Please respond to all of the questions below. Responses should be at least one paragraph. Number your responses so that it is clear which question you are answering.
1. What drove author Wes Moore to write to the prisoner Wes Moore? Why do you think prisoner Wes Moore wrote back to the author?
2. What was the fate of author Wes Moore’s father? Do you think his father might have survived under other circumstances?
3. Author Wes Moore states, “Soon it became clear that the Riots were about more than the tragic death of Dr. King. They were about anger and hurt so extreme that rational thought was thrown out the window – these were people so deranged by frustration that they were burning down their own neighborhood” (19). Does this “deranged frustration” make sense to you? Are there places in today’s America that feel like this?
4. Author Wes Moore talks about the Bronx in the 1980s and early 1990s as an apocalyptic place to be with drugs, burned out buildings, and crime everywhere. Are there still cities like this today? What causes cities to crumble like this? How does living in a neighborhood like this affect a person?
5. What was your first impression of author Wes Moore? What about your first impression of prisoner Wes Moore?
1. Author Wes Moore had read an article about prisoner Wes Moore being arrested and even years after, he couldn’t let it go. He felt a connection to this other Wes Moore and so he decided to write him a letter. I think that prisoner Wes Moore decided to respond because I think that he was just as intrigued to find out that there was someone who had the same name as him. I think that receiving this letter and being able to respond to it may have felt like a way to explain what happened to him.
ReplyDelete2. Author Wes Moore’s father died from acute epiglottitis. I think that under different circumstances, yes, he could have survived. The doctors just blew it off as a sore throat without further inspection. They thought that he might have been a hypochondriac and was making up symptoms because they didn’t know what to do. Because of that, he died a mere five hours after being released.
3. The frustration that was described in the book makes sense in a way. Although it’s never happened personally, nor would I want it to, I think that I can understand having frustration so intense that rational thought is just thrown out. I don’t keep up with the news, so I don’t know of any cities that have riots like that. Even though I don’t watch the news, I feel like riots like that are happening less in the United States and more in foreign countries.
4. Baltimore, Maryland and Chicago, Illinois are pretty violent cities. They are both gang infested and have drug use. Chicago is the most gang infested city in America, with over 100,000 members. As of 2017, Baltimore’s drug rate was 85.2 per 100,000 people. As drugs continue to become more and more prominent in society, cities where this is a huge issue go downhill. Living in a neighborhood like this affects people because they are then exposed to the drugs and gangs. People are constantly losing family members to gang violence, and if that person happened to be a parent, kids are likely to turn to the streets to provide for themselves.
5. For both Wes Moore’s my first impression was that they had tough childhoods. Both of them grew up without fathers, and that impacted their lives greatly. Another impression I had of prisoner Wes Moore was that he was a little bit violent. He was arrested at a young age for threatening to kill another kid with a knife and that makes me think that he might get involved in the same business as his brother; drugs.I felt bad for author Wes Moore because his father died and then he and his family had to keep moving around. That affects childhood greatly because he has to keep leaving friends behind and there is no sense of consistency in life.
Good comments, Abby. I appreciate your inclusion of statistics about Chicago and Baltimore. I've been to Chicago as a tourist, and what is striking to me, is that we hear so much about the violence of the gangs in Chicago, but the tourists never see it. I wonder if that's because the touristy areas have more of a police presence. I don't know--just speculating.
DeleteI agree The prisoner Wes Moore wanted a way to explain his story better. I also believe that he wanted a chance to redeem himself, and try and shed a little light on his story. Also I believe that in prison, there isn’t much to do. So I also think that he did it because he had nothing else to do in prison.I think that you are right about how the doctors didn’t know what to do. I like how you believe that they did that because they didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t thought of that before reading your response. I think that the doctors could have examined it better, and then able to come up with a diagnostic that was accurate. I agree with you that kids who lose their parents, would often turn to the streets to make a living. In their mind, I believe that there is no other option, and no other way to make money as quickly or as easily as getting into drugs, selling them, using them, to get away from the pain, and getting into gangs, and other violent things to make a living. I think that the fact that author Wes Moore had to move around a lot, affected his childhood greatly. He was never able to have a steady place to live, and always had to leave behind friends, make new friends, and leave behind things that he knew and understood. I think that being moved around from such a young age would greatly impact someone’s childhood. I have never had to deal with moving towns, cities, states, but I can only imagine how much work it takes to move, and how much people leave behind when they do.
