Did you know that the people around you can have a major impact on how successful you could be in the future? The nonfiction book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore demonstrates nature vs. Nurture and how it can affect individuals' lives. Nurture is the way you are raised, your relationships, early experiences, the cultures around you, and how it plays a role in the outcome of your future. Throughout the story Wes Moore the author highlights different stories and experiences from his childhood and another man also by the name Wes Moore who grew up completely separate from the author but had a lot of similarities in their experiences during adolescence. The author Wes Moore’s family had a large influence on him and nurture played a big role in …show more content…
Because Wes was performing poorly in school and frequently skipping class, Joy decides to send him to valley forge military academy, in Pennsylvania. Another factor that led joy to send Wes away was that he had gotten into another fight with his sister, Nikki, and punched her lip, which he did not intend to do, however, his mom didn’t believe that it was an accident. Upon arriving at military school Wes has an extremely hard time settling in and adjusting. When he first started he was unresponsive and had disregarded the rules and refused to initially wake up. Afterward, he is abruptly approached while still laying in bed by sergeant Anderson who shouts at him, “get your goat-smelling ass out the rack!” (Moore 86), but even then Wes isn't out of bed until a group of other boys flips him over in his bunk. This and a few other embarrassing and annoying occurrences that had happened at the military school made Wes want to go home and drop out of valley forge. After getting in trouble for attempting to run away he was surprisingly allowed a call with his mom. On the phone he pleaded with her, begging her to let him leave. Joy denies Wes' coming home and explains to him it is because “Too many people sacrificed for [him] to be there” and that she (Moore 95). What Wes hadn’t realized was that his grandparents had given up years and years of savings and mortgage payments to be able to afford his schooling. Once Wes had succumbed to the fact he was stuck there and began to follow the military school practices and protocols he started to excel. Over his years of being there, he grew a great appreciation for reading and academics, he had matured and grown up a lot and had become a well-respected sergeant at a very young
He finds himself overwhelmed with chaos on the battlefield. Upon seeing cannonballs exploding, bullets whizzing around, and his fellow soldiers dying, Charley screamed “Make it stop now!” Charley quickly regrets his decision to join the war, but he doesn’t desert or attempt to run away from the fighting. Instead, when met with unexpected and terrifying chaos, Charley holds his ground and follows orders to safely help his wounded comrades retreat.
One day Bod decided to ask Silas if he could go to an actual school. Silas said yes, but Bod didn’t realize what trouble he was in. During his time going to school, he found out information that led him to be more curious and ask more questions. Silas never really gave Bod an answer as to why he couldn’t leave. Silas just told Bod it wasn’t safe.
In chapter 5, Joy reaches her limit and finally acts on her promise to send Wes to military school after learning that her son will be on probation and the incident with his sister. Wes feels betrayed by his mother, calling and begging to come home when his attempt to escape the school failed. However, Joy simply emphasized that too much has been sacrificed to get him there. Wes did not know that in order to send him to school, his mother had contacted every, and any, friend and family member she had asking for money; even his grandparents invested all of their retirement money into his
In Moore’s novel, his mother is a huge part of him-- she makes sure that Wes knows what is right from wrong. She would scold Wes for hitting a girl and she would make sure Wes is in a proper educational environment to prevent him from making bad decisions. Wes’s grandparents set a curfew for him so he would not stay out late and get in trouble. All these things were done to keep Wes in check, something that the other kids he lived in his neighborhood in both Cherry Hill and the Bronx did not
Many individuals say that a person is a product of its surroundings. And for two young men from Baltimore, this could not be any more accurate. In “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, the author talks about two young boys who shared the same name and the contributions they did in their lives that made them turn out the way they are. Both Wes’ grew up in similar environment with tough childhood and without the presence of a father. Where one becomes very successful and a Rhodes Scholar, and the other is heavily involved in the drug game and receives a life sentence in prison for serving a part in a murder of a former police officer.
Gene Westover and Shawn Westover, Tara Westover's father and brother, strive to control every area of her life and decisions, and they treat her like an object. Tara makes the decision that she wants to attend college and her dad states, “the Lord” is “displeased” with Tara’s decision to “whore after man’s knowledge,” and will soon incur God’s “wrath.” (Pg.133). Likewise, Tara Westover deals with her brother's abusive behavior. Shawn Westover demands she gets him a drink, and he states, “ Get it, or I won’t drive you to town tomorrow.”
As soon as I walked out of the kitchen I see Wes punching his sister in the face. I was so filled with rage that my eyeballs popped out of my socket. That’s when I started to yell “get up to your damn room” “I told you, don’t you ever put your hands on a woman!” (pg 7). Just seeing Wes punch his sister sent me back to that moment when Bill had beat me.
The concepts of the collective unconscious and tabula rasa provide valuable frameworks for examining how innate predispositions and shared ancestral experiences, as well as environmental influences and individual experiences, contribute to a child's growth and behavior. The documentary "Three Identical Strangers" and the case of Genie Wiley both serve as reminders of the intertwined roles of nature and nurture in child development. While the triplets' story highlights the powerful influence of genetics by showcasing their striking similarities despite different nurturing environments, Genie's case emphasizes the profound impact of a lack of nurturing on development. These examples underscore the importance of recognizing the significance of both nature and nurture. Nature sets the foundation, providing the genetic blueprint for an individual, while nurturing, through environmental factors and experiences, shapes and influences how that genetic potential unfolds.
Joy had had enough of the way that Wes was acting, she suggests that this was the only way to prevent him from getting into more trouble than he already was. Wes Moore’s mother denied to sit idly as she observed her child make shocking choices, so she put a conclusion to that by constraining him to go to military school to induce him
Unfortunately (or fortunately for team Phantom), Wes's evidence hadn't progressed in the slightest since the dragon attack in the cafeteria. However, an encounter with ex A-Lister Valerie Grey on October 5th leaves some unanswered questions in his head. “Hey, um, Weston,” Valerie approached him at his locker, “can I talk to you during
I am writing you because I want to inform you about people being formed by their childhood environment. While some believe only friends can influence someone, others argue only parents have the power to influence. Through both my research and analysis of Frankenstein, I have learned people can become who they are during their childhood because that is when their brains are developing. Therefore, I am claiming that people are formed in their childhood by parents, interactions, and siblings.
Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck and her colleagues’ researched the very simple ideology that of which dictates almost every part of people’s lives. This ideology that Dweck discovered can limit ones potential for success. It is possible that this can influence people’s self-awareness, self-esteem, the ability to face challenges, and the resilience to setbacks. The ideology that Dweck mentions is mindset.
Tyler being in Tara’s position before gives her a piece of advice saying, “...as long as you live under Dad’s roof, it's going to be hard to go when he asks you not go...” (Westover 120). This conversation with Tyler helps Tara to think more about her well being and to find out more about life. Tara does not believe in herself at first but then realizes that the conflict within her will not go away unless she goes to college. Once Tara arrives at BYU, she is immediately conflicted by the lifestyle of her roommates and feels out of place.
What that boy did to you was very rude and disrespectful. But at least you aren’t going to school for about a week,” Margot’s mom told her. “Why?” Margot asked her mom with a wet face covered in tears. “I don’t know sweetie, they just informed me that there won't be any school about a week.”
As the youngest in a family of five, my growth has been influenced greatly by my family. We have never had much money, sometimes not even enough for the necessities. Yet somehow my parents never allowed us to want for anything. I can remember the winter we couldn’t afford heat, my father and cousin built a wood furnace and a system of pipes to fill my house. My parents taught me how to be a problem solver, and how to use my natural analytical thinking to my advantage.