The City of God

The film takes plac in Rio de Janeiro, in the poor streets of the City of God. In this film, the most of the kids grow up to be in gangs. Throughout the movie kids at such a young age start to use drugs and even start to kill, just to be part of the gangs and be cool. Some of the kids would go and shoplift from stores and leave the owners with nothing. Lil Ze was one of the big drug dealers and gang members,everyone did what he said, in a way he kept peace within the town. Until one day his best friend benny became a playboy as he called himself, and Lil Ze was fed up with him being to nice and getting all the girls, so he killed him and started a war between the good looking and the ugly. The situation got so out of hand, specially when he shot up a house and killed many innocent people. The person he had a problem with became a hoodlum, and teamed up with a gang to get him back, and he was shot and caught by the cops. He was featured on tv and the newspaper, when Lil Ze saw he called Rocket an aspiring photographer who he did not know worked for the newspaper, and told him to take pictures of him, and were accidentally published and thought he would be killed but was not. He brought the attention to his town of what was going on and saved it.

This film relates to the other Wes's life, as the kids are following the example that they see. Just like wes did when he was younger, following Tony's footsteps. In a way they are different as most of the young children end up dead, but Wes ends up in jail.

Chapter 8

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 8

The chapter started off with Mary the other Wes's mother, watching the evening news, when a story caught her attention. Four masked men broke into a jewelry store and ordered everyone to get down. One of the people in the store was Sergeant Bruce Prothero, a veteran of the Baltimore City police department who worked as a security guard at the jewelry store. He got a second job as a security guard to help support his wife and five children. The masked men stole $438,000 worth of jewelry and watches. Once they had what they wanted, they ran out to the getaway car. Prothero ran after them, when one of the masked men pull out a gun before he was shot three times at point blank range. He was able to stumble back toward the jewelry store but died before police got to the scene. Police were extremely determined to catch the suspects since they had killed a fellow officer. A break in the case came quickly when one of the suspects tried to sell some of the stolen watches to a drug dealer that had a wiretap on his phone. When police tracked him down, he admitted to being involved but insisted he was not the shooter. The next day, another suspect was caught, but he also insisted he was not the shooter, and that he had been unarmed. Mary saw the faces of her two sons On the television screen. Police search Mary’s house and question her about where her sons were. She has not heard from them in days, and police grudgingly accept her explanation, but do not leave the Moore family alone. A cousin’s wedding is disrupted a few days later, and all of the family members questioned. Unbeknownst to the family or the police, Tony and Wes had escaped to an uncle’s house in Philadelphia. They catch Tony first, as he walks out the door of his uncle’s house, followed by Wes, when he comes down the stairs a moment later. They’re arrested and put in jail along with the other two suspects. Tony and the other two perpetrators were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Wes insisted he was not there the day of the robbery and murder, so he took his case to trial. The jury found Wes guilty and sentenced him to life in prison without parole. “The guards placed their hands on Wes and shuffled him away.The hands of the state would stay on him for the rest of his life. Wes could finally see his future. Meanwhile the author Wes, completed his junior college requirements and becoming a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve, and returned to Baltimore. He had been accepted at Johns Hopkins University, much to the delight of his mother, who was living there again. Though he was not originally sold on the idea of attending Johns Hopkins, his adviser at Valley Forge put him in contact with the assistant director of admissions and Wes agreed to have lunch with him. He challenged Wes’s assumptions and perceptions of the school, and encouraged him to apply.Wes applied thinking he wouldn’t get in because his standardized test scores were lower than the school’s admission standards. However, months later Wes received noticed that not only had he been accepted. While at Johns Hopkins, Wes interned with Mayor Schmoke, the mayor of Baltimore. One day, the mayor asked Wes what he planned to do after he graduated. Wes didn’t really know. Schmoke talked to Wes about the Rhodes scholarship, how he had received it, along with other influential people in the United States, such as President Bill Clinton. He encouraged Wes to apply. Wes was preparing to study abroad in South Africa for the semester, Wes arrived in Langa, South Africa, in January, and was taken to what would be his home for the next six months. He was greeted warmly by “Mama,” and her two children, Zinzi and Viwe, who were members of the Xhsoa tribe. During his time there, he learned a lot from his host family, including the concept of ubuntu, the Xhosa word for humanity. Ubuntu, a way of life supported by their leaders, like Nelson Mandela, helped Wes frame his entire experience in South Africa.While in South Africa, Wes became good friends with Zinzi. A few weeks before Wes was to return to America, Zinzi explained that he was also about to embark on a journey. His journey would be into manhood, which was a four-week trip into the wilderness with Xhosa elders. When young men go on the trip they are circumcised to symbolize the removal of childish cloaks. As they spend the rest of the weeks healing, they learn the history of the Xhosa people and lands. They also learn the values of good husbands and fathers. Upon their return, they dress all in white and are treated to a large feast. They are treated as men, with respect and admiration from their families and community.Though Wes could not imagine the painful ritual Zinzi was about to undergo, when he saw a young man in the village dressed in all white, he understood where the man’s confidence came from and respected the journey. Wes understood that even though he did not have the same journey, he was also on the road to becoming a man. 

