The Nurture vs. Nature has been a long standing debate amongst psychologists. This psychological controversy questions whether or not the environment has more or less to do with the outcome of a child’s psychological development than the genetics involved. The nurture side of the argument is highly illustrated by the memoir The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore, due to the fact that both of their lives although starting off similar, ended dramatically different. In the memoir, The Other Wes Moore, the author Wes Moore compares his life with another man's, whose name was also Wes Moore, and shows how shockingly similar they were. Particular coincidences are certainly strange, like the fact that both of their fathers were not around, both mothers cared about their child's well being, they both lived in the Bronx at one point in their childhoods, and the obvious one, their names are the same. Not only were their home lives similar but they also had similar social experiences, including being caught breaking the law; however, this book also illustrates, through these social experiences, the subtle differences in their lives as well. It’s in these subtle differences that one can identify where it went wrong for the Other Wes Moore. The reason that there was no father figure is drastically different, the author's father died when Moore was …show more content…
three, the second Wes Moore’s father chose not to be a part of his child's life. Although they both started in the Bronx, the second Wes Moore was moved to a multiracial, middle class area, called Dundee Village. Despite this move to a better neighborhood, he still managed to be involved in the drug dealing process. This may be due to the fact that his mother was a user and his older brother, which was his only male role model, was a drug dealer and according to the author, had been dealing drugs “before he was ten” (Moore 27). The author's mother worked two jobs so that Wes and his younger sister, Shani, could go to a excellent school. The school was drastically different from the one that the second Wes Moore went to. The author’s school was for upper middle class children and was predominantly white. The differences are what determine the outcomes of their lives; the author, being a Rhodes Scholar, a decorated veteran, a successful author, a White House Fellow and business leader; the second Wes Moore, currently serving a life sentence in prison for the murder of a security guard, in a jewelry theft that went horribly wrong. Modern psychologist have determined that both genetics -nature- and the environment -nurture- play a role in the personality traits. Numberous new parents believe that nurture argument is the most important part about the child's psychological development; however, according to the article Nature vs Nurture in the journal Parenting, author Julia Glass states that “30 to 50 percent” of an individual's personality is “genetic in origin”, meaning neither environmental issues nor an individual’s genetics create all of the individual's personality (Glass 4). Glass goes on to say, that it is true that physical traits, “such as eye color and blood types”, are 100 percent genetic; however, it takes both influences from the environment and biology to create an individuals’ personality (Glass 4). A major difference that could have played a role in how the Wes Moores ended up, is the reason why their fathers weren’t around. According to Kim Bastaits, the author of the article Parenting of Divorced Fathers and the Association with Children’s Self-Esteem, the father figure “was very beneficial to children’s self-esteem” (Bastiats 1). Without a proper father figure in a child's life, the child could develop a low self-esteem; however, if there is a father figure involved, then it is more likely for the child to develop a healthy self-esteem. It’s likely that the second Wes Moore had a low self-esteem, due to the fact that he did not have a proper father figure, this led to him making poor life decisions. Another theory is the second Wes Moore did not have enough parental support and control from his mother. According to Bastaits, parental support refers to “the amount of affection and warmth” a parent gives, and control illustrates “the amount of supervision” the parent uses (Bastaits 2). The second Wes Moore's mother without a doubt cared for her child's well being and showed him plenty of affection; however, she lacked when it came to supervision. If she had been strict with both herself and her sons, she may have prevented them from being involved in the drug dealing process. It was made clear by the author that she was undoubtedly distraught about both of her sons being drug dealers; however, she was the one who initially brought illegal substances into her own house by having her own supply of marijuana. In The Other Wes Moore, the second Wes Moore was heavily involved in the drug distributing process, this included, marijuana, crack, pills, and cocaine. Due to the exposure to the drug lifestyle, from his only male role model, at an early age, he was more likely to fall into the trap than the author, who had no drug affiliation in the family.
Even when the second Wes Moore's mother found, “the Nike box” (Moore 73), she did not put a serious end to it, nor did she pay any attention to the warning signs, such as new clothing and several pairs of brand new shoes, before she found the box. Then when she did find out the truth, she did not give him any serious punishment for his crime, she only threw out the substances after realizing that “both of her sons were drug dealers” (Moore
73). The Other Wes Moore illustrates the nurture argument of the Nurture vs. Nature debate, through the subtle differences between the two Wes Moores. There are several psychological issues that could have led to the second Wes Moores ending, that for some reason did not occur in the author’s life. Unfortunately, cases like the second Wes Moore’s happen more frequently than the first, and it’s important to look at the reasons why he chose to follow the dark path to save children living in these situations in the future.