Delete1. The author Wes Moore was very intrigued by the prisoner Wes Moore after reading an article in the paper where he got arrested. He couldn't stop thinking about it, since they ironically had the same name and lived a couple blocks apart as children. They had this connection, and similar but variety of perspectives of how they grew up, author Wes Moore thought. Prisoner Wes Moore replied because he felt as if him and author Wes Moore were connected and he would understand/think in depth about his side of the story.
ReplyDelete2. Author Wes Moore's father died of an infection that spread through his throat, called acute epiglottitis. A potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when the tissue protecting the windpipe becomes inflamed. Except in the hospital they thought otherwise. He was diagnosed with a sore throat, and that his lack of sleep has affected how he functioned. The doctors thought nothing of it, and anesthetized his throat, which just made him not feel it closing up. Since they thought he was a hypochondriac, and was overthinking/dramatizing the situation, they released him from the hospital. He would have lived if his issue was taken care of, but sadly died five hours later on at home. I think that he would've survived if the doctors didn't ignore his symptoms, and were able to stop the inflammation.
3. The way that people took their frustration, and feeling of irritation out on others/other things kind of makes sense to me. The way the author stated it, I understand that of a person, or people have such intense and constant frustration with such things it would make sense to get rid of it. I have never experienced such a feeling, but I know for sure that there are many protests and riots not only in North America that include people who are very chaotic, and aggressive. Some can't contain their emotions and end up lashing out.
4. Since I haven't lived here long enough, I am not very sure about dangerous cities in America, but the two that have troubled me the most are Boston and Chicago. Ever since I was a little kid, all I've heard about those cities is how many people have died, and that there are very dangerous neighborhoods there. Yes, Boston has Harvard, beautiful places, a lot of tourists and what not, but it also has a high rate of prostitution, gang violence, and drug/sex trafficking. Chicago is a place where a lot of gang violence occurs, and it troubles me the most. We have family that live there, and when we visited (I was seven) a man almost grabbed me and put me in his car. My dad grabbed me sooner, and the man drove away.
5. Well first off, both boys had some issues in their families. They both had rough childhoods, and things they had to overcome as they were growing up. (Like their fathers’ deaths.) Author Wes Moore seemed as if he needed more support, and love from someone so that he wouldn’t have such a hard time when his family moved around a lot. I wanted to pity him, and ask about how he was able to get rid of the stress. As for prisoner Wes Moore, he seemed like a very aggressive and torn boy. Since his father died, he had no one to protect him, and no one to show him what a man is supposed to be. He needed a role model, and he was left to fend for himself. So I ended up wanting to pity him too, up until he threatened a kid that he would kill him.
Good comments and observations, Alena. What happened in Chicago must have been really scary for you. I'm so sorry for you. As I commented on Abby's post, Chicago has a lot of gang violence, but when you are there as a tourist, they really try to keep you isolated from it. I personally wonder if they put a larger police presence in the touristy areas.