This chapter relates to the book, Outliers because it explained how the author became successful and the will power he demonstrated, by not giving up.

Chapter 7

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 7

The chapter started off with the author Wes Moore, near his graduation from Valley Forge. Wes decides to focus on education and not care about what others think. Even though he had never enjoyed reading, Wes eventually came to love when he read books with characters he could relate to. He learned from such people as “The Fab Five,” Colin Powell, and Malcom X.  The various leaders Wes, encountered at Valley Forge had helped him learn about leadership and decision making. All of these influences helped Wes decide to stay at Valley Forge for junior college in order to go through the early commissioning process and become a second lieutenant in the Army. At age 18, Wes became the regimental commander for the 70th Corps of Cadets, which made him the highest-ranking cadet in a corps of  more than 700 students. Wes, was required to become a qualified paratrooper. Though he and his fellow airmen were incredibly nervous to jump out of a plane, they obeyed their training and made a successful jump. Meanwhile, the other Wes couldn't believe, Cheryl, the mother of his third and fourth children, is a drug addict when he finds her high from heroin while pregnant. After he is sure she has not overdosed, he leaves the house, realizing he is tired of the drug game, and of being arrested, and of watching drugs destroy his family and community. After walking a long way, he ends up at his friend Levy’s house. Levy had decided to leave the game a couple months ago. Wes told him he was ready to get out, too. Levy talked to him about Job Corps, a program that helps people get their GED and gives them vocational training. Wes is ready to try anything, so he goes with Levy to get more information about the program. When Wes arrived , he sees dorms, lawns, basketball courts, and everything else he imagines is on a college campus, which he has never visited before. He completes his GED in one month, and is soon helping others study. Wes has become a leader among the Job Corps. When he is asked to select vocational training, he chooses carpentry. He enjoys the work and the teacher, and thinks it suits him. He builds a play house for his daughter, which is by far the most advanced project in the class, and graduated in seven months. When he gets back to Baltimore, he finds temporary work landscaping and working on homes. After those jobs end, he works in food service. However, none of these jobs pay more than $9 an hour and Wes begins feeling frustrated. Alicia and Cheryl are both demanding more money, and he feels obligated to give his mother money since she is basically raising his and Cheryl’s children. One day, as he leaves his food service job at the mall, he stops by his old neighborhood. He picks up a package that contains the ingredients to make cocaine. A year after graduating, he realized they had come back. Wes wants to stay out of the game, he feels like he doesn’t have a choice if he wants to provide for his family.

 This chapter relates to the book, The Power of Habit, because of the choices that the other Wes makes, after graduating he decided to go back into the game.