The book the Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is a story that talks about two people with the same name, and who lives in the same city. But unfortunately the circumstances where they lived were rough; both Wes Moore went through separate paths which their lives changed as they grew up. They both ended up doing badly at the beginning of their lives, but while the author Wes mother didn’t want him to waist his life to the trash, so she decided to send him to military school where his life changed towards a good ending. In the other hand, the other Wes Moore, when he started doing bad his mom didn’t do anything about it no one was there to help him guide his future life to a better ending , so he continued on going through bad steps and ended up
The Other Wes Moore is a book talking about two different men with the same name,Wes Moore. They were both raised up by a single mother and live in the same decaying city, Baltimore, where there are surrounded by drug and alcohol. However, the author Wes Moore’s parents completed their education and have a good job while his grandparents also were well-educated. But the other Wes Moore’s parents didn’t graduate from college, his mother tried to get the scholarship but failed, and his father left high school and don’t have a job either. This two Wes Moores both grew up with their mother. The author Wes’s father died for disease while the other Wes’s father left his family. With this situation, they went to the same direction, being absent from
Wes Moore Paper Richelle Goodrich once said, “To encourage me is to believe in me, which gives me the power to defeat dragons.” In a world submerged in diversity, racism and prejudice it is hard for minorities to get ahead. The novel “The Other Wes Moore” is a depiction of the differences that encouragement and support can make in the life of a child. This novel is about two men, with the same name, from the same neighborhood, that endured very similar adversities in their lives, but their paths were vastly different. In the following paragraphs, their lives will be compared, and analyzed from a sociological perspective.
In their respective life journey, both Wes Moores often found them facing with some hard choices or decision to make or standing at a crossroads of life change without knowing which way to turn. Therefore, “for all of us who live in the most precarious places in this country, our destinies can be determined by a single stumble down the wrong path or a tentative step down the right one” (Moore xiv). During their early childhood, both Wes Moores struggle at school and had troubles with the law. However, for the author Wes Moore, attending the military school was the biggest turning point in his life. Aware of his mother’s determination, his family’s sacrifice, and encouragement from classmates and instructors as well as the influence of role models, the author Wes Moore finally made up his mind that he wanted to succeed in the military school. At the end, the author Wes Moore fulfilled his dream and did well academically from then on. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore had tumbled on a series of missteps along the road: dropping out of school, getting involved with drug trade, committing violent crimes, and being a father of four when he was so young and immature. Even though there was a time when he tried to reinvent himself: joining the Job Corp, getting a high school diploma, and finding some decent jobs, the reality and his making-quick-money mentality eventually brought him back to the original path with no return. At last, by committing an armed robbery that left a police officer dead, the other Wes Moore irreversibly drove himself to the dead end of life. Obviously, based on their early life experiences, both Wes Moores would have gone the same route to failure. Nevertheless, at some critical points of their lives, the author Wes Moore made some good choices with intervention and guidance of good people while the other Wes Moore lost his footing under undue
In life, multiple factors work together to influence the choices one makes, and these choices affect both one’s present and their future. In a narrative about two boys who share the same identity, their two seperate lives are compared to one another by the differences of their futures. Choice versus Fate is a theme in The Other Wes Moore that is developed throughout the plot to display how the two forces work together and against each other in the two characters’ lives, and to also emphasize the reality that at times, one’s fate is already pre-destined and the choices that one makes may not be impactful enough to change their destiny.
In “The Other Wes Moore”, by Wes Moore, the author takes the readers through his life growing up as well as the life of someone who was a stranger to him during his childhood but turned out to be a huge part of his life later on. His name was also Wes Moore and both he and the author grew up in poverty and did not have the best childhood. Although they grew up similarly, their adulthoods were the polar opposite. The author Wes Moore became the top in his class, a Rhodes scholar, and studied at Oxford University to later become very successful. On the other hand, the other Wes Moore is in prison for the rest of his life for a robbery and murder. How did these two grow up so similarly, yet had completely different adulthoods?
Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010. Print.
James Baldwin once said, “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” In any family, one can see how parental guidance makes or breaks a child’s future. The author of The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore, explores this idea by contrasting the outcomes of two men with the same name. As a decorated veteran, Rhodes scholar, and White House Fellow, the author hears of a man with his name wanted for murdering a police officer. Haunted by the coincidence, he reaches out to the “other” Wes Moore after he is imprisoned years later. From there, Wes Moore uncovers countless decisions, sacrifices, and mistakes that diverged the two men’s seemingly similar lives,
one who accomplished a college education and the other living a life sentence in prison. It all comes down to the choices they made through out their lives. The author Wes concludes with “the chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his (Moore).” The author tries to imply that the environment they both lived in were so similar that if the author still had been in that environment he’d possibly be in the other Wes Moore 's position, but the tragedy is that the other Wes could of had the life the author Wes has now. This could be an ultimate example that the people who surround a person could have an affect in their lives for the better or
The story of two men growing up in the same neighborhood with similar backgrounds with the same name and eerily similar circumstances that leads and ultimately has each character ending up in very different places in life. Taking completely different paths to their futures is the setting of this story “The Other Wes Moore”. The way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does undoubtedly play a huge role in the type of person they will become in life. The author Wes does a good job of allowing you the ability to read this story and the circumstances surrounding the character his mother joy played such an important role in his success, while comparing the roll of Mary the other Wes’s mother. Both boys grew up with strong, hardworking black women in their lives and yet it still allowed for two completely different journeys. I think the lack of fathers and having not so good male role models was also a contributing factor.
Throughout the book, The Other Wes Moore we learned about the lives of two young kids who unexpectedly share the same name but like everyone else have totally different life’s. This book explores the concepts that deal with a person’s path in life and gives us an understanding of which factors are the ones that greatly influence the type of person we will become. I believe that the factors that have a bigger impact on our life paths are; the environment we live in, our family and friends.
Many will agree that ones behavior is based on a combination of nature and nurture, however time and time again we see nurture plays a larger role then nature when it comes to how one acts. If we look at The boys from The lord of the flies, as well as when we read monkey love, we see how their environment had such a huge impact on them first with how the boys turned from being responsible, and even coming up with a form of social structure, then ultimately turning completely savage based on following primarily one individual. Secondly Harlow and how he grew up unattached to his mother, and how it played such a huge role in his controversial experiment. Finally we will take a look at Bill Clement, a former NHL player, and how he links success to the act of nurture.
A common dispute that has left people speechless for years is the debate between nature and nurture. Are humans influenced by their environments or their genetic make-up? This theory has not gone unnoticed while many theorists attempt to sway the opinions of their audience. Nature is comprised of our genetic and biological components that make us who we are while nurture is founded on the principle that humans are influenced by experience. I believe nature and nurture fall on a spectrum. Within the spectrum environmental, cultural, and genetic influences comprise a person’s unique
1. The nature vs. nurture question: “How much of any given characteristic, behavior, or pattern of development is determined by genetic influence and how much is the result of the myriad experience that occurs after conception.” I believe that a person cannot develop properly through only one of the influences. Chapter 1 deals with controversies of nature vs. nurture. Chapter 2, Leaning Theory that falls under the nature issues of capacities and limitations and the cognitive theory which falls under the nurture issue of cultural and how it affects behavior. Chapter 3, is Genetic code, which is nature, genetic influences. Chapter 4, Development and Birth is nurture, environment and embryo influence. Chapter 5, is both nature and nurture. Dealing with subjects of motor skills and physical growth. Chapter 6, is cognitive learning, which is nurture. Chapter 7, is Psychosocial dealing with falling under nature.
Undoubtedly, humans are unique and intricate creatures and their development is a complex process. It is this process that leads people to question, is a child’s development influenced by genetics or their environment? This long debate has been at the forefront of psychology for countless decades now and is better known as “Nature versus Nurture”. The continuous controversy over whether or not children develop their psychological attributes based on genetics (nature) or the way in which they have been raised (nurture) has occupied the minds of psychologists for years. Through thorough reading of experiments, studies, and discussions however, it is easy to be convinced that nurture does play a far more important in the development of a human than nature.