Review of the Book 'The Other Wes Moore'
In the book The Other Wes Moore main characters went through two different educational systems. The “successful” Wes Moore spent most of his schooling years in an expensive, majority white, private school, then moved to a military school. The “incarcerated” Wes Moore was in a public school system. There is a huge difference between the two kinds of education they got, which is a big contribution to how they ended up where they are.
Typically a public education system consists of low funding and low resources for children. There is no one really supporting them and pushing them to be the best they can be. This convinced incarcerated Wes that he wasn't going to be anymore than a drug dealer. The author Wes Moore on the other hand, went to a well-funded and strict private school. Though his mom was spending a lot of money on it for him to get a great education, he was still falling into the drug scene. This is when his mom sent him to military school a long while away. Military schools are defined as “a private school organized somewhat along the lines of and following some of the procedures of military life.” They typically use military-like refinement and discipline as a way to teach students. When Wes was sent their he hated it so much he tried escaping. He did learn to end up learning to love his military school.
The last similarity is the kind of community they grew up in. The incarcertated Wes was raised in the “Murphy Home Projects”, which was nicknamed the “Murder Homes” because it was overran by criminal activity. When the “successful” Wes Moore lived in the Bronx, it was covered in drugs, poverty, and arson. In these neighborhoods, there is a lack of societal interest. When kids live in a kind of area that isn’t interested in seeing them become successful, they usually end up going nowhere in life. The author Wes Moore’s mother saw this. She saw the kind of trouble that was being brought upon her family being in this society. The incarcerated Wes Moore’s mother saw it too, but didn’t make an effort to leave that kind of community. This just goes to show how important it is to not only grow up in a supportive household but a supportive community.
Overall, unfortunately, both Wes Moores went down two paths. The author Wes Moore had several times where it could’ve possibly been him in prison but the strong influence of his family and school ultimately lead him in the right direction. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore had no good influence, so he chose the easier and glamorous path of drug dealing. Both Wes Moores came to forks in their lives. One of them was forced to make the right choices, and the other one didn't. In the end, they were choices that they were responsible for. This story was meant to show that our destinies are determined by a single stumble down the wrong path, or a step down the right one.