Chapter 6

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 6

The chapter started off at woody's graduation. The chapter informed us, that only 38% of Students who start high school in Baltimore graduate. Wes was in jail for six months after shooting Ray. He was charged with attempted murder because no major organs were hit by the bullet, and because of his age, he was tried in juvenile court. Soon after he got out of jail his girlfriend Alicia gave birth to their child. While Alicia took care of their baby, Wes lived with his Aunt Nicey, who agreed to let him stay only if he worked or attended school. His lack of education and training, plus his criminal record, made finding a job very difficult. Though he was promising Nicey he was trying to look for a job, Wes was Selling drugs. On a good day, Wes would make over $4,000. One day Wes wanted to make extra cash, so when someone who he had never seen before wanted to buy cocaine from him, he sold it to him, besides all the signers that indicated he was a cop. Just a few minutes later, Wes was arrested for selling drugs to a police officer. Meanwhile, the author Wes has been at Valley Forge for three years.  He was transformed from one of the most disruptive students to one of the most respected. He had finally learned how to respect himself and others. Wes was not only committed to better himself personally, but academically and athletically. The financial burden military school had placed on his mother was lessened in his second year when he began receiving academic and athletic scholarships. He was the only sophomore starter on the basketball team, and colleges and universities had started taking notice of his skills. He spent his summers at basketball camps, speaking with coaches. His uncle lectured him about always having a back-up plan, and how education could help him in that. Though he wanted to keep dreaming of the NBA, the talk with his uncle and a letter from his old friend Justin brought things into perspective. Justin informed him that their friend Shea had been arrested on serious drug charges and was going to prison. Justin also shared that his mother was dying. Soon after that Wes experience racism by drunk white people, but he decided that he would let them go because they were drunk.

This chapter is similar to the book The Power of Habit, because it showed Wes's willpower to let the drunk people go, when in the past he would get in a fight with them. 

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 5        

The chapter started off with the author Wes mother finding out that Wes was being put on academic and disciplinary probation because of his bad grades, absence from classes, and helping with a smoke bomb incident. One day, Shani came crying to her mother, saying that Wes had punched her in the mouth. Even though it was only an accident. Wes knew his mother would be upset and was expecting her to yell at him, but he was shocked when she came to his room quietly and slaped him across the face. She then made the decision to send him to military school. Wes was entered into Valley Forge as a new student, and displayed an aggressive attitude to make it seem like he was ready to take on anything. Wes tried to run away four times within the first four days of being their. Wes' s squad leader, Sergeant Austin gives him a map to the train station saying that if Wes didn’t want to be there, they didn’t either. That same night, Wes packed his belongings and snuck out of the school in the middle of the night. He followed the map, which leads him through the unfamiliar. Wes got lost and scared and broke down crying. At that moment, Sergeant Austin emerges with the rest of the squad revealing that it was all just a trick. They return to the school building, and he was sent to Colonel Batt’s office. Even though plebes weren’t allowed to call their homes until a month, Colonel Batt made an exception knowing that Wes wouldn’t make it through without it. Wes calls home and begs his mother to let him come home, but she says that Wes had to give the place a chance. In order for Wes to be able to go to Valley Forge, his mother had to ask every family member and friend for money, but she still came up short. Wes’ grandparents gave her the rest of the money to help pay for the first year. The next day Wes sees Colonel Batt talking with one of the men that brought Wes back to the school the night before. Colonel Batt told Wes that the man wanted to speak with him. Wes felt the respect that was commanded by this man, little did Wes know that his mother asked this man named  Captain Hill, to look after and mentor him. Meanwhile the other Wes, is attending a high school with his god brother, in West Baltimore. To entertain themselves, they would flirt with girls on the long bus rides to school. One day, Wes met this girl named Alicia, and the soon become very close. Two months later, Alicia informs Wes that she's pregnant. Although Wes didn’t know how much teenage parenthood could affect him. Wes told Tony about his situation, Tony found it  it funny. Wes's mom had their baby brother a year ago, Tony and his girlfriend just had a baby boy, and now Wes and Alicia were about to have a baby. Wes would now have a brother, nephew, and son that would be about the same age. Tony promises not to tell their mother, but he lets the news slip at their brother’s 1st birthday party. She was silent at first, and of course  not surprised by the situation. Even though Alicia was pregnant, Wes still met other girls. Eventually, he continued to see one girl in particular that was in Baltimore often because of her cousin. One night, he was walking her home, and outside his house, a man named Ray showed up and began to yell at her for being with someone else. Wes turned around to walk back inside, and was grabbed by him and beat up. Wes managed to escape, but was so mad that he rushed inside to grab his gun. The loud situation causes a crowd to form outside, and one of Wes’ friends grabs his gun and helps Wes chase Ray down. They began to shoot at Ray and eventually, they hit him. Wes returns home and slams the door in the girls face. His mother, now wide awake, demands an explanation of what just happened, but Wes storms past her and into the bathroom. Wes soon got arrested. He was put into the police car as the police get information from the witnesses. A few minutes later, the police left with Wes.

