The Cause and effect of the story Other Wes Moore

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The Cause and effect of the story Other Wes Moore

The Wes More story is about two children who apparently grew up with the same name. They were fatherless and were found to have been born in the same neighborhood in Baltimore. While in the neighborhood, they shared a lot of similarities, however, things later changed due to several causes. Baltimore is the locality where the Baltimore Sun made a publication of two articles that showed the differences between the two Wes Moores. While one article talked about the unsuccessful Wes More, the other one was about the successful one. The successful one was described as a local graduate who had been made a Rhode’s scholar. He was a person that had become an inspiration to the community. In addition to that, the article indicated that he had become a white house fellow. This meant that he had become one of the most prominent people in the entire country, a business leader, and a decorated veteran (Cowles 14).

On the other hand, the second article was not that good because it was about the second Wes Moore, who had been involved in a bank robbery where a police officer was killed. Even though the second Wes Moore did not shoot the bullet that killed the police officer, he was still given a sentence of life in prison (Wes Moore 23).

The cause of these effects are then outlined; while one of the Wes Moore’s managed to break the vicious cycle of children in the neighborhood growing up in such circumstances, the other one was not that lucky. Two children who were brought up in the same neighborhood later came to be very distinct people because of the choices they made in life. They both faced the challenges of being brought up in a neighborhood that was full of drug traffickers but they faced it differently. At one point in their childhood, they were both very successful students in their respective classes. However, because of the different choices they made in life in the face of the challenges they endured in their community, one of them spent the rest of his life behind bars while the other spent his life making a difference in the entire country and possibly the world (Wes Moore Web).

The West Mores were at one time in the same boat facing the same challenges with law enforcing agencies. However, while the successful Wes Moore walked out of the neighborhood and joined the military, the other fellow behind bars graduated into playing violent games with the police as he sold drugs. This had started just like a habit of making some little pocket money but evolved into a serious problem when he realized he could make big money for himself. These were the causes and effects of the current predicaments of the two Wes Moores (Donahue 17).

Having been put in prison for life, it became difficult for the Wes Moore in prison to reverse the decisions he made earlier in life. At one point in time, the Wes Moore in prison stopped selling drugs but when he realized the small jobs he was getting were not enough to fend for his family, he decided to go back into drug peddling and ultimately was sentenced to life in prison. The cause and effect of their different choices given the same circumstances in life resulted in the current situation; even though they had similar childhoods, their future would not turn out to be the same (Cowles 15).

Learning to Hate Mathematics by Anne Miller

The writer uses a number of specific details and examples to identify various causes and effects as far as how she came to loathe mathematics is concerned. First, she specifically points out that this was in her third grade when she found it difficult to memorize multiplication tables. To her, the study of mathematics was of no particular objective rather than giving her shattered nerves and headaches. On the other hand, the alphabet was very special as it was an incredible code that when decoded, entertained her with lots of stories and exposed all secrets that seemed to be held within the world.

She specifically draws a line between mathematics and the alphabet when she asserts that multiplication tables only served to inform her how much nine times six was. She points out that there was really no joy in knowing such information and goes on to give specifics on when she literally started to hate math. This occurred when her teacher, a Sister Celine, forced her and her classmates to take part in her vicious counting competitions. After ordering them to stand in rows, she would then shout problems at them.

Those who gave the correct answers were perceived as winner while those who gave the wrong answerers would be forced to sit down. She adds that she was not bothered by failing, but it was the awful feeling she felt deep down in her stomach. Math was not only associated with speed; rather, it was also very dull and irrelevant to her. As she grew older, the situation became worse. She describes the effect as that of a relentless pain that makes one to develop the need for liberation and peace.

The writer uses specific details and examples in an attempt to identify the various causes and effects. For instance, she asserts that she felt that negative numbers were just insane. From her perception, she figured out that she did not need any negatives in her life. She particularly mentions that she did not care to calculate how long it took a person to move from point A to point B. This is evident from her dreams where she imagined trains mentioned in such problems crushing in the night and individuals such as little Arthur getting lost as they tried to find their way back home.

In high school, the situation was so unbearable that she mentions she started skipping homework. However, she only made the situation worse because her teachers would make her stay in school to do more math problems as a punishment. The effect of her fear for math is that in her nightmares, multiplication trampled her head and the fractions further fractured her brain. She developed a psychological problem out of her mathematics phobia. However, years later, she realized that mathematics was used in every aspect of life and in every subject, be it music and art, or physics and architecture. She believed that without aggressive teachers throwing problems at her, she would enjoy mathematics at her own pace. However, because she had developed a phobic for math, she could not stand someone throwing mathematics problems to her when she is not aware for the stomach upsets have become a permanent problem. This marks the effect she got for persistently fearing math.

Works Cited

Cowles, Gregory inside the List. The New York Times. May, 7, 2010: 14-15.

Donahue, Deirdre “The Other Wes Moore” author knows what might have been. USA Today. May 7, 2010: 17-18.

Wes Moore Under 40-Crain’s New York Business Rising Stars. Crain’s New York Business (2011): 23-24

Wes Moore. Engaging ideas in Aspen (VIDEO) (2011): Web