DeleteAlena, I like that you said prison Wes Moore responded to author Wes because he thought author Wes would think of his side of the story. I also thought it was interesting to hear you're explanation of Boston and Chicago. I have lived here all my life, so I don’t pay as much attention to what's happening, because I’ve never really needed to. I’ve always had an image of Boston, so I don’t have to pay close attention to it anymore, I already have an image of it. You see Boston and Chicago much differently than I do. You are able to step back and look at the two cities from another perspective. I think it’s important to remember that we may see things one way, but others see the same things from completely different perspectives. You said that you felt pity for both of the Wes’. I often find myself only pitying prison Wes, because he had no role models, and he ended up worse that author Wes. I think your ability to pity both Wes’ is an important skill. It shouldn’t matter where they end up, both of them lost their father's, and live in low income houses. You reminded me that I shouldn’t exclude author Wes Moore from pity, because of where he ended up. My only question is should we pity the Wes’? Pitying someone already has a stigma attached to it. I wonder if we could find empathy for both Wes’ instead.
Delete1. He wrote to prison Wes Moore because he felt connected to him. Author Wes Moore lived a different life, but he felt a connection to a man he had never met. I think a major factor in why he wrote to prison Wes Moore is curiosity. He wanted to know what had happened to the man who shared his name. I think prison Wes Moore wrote back because he too felt the curiosity. Maybe he wondered what might have happened if his life had been even a little bit different.
ReplyDelete2. His father had a rare condition, and he suffocated, because his throat closed. Wes said that his condition was treatable. His father visited the hospital, but was dismissed, the hospital staff dismissed his concern and said he just needed rest. I think He could have lived. The hospital may not have been properly trained, but they should have checked him over just a little more. The fact that they numbed his throat makes it worse. I think the hospital could have given Wes’ father better care, preventing his death.
3. It makes complete sense. Sometimes people become so angry over time that they are blinded by rage when they finally let it out. If people care deeply about something, and it’s disrespected, sometimes they feel like the world is working against them. Today people are standing up and fighting for each other. I don’t know of anything in the US as bad as the riots Wes described. What I have heard about is the riots in Hong Kong, were people are beaten and tear gassed in the streets by police.
4. I don’t know of any cities like this. Of course today any city will have places filled with crime and drugs, it’s become a normal part of our society. I think cities fall because people aren’t caring as much for each other. Today we tend to look out for ourselves, and some close friends and family, but I don’t see close neighbors who help each other out on a dime. I think growing up in a place like Wes described would drag people down. The feeling that, at any time, you could be hurt, even killed. People can live happy lives, but there will always be an underlying fear.
5. My first impression of the author Wes Moore was that he had a great life. He had money, food and family that cared for him. I thought he was very fortunate. I think he did have some challenges, but he seemed to know what he was doing with his life. My first impression of prison Wes Moore was that he had a rough childhood. I think, like the author, he had challenges. I don’t think he dealt with the challenges as well. For both of them, I think they were curious about each other. It feels like they both were wondering what their life could’ve been if even one detail had been changed.
I like what you have to say Madelyn––particularly the connection to Hong Kong. There is definitely some anger there! I do wonder about your comment on #4 in terms of people not helping each other out. I tend to think that people actually do help each other out, at least where we live. I think it's more common in small towns, for sure, but I still think people do it. Good comments, though.
DeleteMadelyn, I like what you said about the two Wes Moore’s being curious about each other. I had only thought about author Wes Moore being curious, and prisoner Wes Moore just writing back because this man had the same name as him and that was kind of cool. As Mr. Deffner said, I think in small towns like Thetford, people do help each other out because it’s so small and everyone knows everyone. However, in bigger cities/towns, I don’t think that this is the case. I think that people protect themselves and only themselves, especially if they live in a neighborhood like prisoner Wes grew up in. In question 5, I agree with you in the fact that they were both wondering what life could have been like had they both done something different. Personally, I didn’t think that author Wes had that good of a childhood either, it just wasn’t as bad as prisoner Wes’s. His mom had to go around asking for money to send him to military school, so I wouldn’t exactly say that they had money, but I do agree that author Wes’s family was more supportive than prisoner Wes’s.