So far the book is very different from the book Outliers because they are both getting into trouble and not thinking about why they are about to do.

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 4 

The chapter started off with the other Wes, he started selling drugs to receive money, he told his mother he earned it from being a DJ. Soon his brother, Tony became suspicious, and they got into a fight over whether Wes was lying or not. Tony couldn't believe Mary bought his story. Tony has been trying to avoid his brother from following his footsteps. Wes' s mother, Mary began to wonder about everything Wes had said so far and went into Wes's room and found a Nike box under his bed filled with drugs. When Wes came home, he found his shoe box on his bed, empty. He confronted his mother and she said she flushed his material down they toilet. He became furious with her and left to his girlfriend's house. Meanwhile the author, Wes and his friend, Shea, were caught by the police for graffiti. While Shea denied what he had done, Wes couldn't help but cry. However the police officers decided to give Wes and Shea a second chance. Wes vowed he would never do something as reckless and stupid again, but in just a few days he was back doing the same thing. 

This chapter, different to the book Outliers, because in outliers the people were successful and made snark choices, but in the book The Other Wes Moore, both of the Wes' s have been making 

Chapter 3

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 3

This chapter starts off with Wes Moore the author, and his new school Riverdale. His new school was a private school where almost all students were white and wealthy. Wes and one of his friends, Justin were the only black kids in that school. Wes explained how he had to lie to his white friends about beomh rich and having a vacation house in Brooklyn. At the same time, Wes had to lie to his neighborhood friends, by saying that he ran the school and he was respected. He said the reason he got suspended was for beating someone up when in reality it was an accident. Wes' s uncles, suggested, that he should invite his neighborhood friends and his school friends to play baseball all together. That did not end well, they ended up in a fight. Mean while the other Wes, moved to a new neighborhood, his brother Tony got shot for the first time at the age of 18. Moving to a safer neighborhood meant, that Wes' s Mom had to work harder, as it was more expensive, and Wes had less adult supervison. One day Wes and his friends decided to ditch school and he was looking for spare change in his mom's room and be found her stash of weed. Wes and smoked weed for the first time that day at the age of 12. Wes smoked so much that he could not walk, or eat. When Wes went home his mom's boyfriend was their, he lived their when he did not live with his wife. Wes used drugs regularly. 

This chapter is differ to the book Outliers, because of the way it is taking place now. Right now both Wes Moore's have not been successful in buisness or career wise.

Chapter 2

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 2

The Other Wes Moore

In the book The Other Wes Moore, chapter two started off by explaining the living conditions, Wes's brother lived in. Wes’s brother Tony lived with his father in, a very dangerous, dirty, and drug-infested area. Though Tony was just six years older than Wes, he was very protective of his younger brother. Tony developed a fierce reputation, and he hoped Wes would make better choices than he had. Wes played football for the North-wood Rams. Wes and his friend Woody played football often in their neighborhood, and it was not uncommon to get a pickup game going. One day, playing defense Wes was a little too close for a boy’s liking. They started arguing, and the boy punched Wes in the face. Everyone was surprised, and  Wes ran home. His friend Woody ran after him to make sure he was okay. Woody found Wes in his kitchen with a knife. Tony, told Wes, “rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again.” Woody tried to stop him, but Wes ran outside to confront the boy, he did not know that police was their. Wes ran at the boy, but was tackled by one of the officers. Wes and Woody were both arrested. Wes called Tony, and Tony’s father agreed to pick him up. Wes was back home before his mother got back and she didn't find out

he was arrested that day.

