The Other Wes Moore Analysis

Environment Matters Born streets apart in the Baltimore neighborhood, two kids by the name of Wes Moore begin similar fates in a drug and crime-plagued ghetto. Fatherless and struggling in poverty, their decisions however quickly set them apart, as one finds his way onto the New York Times Bestseller List and the other behind prison bars. In the novel The Other Wes Moore, the author Wes Moore identifies the choices which set their paths diverged and explores the factors that made the difference. He argues that environmental factors can impose limitations on individuals and make all the difference between success and failure. Wes Moore contends that role models in an environment can have significant constraint on an individual. He argues that people naturally follow the people around them and supports this claim by illustrating the impact respective role models cast on the Moores. This impact is most apparent in Tony and Wes Moore. Despite Tony’s best attempt to keep Moore out of the drug game, Moore inevitably follows his footstep. Being the only respectable man in Moore’s life, Moore cannot help but to be just like him. This is evident when Moore carries out Tony’s “If someone disrespects
Whether it be role models, societal expectations, or societal resources, it is clear that individuals are products of their environmental factors. Realizing this, the author Wes Moore invites people to expand this environmental freedom in his book The Other Wes Moore; he incites people to reach out to children in need of support and to push the possibilities present to them. Though environment has become less of a deciding factor in today’s society, this call to action remains relevant today: in Africa, girls still spend up to 6 hours every day fetching water in face of environmental drought. As stated by Moore, “It’s up to us, all of us, to make a way for