Delete1: The other Wes Moore’s story intrigued author Wes Moore, and how both of them were so similar. They grew up very close in distance to each other, and Wes, the author says how Wes’s life could have been his, but they chose different paths. He felt that Wes carried a part of him with him in his prison cell, even though they did not know each other. Wes, the author, wanted to reach out to learn Wes’s story. Wes wrote back to the author because he wanted to make an influence on other young people, to not make the same decisions he did. Both he and the author want to show people how a few bad decisions can lead your life down a terrible path.
ReplyDelete2: Author Wes Moore’s father died because of a rare, but treatable virus. The virus made his airways close up, so he died of asphyxiation. I think if some of the circumstances had been different, he would have survived. First, the hospital misdiagnosed him with a sore throat and a lack of sleep instead of the deadly virus. Second, later when the ambulance was called, none of the first responders were trained in the way that was needed to save his life. If they were trained, or the hospital had done more testing, I think he would have lived.
3: When I hear “deranged frustration,” I just think of chaos. When people are so frustrated that nothing is going right for them, they only want to make others feel their pain or frustration. When they do that, they do things without thinking of consequences, because they are so mad, and they want everybody else to go down with them. This reminds me of the riots in ‘The Hate You Give’. The rioters were going to destroy everything in sight, so some of the business owners had to mark their stores “black-owned.” They were all so mad, so their outlet was to destroy.
4: Detroit. Michigan is a very violent and poor city, as there were 267 homicides in 2017, and the poverty rate is around 40%. Lots of these cities that exist are in the poorer parts of urban areas. Wes Moore talks about part of the Bronx, an urban area, without an abundance of money. He said it used to be a nicer area, but it went downhill fast. The residential segregation could be part of why the city crumbled. The predominantly white, richer neighborhoods often blockaded around their space to keep the predominantly black, poorer people out. When you have a living area with poorer people in it, they may have to resort to crime to survive, therefore causing the city to decline in safety.
5: My first impression of the author Wes Moore was that he was successful because he had a nice childhood. However, he grew up with some trauma and moved to a poorer neighborhood as a child.
My first impression of the prisoner Wes Moore was that he was trying to do some good by writing back the author Wes Moore, to partially make up for his past mistakes. He had unlucky circumstances at home, and that is some of the reason he made bad decisions and ended up in prison. He recognized that he did bad things, and he is trying to make things right with the world by helping author Wes Moore.
Katelyn, I like the connection you made with the riots in The Hate U Give. It makes a lot of sense, actually. I also appreciate the fact that you took the time to include some statistics about Detroit. I've only been to Detroit once, but I was struck by the poverty––that and the fact that U of Michigan is not far away (in Ann Arobor) and is obviously very different socio-economically.
Delete1. Curiosity drives most things in the world around us. With all that the author had found out, it only felt like a 'paragraph of the novel of information,' as there could be an incredible amount out there that he had no idea about at that time. In the introduction, it tells that the author as very unsure about all the ideas in his head around the other Wes, so a letter seemed a proper way to figure out the questions built up in the author's mind. Writing back, that also seemed to be out of curiosity. A man, the same name as you, writes to you while you sit in prison, it seems as if a wave of curiosity would all strike at once.
ReplyDelete2. The author's father died due to a problem with body. His throat slowly was seizing up, which seemed to be just a cold or distress in the body from the doctors. These doctors in the 1990s clearly were unsure of what exactly the correct procedure was, not very interested or invested in the patient at all. The situation may have been different if the doctors had not given the drugs in attempt to 'numb' the pain, that only ended up having the father not feel his throat closing, the mother unable to do much with un-mastered CPR. This situation seemed mainly the doctor's fault, not the mothers or the children's.
3. Pain, suffering, fire, and war have all became something around us, in all different ways, shapes, and forms. It all ends up as the central term along the lines of "deranged frustration." The frustration around humans becomes a sort of pain because of frustration from aspects of the lives around the society. After a while, around the world in no place in particular, it becomes a messed up, deranged, and confused mayhem of hatred, pain, and conflict, where no one truly wins and everyone ends up with some loss. It is apparent in society, it is human evolution.
