The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore juxtaposes the lives of two men who grew up in similar environments but ended up taking diverging paths. The author Wes Moore perseveres through the hardships he faced and ends up a Rhodes Scholar, whereas the other Wes Moore is dealt a life sentence. The author poses the question, “Do you think we are all just products of our environments?” Due to their ostensibly similar upbringings, one may suggest that the antithetical outcomes of the two Wes Moores were caused by the individual choices made by them, but upon closer look it is evident that specific subsets of their environment impacted each of them for better or for worse. The single most important factor of socialization is family. Children adopt
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While the other Wes was a child, Mary was trying to better herself by enrolling in Johns Hopkins University to receive her bachelor’s degree, but the Pell Grant was terminated. (17). Had Mary been able to accomplish her scholastic goals, it is likely that she could have afforded a better life for her children. Unfortunately, Mary later made some questionable choices in the upbringing of her son. After the other Wes had his first encounter with alcohol and marijuana, he came home sick and instead of reprimanding him, Mary laughed and said, “Well, at least now you know how bad it feels and you will stay away from drinking.” (61). If Mary had enumerated the idiocy of his actions, perhaps the other Wes would have reacted differently. Likewise, when Mary found out that Wes impregnated Alicia, she quickly returned to the task at hand and asked, “So who wants cake?” (101). This segment was revelatory of her belief that her son’s fate was irrecoverable at this point. Because Mary’s expectations of the other Wes diminished, so too did his expectations of …show more content…
The other Wes’s older brother was intensely involved in the drug trade. Knowing that his brother could accomplish greater things, Tony urged the other Wes to consider “that no matter what job or position you took within [the drug trade], this was a game for keeps—you could be in jail or dead in a matter of months.” (58). However, even though Tony’s intentions were to keep his younger brother from following the same path that he led, he inadvertently acted as a catalyst to Wes’s joining of the drug trade by behaving hypocritically. After all, it is natural for younger children to strive to be like their older siblings, so by continuing to engage in the kind of lifestyle he warned the other Wes about, Tony was influencing his brother in a negative way. Furthermore, Tony’s advice, “Rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again,” established a violent disposition in the other Wes, as he often used these words as justification for hostility. (33). On the contrary, the author Wes’s sisters, Nikki and Shani, served as positive role models for him, with the former going on to run her own business and the ladder attending Princeton University and Stanford Law School.
While the other Wes was a child, Mary was trying to better herself by enrolling in Johns Hopkins University to receive her bachelor’s degree, but the Pell Grant was terminated. (17). Had Mary been able to accomplish her scholastic goals, it is likely that she could have afforded a better life for her children. Unfortunately, Mary later made some questionable choices in the upbringing of her son. After the other Wes had his first encounter with alcohol and marijuana, he came home sick and instead of reprimanding him, Mary laughed and said, “Well, at least now you know how bad it feels and you will stay away from drinking.” (61). If Mary had enumerated the idiocy of his actions, perhaps the other Wes would have reacted differently. Likewise, when Mary found out that Wes impregnated Alicia, she quickly returned to the task at hand and asked, “So who wants cake?” (101). This segment was revelatory of her belief that her son’s fate was irrecoverable at this point. Because Mary’s expectations of the other Wes diminished, so too did his expectations of …show more content…
The other Wes’s older brother was intensely involved in the drug trade. Knowing that his brother could accomplish greater things, Tony urged the other Wes to consider “that no matter what job or position you took within [the drug trade], this was a game for keeps—you could be in jail or dead in a matter of months.” (58). However, even though Tony’s intentions were to keep his younger brother from following the same path that he led, he inadvertently acted as a catalyst to Wes’s joining of the drug trade by behaving hypocritically. After all, it is natural for younger children to strive to be like their older siblings, so by continuing to engage in the kind of lifestyle he warned the other Wes about, Tony was influencing his brother in a negative way. Furthermore, Tony’s advice, “Rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won’t have the chance to do it again,” established a violent disposition in the other Wes, as he often used these words as justification for hostility. (33). On the contrary, the author Wes’s sisters, Nikki and Shani, served as positive role models for him, with the former going on to run her own business and the ladder attending Princeton University and Stanford Law School.