain what Tony finds so amusing at his brother’s first birthday party.
  3. Who does Wes see at his aunt’s house and how does he react?
  4. Explain what happened between Wes and Ray. Explain how the incident ends.

Chapter 6/Year 1994 (Other Wes)

  1. What percentage of kids graduated from high school in BaltimoreCity in 1994?
  2. Explain what happened to Wes and all of his friends.
  3. Explain what happens to Wes after getting out of the BaltimoreCountyDetentionCenter.

(Author)

  1. Describe how Wes has changed since attending Valley Forge. Explain what is responsible for the change.
  2. Why does Wes’s uncle give him a lecture?
  3. Explain why Wes thinks, “This uniform had become a force field that kept the craziness of the world outside from getting too close to me, but I wondered if it was just an illusion” (188).
  4. Explain what happens when Wes and Dalio walk to town for stromboli.
  5. Explain what Wes does after being told, “Go home, nigger!” (120-121). Explain how he handled this incident and what it reveals about his character?
  6. Explain the irony and significance of the last paragraph on page 122.

Part II (Conversation between the Wes Moores)

  1. After 3 years of visiting the other Wes Moore in prison, what is the author annoyed about him saying? What does the author want Wes to do?
  2. Why is the other Wes in prison?

Chapter 7/Year 1997 (Author)

  1. What dream does Wes realize isn’t going to happen for him and what causes him to come to this realization?
  2. Explain what changed Wes into a lover of reading.
  3. Explain the quote, “. . .the written word isn’t necessarily a chore but can be a window into new worlds” (131).
  4. Whose autobiography made an impact on Wes and why?
  5. Explain the quote, “The Army, therefore, made it easier for me to love my country, with all its flaws, and to serve her with all my heart” (131).
  6. “Aside from family and friends, what did all the men Wes trust have in common?
  7. Explain who said the following and why: “When it is time for you to leave this school, leave your job, or even leave this earth, you make sure you have worked hard to make sure it mattered you were here” (133).
  8. What role was Wes selected for at Valley Forge and why was it an important position?

(Other Wes)

  1. Explain who Cheryl is and what happened to Wes and Cheryl.
  2. Explain how Wes’s thoughts contradicted his actions.
  3. Explain the advice that Levy gives Wes and what happened after that.
  4. What was Wes proud to earn?
  5. What career area does Wes select for his training?
  6. Explain what bad decision Wes made one year after completing his training and why he made the decision.

Chapter 8/Year 2000 (Other Wes)

  1. Explain what happened at J. Browns Jewelers.
  2. What did Mary Moore see on TV that shocked her?

(Author)

  1. Who does Wes go to see and why?
  2. What college does Wes attend after leaving Valley Forge?
  3. Explain why Wes says that many kids don’t have the “luck” like his on page 160.
  4. Where does Wes study abroad and what history does he learn?
  5. Explain what Wes learns about poverty while studying abroad and his feeling about this knowledge.
  6. Explain what happened during apartheid to Wes’s host family and how the mother was able to forgive and move on with her life.
  7. Explain the quote, “Knowing when to fight and when to seek peace is wisdom” (168).
  8. What honors/awards did Wes earn upon returning from his study abroad?
  9. What did Wes do after graduating from college?

Epilogue

  1. What was the fate of the other people who were close to the Wes Moores?