 Wes Moore- Author

While Wes's mother Joy wasn't coping with the death of her husband well. Her parents offered tje children to move in with them in their house in the Bronx. His mother decided, decided it was a good idea, and they left to Maryland. Wes's mother remembered her hometown as a safe, family-oriented community, and was excited to move her family away from Baltimore. As they got closer to their new home, it was clear things had changed in the Bronx. Drugs and violence were everywhere, and it was no longer the safe community it had once been.  After settling into his grandparent’s home, Wes quickly realized that his grandparent's were stricter than mother. Wes sneaked out of his house and made some friends. Wes soon made some friends at a basketball court near his house.

This chapter is different to the book, Outliers, because so far what I have read in the book The Other Wes Moore, both of the Wes Moore's have not been successful, whether it be with there families, or with a career so far, yet they are still young at this point. 

Chapter 1

The Other Wes Moore: Chapter 1

Wes Moore- Author 

In the biography The Other Wes Moore, the book starts off by introducing Wes Moore the author and his family. Wes, started out the chapter by repcapping on the incident that happened with his sister Nikki. Wes accidentally punched his sister, while playing. His mother Joy’s angry and sudden reaction to him hitting his sister. While Wes hid in his room, he heard his father, trying to calm his mother down. Wes, remembered the incident because it had been the only time he had heard his father yell, and it was to defend him. Wes's mother Joy immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica with her family when she was very young. His mother grew interest in studying, justice. She joined an activist group while attending American University in Washington, D.C., where she met her first husband, Bill. Though their relationship started off well, it went downhill when Bill’s recreational drug and alcohol use became an addiction. By that time Wes's older sister Nikki was already born. His mother, left Bill after a particularly violent encounter ended with her battered, but determined. His mother soon met Westley, when she was hired as a writing assistant for his radio show. They soon got married, and had two children together. Wes’s father coming to speak to him that day about punching his sister is one of the two memories he has of his father. His other memory of his father, is from the day his father died. Westley had not been feeling well all day, and eventually had to be taken to the hospital. The doctors however did not know what to do for his symptoms and sent him home. Later that evening, he collapsed and ultimately, passed away from acute epiglottis. His death affected the entire family.

 The “Other” Wes

The other Wes Moore was introduced, and had never met his father. During this time his mother Mary was enrolled at Johns Hopkins University, but after only earning 16 credits, the budget for Pell Grants was cut and Mary lost the funding to continue her education. She had to get a job as a secretary, and it was just enough to take care of her family. Though Wes was still young, he knew something had upset his mother, and made her tell him what had happened and why she was so upset. Mary explained the situation and also how important it had been to her parents that she attends college. The chapter goes on to explain the other Wes Moore's mother's childhood. When Mary got pregnant at sixteen with her first son her mother Alma made her promise she would still go to school. However, Alma’s kidneys were failing and she passed away after an unsuccessful kidney transplant. Her father, Kenneth, was an alcoholic and did not take Alma’s death well, so Alma’s parents moved in to help raise Mary and her seven siblings. After Mary met Wes’s father, Bernard, she was pregnant within a few months with Wes. Unfortunately, Bernard was similar to Tony’s father and was an alcoholic without a steady job. Bernard only tried to be involved in Wes’s life on time, but he was extremely drunk so Mary did not allow it. Tony lived primarily with his grandparents or with his father. Despite no longer being able to attend college, Mary wanted desperately to find a way to get her family away from those dangerous streets. On the night Mary received the bad news about her Pell Grant, she decided to take Wes to his Grandmother Mamie’s house so she could relax with some friends. When they arrived, Wes ran inside and encountered a man he had never seen before. The man drunkenly sitting on his mother’s couch was Wes’s father. Mary introduced them for the first time. 

This chapter, is similar to Chris Langan's story in the book Outliers, because Chris's father disappeared before he was born, just like the other Wes Moore. Both of their stories are similar, and different at the same time. Chris's mother had four children, with four different men, and Wes's mother had two children, with two different men.