Chapter One begins with three-year-old Westley punching his sister, Nikki, while playing with her. Westley's mother, Joy, is furious when she discovers what he has done.
Frightened at his mother's anger, Westley runs upstairs to the room he shares with Shani, his baby sister. From his room, he can hear his father trying to soothe his mother. Because Westley is only three, he has difficulty understanding why his mother is so angry with him.
The story then shifts to Joy's background. We are told that Joy immigrated to the United States with her family when she was just three years old. As she grew, Joy carefully assimilated into American society. During her teen years, she attended American University in Washington, DC, in 1968. There, she joined OASATAU, an African American social justice campus organization. Joy later married Bill, OASATAU's treasurer.
The marriage was an unhappy one, as Bill regularly indulged his alcohol and drug habit. One evening, Bill attacked Joy in a fit of anger after she tried to get him to keep his voice down. Joy hadn't wanted Bill to wake one-year-old Nikki up. Furious at what he considered her disrespectful attitude, Bill proceeded to beat Joy up. Cornered like an animal, Joy had no choice but to fight back. She eventually managed to get hold of a sharp knife, which she pointed at Bill's throat.
Westley tells us that Joy later left Bill and that her sensitivity to male displays of physical violence resulted from this period of her life.
The story shifts back to the present. Westley's father comes up to his room to speak to him. He tells Westley that he must only defend women and that he must never hit them. Westley tells us that he has two distinct memories of his father: one of his father as his protector and another of his father dying.
The story shifts again, and this time, we learn about Wes Moore (Westley's father) and how he met and married Joy (Westley's mother). Westley tells us that his father had been a radio news broadcaster. He relates that his father became extremely sick one night and had to go to the hospital. However, the hospital dismissed Wes without further investigation into the causes of his illness. Wes Moore eventually died of acute epiglottitis, a treatable virus. Westley tells us that he didn't understand the implications of his step-father's death at the time.
The story then shifts to the other Wes. In this narrative, Mary Moore tells Wes to prepare to spend the night with his grandmother. Mary has just received news that her Pell Grant has been terminated. Without the grant, Mary can no longer attend John Hopkins University. To cheer herself up, Mary plans to go dancing with her friends. At this point, we are given a glimpse into Mary's childhood years.
Mary Moore is the daughter of Alma and Kenneth Moore. Because she never attended college, Alma was adamant that her own daughter do so. Even after Mary became pregnant at sixteen, Alma supported Mary's college goals. We are told that Alma eventually died after a failed kidney transplant operation. Alma's death devastated Kenneth, prompting Alma's parents to move into the Moore household. They stayed until all the children left home; Mary was the first to leave.
The story then moves back to the present, with Wes offering to get a job to help his mother. However, at six years old, Wes is too young to work. Chapter One ends with an interesting twist. Having never met his father, Bernard, Wes is shocked when he finally comes face to face with him.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Summarize chapter 1 of The Other Wes Moore.
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