The Other Wes Moore is a novel about two young men with similar circumstances who grow up with two very different fates. The novel is organized in three parts, each consisting of 2-3 chapters. The second part, Choices and Second Chances, encompasses the chapters "Marking Territory," "Lost," and "Hunted." The first chapter shows the negative choices that both of these boys made, the second chapter shows the second chances they were given, and the final chapter shows the impact that what they did with these second choices had. Overall, this is the portion of the novel where the two boys' lives truly split over their choices made with all of their chances, and thus this is a very fitting title.
This part of the novel examines how fate and free will both played a part in the diverging outcomes of the lives of both Weses. In the first chapter, Other Wes is beginning to get involved in the drug game and Author Wes is out on the streets of the Bronx tagging with some friends from the "wrong crowd." These are choices that both of these boys made, but what would come in the next chapter was fate; circumstances that would provide these boys with second chances to change things. Author Wes was sent to a boarding school, and Other Wes's family moved to county life in Dundee Village. Both of these changes were set about by their concerned parents, but only one had the desired effect. Before the chapters even begin, there is an excerpt from one of the exchanges between the two Weses in which Other Wes says, "if the situation or context where you make the decisions don't change, then second chances don't mean much, huh?" (Page 66) While Author Wes's school rules forced him to change his attitude, Other Wes's move didn't change how he thought about life or what he needed to do to survive. This second chance didn't mean much because he didn't realize how to make a change from his first chance, and so he didn't do anything differently. Author Wes did however, and thus his future would be irrevocably different. In this same exchange, Author Wes says, "I guess it's hard to distinguish between second chances and last chances." (Page 67)
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