4. A community will always crumble, there is nothing someone may do about it in the end of all things. Society advances, discoveries are made, evolution happens. Drugs, pain, conflict, guns, and danger finds a way to run through the confines of even the safest places, it becomes clear that no one is truly safe from the crumbling in the long run, sometimes longer than our lives all together. Those choose different routes, some play sports, like Wes meeting the boys at the court, others commit suicide, some become criminals, shooting out streets, murdering when they go to deep.
5. My first impressions on the author, Wes Moore, were a sense of unsureness in the world around him, but he learned to adapt to the situations and become independent as his father has become deceased. He was not completely happy with all around him, but he made work out of what he had, finding a place and people to call home.
My impressions on the other Wes Moore, also the one who was arrested and jailed, was conflicting. His fathers were out of the picture, drunks and druggies, his family was non existent for the most part, his mother having other issues, his brother too deep in gangs. Anger became is fuel, hurting others became the result.
Side Note: If my response feels off putting at all, I apologize, been very out of it this weekend and just feeling light headed often. Have a good day/night to whoever reads.
Hi Porter,
DeleteI like what you said in response to questions 1 and 2. I do think, you could be a little more specific in some places---like #3. (Do you think there are still cities like this in America?) Know what I mean? Otherwise, it seems like you are enjoying the book.
1. Author Wes Moore heard about the story of prisoner Wes Moore. When he did, he couldn't stop thinking about it. “I couldn't let it go… I was struck by the Superficial similarities between us”(xii). Author Wes Moore seemed to not be able to let go of the fact of how similar their lives was, “ the chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (back page). I think that prisoner Wes Moore decided to write back because he was going to be in jail for the rest of his life. I think that being in the same place, seeing the same people, and never being able to do new things would get really boring really fast. If I was in jail, I would jump at any chance to experience anything even moderately interesting. I think that prisoner Wes Moore wrote back because he wanted to do something different for a change.
ReplyDelete2. Author Wes Moore’s dad died from epiglottis, “A rare but treatable virus that causes the epiglottis to swell and cover the air passages to the lungs.”(15). Author Wes Moore’s father died from this because the doctors misdiagnosed him after he went to the hospital with a sore throat and a fever. If the doctors had looked closer, or had better equipment, than they probably cou;d have found the virus and been able to treat it before it was too late to do anything.
3. I think that deranged frustration makes since. People can do crazy things when they feel hurt or angry. I have done many things that I regret because I was hurt and not in my normal state of mind. I think that almost all over the world there are going to be people who are hurt and who do things they normally wouldn't do when in the right state of mind. When I was hurt, I felt like I needed to do something that would make others feel as hurt as me. I remember closing off and avoiding talking to people. I grew distant, which made it that much harder for me to heal. I regret what I did, and I would think that other people do.
4. After reading Enrique's Journey, I learned a lot more about what some places of Mexico were like. There were places that were so dangerous that people felt the need to leave everything they knew behind, because the place where they were living wasn't safe anymore. I think that poor law enforcement is a factor that contributes to places becoming “red zones’’ as referenced in one of our readings. People who live in these places I think would always live in fear. “What crime was going to be committed today?” “what if my family is hurt?” “what if I am hurt?” I think that people might need to adapt to their environment. They may change too fit in with everyone so that they are no longer the victim.
5. Both author Wes Moore and prisoner Wes Moore experienced very similar things. Author Wes Moore felt more welcoming to me. It might have been because his part of the story was told in the first person. When a story is told in the first person, I always feel like the author is closer to me. I feel like they really want to tell me a story. When in the third person I find it takes me longer to connect with the characters. Prisoner Wes Moore I was skeptical about before I really started reading. I already knew that he was the one who went to prison and so that made it harder for me to feel like I could understand the character.
Ada,
DeleteI really like your connection to Enrique's Journey. That's a really good point and makes a lot of sense. I also really appreciate your honesty in response to question #3. Very well done.