A name and a similar beginning are all the two Wes Moores have analogously. One becomes a notorious scholar and military figure, while the other spends his life in prison on the charge of first-degree felony murder. They take two different paths; one Wes took the life of crime and corruption; while the other chose the life education and sophistication. Had it not been for cultural and social awareness, becoming a father at such a young age, expectations set, and religion; Wes would have turned out differently and chosen an opposing path for himself. As the reader finishes the book they see the impact these differences have on both the author and Wes Moore.
Cultural awareness is crucial because it allows one to witness alternative situations and realize that one’s situation isn’t as atrocious by comparison. For example, when the author visits Africa and witnesses the poverty there, “…even in west Baltimore we lived like kings compared to this”(page 166). Had Wes seen poverty, he would not be so concerned about needing to make more money. He would have known he and his family could be much worse off they could be living in …show more content…
The author took many of those opportunities such as becoming an officer traveling the world and becoming an accomplished scholar. Where as Wes took the opportunity to get his GED, but stopped there he didn’t weigh his options in getting a further degree. Had he furthered his degree he would, instead of “the only consistency in his employment,” being “…inconsistency. That, and the fact that none of these jobs paid over nine dollars an hour”(page144), gotten a consistent job that pays higher than minimum wage, but he did not. Instead, Wes turned to the world of drugs, which eventually led to his incarceration. Had Wes any social awareness he would have seen the many other options out there besides turning back to the drug world of risks and
Cultural awareness is crucial because it allows one to witness alternative situations and realize that one’s situation isn’t as atrocious by comparison. For example, when the author visits Africa and witnesses the poverty there, “…even in west Baltimore we lived like kings compared to this”(page 166). Had Wes seen poverty, he would not be so concerned about needing to make more money. He would have known he and his family could be much worse off they could be living in …show more content…
The author took many of those opportunities such as becoming an officer traveling the world and becoming an accomplished scholar. Where as Wes took the opportunity to get his GED, but stopped there he didn’t weigh his options in getting a further degree. Had he furthered his degree he would, instead of “the only consistency in his employment,” being “…inconsistency. That, and the fact that none of these jobs paid over nine dollars an hour”(page144), gotten a consistent job that pays higher than minimum wage, but he did not. Instead, Wes turned to the world of drugs, which eventually led to his incarceration. Had Wes any social awareness he would have seen the many other options out there besides turning back to the drug world of risks and