The Rhodes Review
Michael Tomlin
November 4, 2015
Volume 1, Issue 1
Themes of The Other Wes Moore and The Road Not Taken
Themes of
The Other Wes Moore and
The Road Not Taken
Rhodes Scholarship
The Other Wes Moore Book
Review
The Other Wes
Moore by Wes Moore and
The Road Not Taken by
Robert Frost have very similar themes. Although these
two texts come in two different forms, the reader can get
the same message. The Other
Wes Moore deals with two
kids from the inner-city that
come from a similar background. The Road Not Taken is a metaphoric poem
showing Robert Frosts journey to success. Both texts are
well-written and convey their
message clearly. In this essay
I will give an overview of
both texts. Then I will analyze each text to compare and
contrast them.
The Other Wes
Moore is a documentation of
two mens lives who come
from a similar background.
Wes Moore learned that a
man from his neighborhood
was wanted for armed robbery and murder. What made
this interesting is that this
mans name was Wes Moore.
Out of curiosity Wes wrote a
letter to this man in prison.
He was surprised when he
received a letter back. They
began communicating and
Wes visited the other Wes in
prison. They started to realize
they had a lot in common.
They both came from singleparent households and had
troubled childhoods. As the
story goes on their role models, circumstances, and decisions change their paths in
life. Wes Moore wrote The
chilling truth is that his story
could have been mine. The
tragedy is that my story could
have been his. The theme of
this book is that different
decisions can change what
your future holds.
The Road Not Taken is a poem in which Robert Frost shows how he made
changes in his life. He has
two paths he can take. He
examines one path thoroughly. He then examines the other path. He believes this is the
better choice because not
everyone has taken this path.
He chose this second path
and attacked his goals and
aspirations. He realizes hes
getting further from his starting point and is unable to go
back. After his journey he
reflects upon it by saying that
the difference between him
and others is that he took the
path others wouldnt take.
The theme of this poem is if
you want to do extraordinary
things that others havent
done then you must be able to
make a decision that is outside the box.
There are some different things about the two
texts. The very obvious one is
their genres. Wes Moore
chose to write a memoir to
convey his message. The
infamous poet Robert Frost
wrote in his usual genre of
poetry. Another difference is
the language. The Other W es
Moore had a more informal
English. It was as if he were
telling you the story in person. The Road Not Taken
used an older-feeling English.
An example of that is And
both that morning equally
lay/ In leaves no step had
trodden black. A major difference is that The Other W es
Moore uses real-life stories
while The Road Not Taken
uses metaphors that mean
real things. The Other W es
Moore is easier to connect to.
The Road Not Taken takes
deep thought to understand.
There still many
similarities between the two
texts. Both texts deal with
decisions that change your
path through life. The Other
Wes Moore shows how two
people that were similar ended up on two different spectrums of society. The Road
Not Taken shows how Frost
did what others didnt do, so
thats why hes had more
success than those people.
Another is that both texts are
based off of real experiences.
The Road Not Taken is not
factual but the wisdom Robert Frost expresses is all truth.
This aspect helps the reader
apply it to their own lives. It
makes these texts easier to
understand and more purposeful.
In conclusion The
Other Wes Moore and The
Road Not Taken have similarities and differences that
make them great texts. They
both connect with the reader
well. Each expresses a similar
message: different decisions
can change the path you take
in life. This can be positive or
negative. Both fulfill their
purpose in expressing this
message.
Page 2
The Rhodes Review
Inside Story Headline
Wes Moore is
the author of
The Other
Wes Moore.
The chilling truth is that
his story could have been
mine. The tragedy is that
my story could have been
his.
-Wes Moore
The Other Wes
Moore by Wes Moore is
an eye-opening and inspirational book that follows key moments in the
lives of two AfricanAmerican who came
from similar backgrounds. They both
come from the same area, lived in single-parent
households, and even
shared the same name;
Wes Moore. One man
becomes a Rhodes
Scholar and the other
becomes a murderer.
The components that
make these two similar
men different in the end
is you decision to make.
This book shows how
the different decisions
you make in life change
your future without you
even knowing it. The
book gives you something to think about every day. It keeps you focused on the little things
you want to accomplish
so that you can reach a
bigger end goal. Although it inspired me,
other readers didnt get
the same inspiration.
Some readers didnt feel
connected to the story
because they feel it
doesnt apply to him.
Some get annoyed with
the lack of information
in some areas and more
information in others.
This book is for anyone
but I recommend it for
middle schoolers, high
schoolers, teachers, and
parents. It can help guide
these students as they
progress in life and it
can help parents and
teachers understand
these students to help
criteria. This includes literary
and scholastic attainments,
energy to use ones talents to
the full, truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for
and protection of the weak,
kindliness, unselfishness,
fellowship, moral force of
character and instincts to
lead, and to take an interest in
ones fellow beings. .
(rhodescholar.org, n.p.) A
few notable scholars include
Bill Clinton, Edwin Hubble,
Dean Rusk, Bill Bradley,
George Stepanopoulos, Kris
Kristofferson, Naomi Wolf,
and Cory A. Booker
(people.howstuffworks.com)
The Rhodes Scholarship has
given people a priceless education that has translated into
international success.
The Rhodes Scholarship
Rhode Scholars
receive education
from Oxford.
The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest and most
prestigious international graduate scholarship in the world.
A Rhode Scholarship covers
all university and college
fees, provides a personal stipend, and an airplane ticket to
Oxford to start their studies.
(rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk, n.p.)
It was established under the
will of Cecil Rhodes in 1903.
(rhodescholar.org, n.p.) Ever
year a class of 89 scholars
from countries like Australia,
Bermuda, Canada, China,
Germany, Hong Kong, India,
Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Southern Africa, United Arab Emirate, and
the United States are selected
to receive the scholarship.
(rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk, n.p.)
Of the 89 scholars 32 are selected from the United States.
The first American Rhodes
went to Oxford in 1904. They
select the winners using a
Works Cited
13 Famous Rhodes Scholars. HowStuffWorks. N.p.,
Nov. 2007. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. <http://
people.howstuffworks.com/13-famous-rhodesscholars.htm#page=1>
About The Rhodes Scholarships. The Rhodes Scholarships. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. <http://
www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/rhodesscholarship/
about-the-rhodes-scholarships>
Oxford And the Rhodes Scholarships. The Rhodes
