The Other Wes Moore Extrinsic Factors

What drives a person to be successful? There are some who say that it is due to extrinsic factors, or what environment an individual is placed into will have a major influence in their decisions. Others believe that no matter what environment someone is placed in, it will not influence their decisions, rather, it comes down to how mentally healthy the individual is. Despite which factors may have been the cause of these mens future, they grew up in very similar situations. Both Wes’ grew up without a father, and in a very similar neighborhood, but their lives were drastically different from each other. Extrinsic factors may be to blame for these differences.

Both Wes Moore and The Author have factors that influenced their life for better,
or for worse. In the book, “The Other Wes Moore”, the author is sent to military school, by his mother, while the Other Wes Moore isn’t sent to any school, and is not pushed by anyone to better himself. Instead, he is left in his neighborhood to fend for himself. On page 26, the Author tells the reader, “ His brother, six years older, was the closest thing Wes had to a caretaker.”. This shows that the other Wes Moore had no one to look to, as a role model (besides his brother), while the Author, on the other hand, had his mother who was very influential in his future. The Other Wes Moore doesn't have a parental figure in his life like the Author does. Therefore the Author and the Other Wes Moore's life result very differently.

Although Wes Moore and the Author had very different caretakers in their life, their neighborhood was also a cause of their dramatic differences in their lifetimes. In Chapter Three of the book, the author explains to the reader that his mother insisted on him going to a private school to avoid the trouble that his neighborhood offered. The Other Wes Moore didn't have this luxury, instead of going to school he would ditch and meet up with his friends. In the event that he would meet up with his friends, he would most likely be making bad decisions. In chapter four the Other Wes Moore has his first encounter with drugs, and during the aftermath, “ he understood, faintly, how addictive the that feeling could be” (pg. 62). The Other Wes Moore soon went down a very dark path as a result of this encounter. The drugs had opened his mind to how much money could be made off of the product. The neighborhood that the Wes’ were raised in were a very influential part of their life. The author’s mother didn't want him in their neighborhood, so she sent him to a different school. The Other Wes didn't have a parental figure in his life, besides his brother who made money off of selling drugs his neighborhood.

In the book “The Other Wes Moore”, extrinsic factors, such as their environment and parental figures, had the most impact in how each Wes turned out.
It is often thought that it doesn't matter what environment an individual is placed in, because it comes down to the will power that the individual has. What this argument fails to consider is that some individuals (especially kids) don't have a choice on what environment they are placed in. When the author was placed in the environment that was infested with drugs, his mother decided that she didn't want her son to be influenced by all the negative factors that could very well impact his future. She sent him to military school and he is now a very successful author, and decorated US Army officer. The other Wes Moore had only his drug dealing brother to look to as a guardian and role model. As a result of the other Wes Moore’s poor caretaker, he soon went down the same path as his older brother, and is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of
parole.

There are many other extrinsic factors that can be to blame for bad decisions made throughout an individual's life.
Environments and parental figures are very crucial parts of a child's life. Although the Wes’ were raised in the same environment, their parental figures were very different. The Author's Mother is the one who took Wes out of the environment, the Other Wes wasn't as fortunate. In the end the other Wes didn't have a chance. He was set-up of failure by all the outside elements. Fate is something that is inevitable, no matter how much an individual tries, they will soon grow weary and their environment will consume
them.