Character Analysis: The Other Wes Moore

“Today is not the victory – today is the opportunity,” newly elected governor of Maryland Wes Moore declared at the conclusion of his inaugural address on January 18, 2023. This mindset of taking events as opportunities for progress is part of the reason Moore reached the office he is in today. In his book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, Moore explores the path he took to his current successes in comparison to the journey of a man of the same name that grew up in the same neighborhood, but wound up in prison. Author Wes Moore (Moore) succeeded more fully than the incarcerated Wes Moore (Wes) partially due to Moore’s taking advantage of opportunities he was given, but also because of the luck Moore had to have specific role models

Whereas Wes only had a distant older brother, Moore has both a younger and older sister, with whom he was very close. Nikki was seven years older than Moore, and he “spend nearly every waking moment around Nikki, and [he] loved her dearly.” (22i). Nikki clearly loved her little brother just as much, The Other Wes Moore is full of examples of Nikki helping her mother care for Moore, from helping him buckle his seatbelt (80i) to putting Moore on her lap while waiting for news of their dad in the hospital (36i), to taking responsibility of leading her siblings while showing emergency personnel into the house (34i). Nikki’s active role in caring for Moore contrasts with Tony’s contradictory warnings. Being a responsible role model who, despite struggling in high school, eventually does well for herself in life, makes her a positive influence on Moore, contrasting with Tony’s negative influence on Wes. Moore was lucky to have Nikki as one good role model, but luckier to have another in his younger sister, Shani, who “... was a prodigy: (149ibook) in the academic

Part of each sibling’s shaping of each Wes Moore’s journey was due to luck. Moore was lucky to have siblings who weren’t involved in the drug business, were good influences, looked after him, and taught him responsibility. Wes was unlucky to have a distant, paradoxical brother who urged Wes to take a better path than he did but trailblazed a path into drug dealing. However, each Wes Moore was also responsible for learning from his siblings. Wes could have taken Tony’s advice not to be involved in drugs despite Tony’s own behavior, and Moore could have shirked his duties to care for Shani. Each man chose whether or not to take control of his own life, and the difference between their affinity to grab at opportunity or not remains in their mindsets in the present, clear when Wes claims, “‘[We’re all just] products of … others’ expectations that you take on as your own’” (239), and Moore “sympathized with him, but [he] recoiled from [Wes’s] ability to shed responsibility seamlessly and drape it at the feet of others,” replying, “‘True, but it’s easy to lose control when you were never looking for it in the first place.’” (239). This “Today is the opportunity” mindset helped Moore use the chances he was given to pave the path to his success