The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore Book Analysis

People are very influenced by their surroundings to a greater extent than they are influenced by their own ideas. You see this is very prominent in the book The Other Wes Moore. In the book the author tries to discover despite having the same name and growing up on the same street why other Wes landed in jail and author Wes landed in college.

In the book The Other Wes Moore it talks alot about extrinsic factors like family, environment,  education, and friends have more of an effect on our lifes than intrinsic factors. This begins to be apparent in the families of Wes and other Wes.In author Wes’s family we see the effect of Joy being a teacher in the school system and seeing how many people drop out of public school and the ones that made it through aren't prepared for life. In the quote author Wes and his family arrived in the Bronx and his mom is looking at school. On pg# 47 (“The buildings themselves were dilapidated—crumbling walls and faded paint—and even if you were one of the lucky 50 percent who made it out in four years, it was not at all clear that you’d be prepared for college or a job.”)

This would affect Wes because if he went to public school he might have dropped out or not learned enough for real life and this is extrinsic because it is the place that his mom chose to send him to private school instead of public for a better education.In other Wes’s family we see how he is taken care of by his grandma because his mom is at work. On pg# 16 (“Wes get up here and get your back pack together. You are going to grandma's house.”) This shows that other Wes only lives with his mom has to be watched by his grandma for supervision Also we see other Wes’s brothers trying to teach Wes things but only uses a lot of what I say, not what I do.  

On pg# 70 (“Wes where did you get the money? I made it d-- before Wes could even finish tony cocked back his arm and punched him in the face.”) This shows how Tony, his older brother, tries to discipline other Wes and how Wes learns violence from his brother. 

Who raised them is a very big extrinsic factor because they are influenced by what the people around them do and say and less of what they think. Next is the environment that they grew up in and how that affected Wes and other Wes. Author Wes had moved to New York and this affected him in the awarnis of his surroundings and others around him. On pg# 51 (“in 2008 there were 417 homicides in New York”)on pg # 52 (“we tried to keep a bop in our step, tried to keep it cool but we were pretty explicitly speed walking”) this shows how dangerous it is to go home because they are scared of getting caught in a nasty situations. 

Other Wes was born and raised in New York this affected him because of the actions and crime that surrounded him and the conditions of the environment. Pg #26 (“muter homes. The seven story monoliths were among the most dangerous projects in all of baltimore. The walls and floors were coated with filth and graffiti.”) This shows how dangerous Baltimore New York is and how it shoulnt be a place someone should live in and have to grow up in. They both grew up in Baltimore, New York and that had a big effect on them both.Where they went to school had a big effect on the level of education they had and the opportunity they were given.Author Wes's mom had gone to the public schools and taught in them and she didn't want Wes to have to go to them because the level of education they provided were poor so she pays for him to go to a private school to get a better education and also military school. On pg # 89 (“we would learn to execute military commands and repeat our drills  and ceremonies”) this shows that going to a strict military school makes people more obedient and respectful of others. Other Wes went to public school this had affected him because the schooling he reserved was very poor and not very good. On pg # 57 (“he wasn't exactly excelling in the classroom his detachment from school was starting to wear on him”) this shows how he was doing poorly in school and how that that changes what he does in life.

The school that you go to has a big influence because you learn different things and have different experiences. Another example of others having a bigger effect on what you do than what you think is in their Friends and how they have a very big influence on what you do because they are the people that you choose to surround yourself with. For author Wes his friendships in his neighborhood and school he thought of an idea to invite some kids from his school and his neighborhood but it was a bad idea  pg # 50 (“before even 15 minutes into the game a brawl broke out ”) this shows that the rich kids from his school and the not so wealthy kids in his neighborhood don't get along and this shows the different extrinsic influences.       

For Other Wes his friendship with Woody on pg # 59 (“Woody as soon as he saw his friend turn the corner he yelled in excitement wait to see what I got Wes pulled out the bag that had drugs in it ”) this shows how other Wes is influenced by Woody, his friend that isn't the smartest and agrees to do drugs.  Friends have a very big influence on you because they are the people that you choose to surround yourself with. This is shown with author Wes and Justin and other Wes and Woody.

In conclusion, in the book The Other Wes Moore there are more things that are extrinsic than intrinsic. You see this in his family, environment, education, and friends affect Wes and other Wes more than their own internal ideas. People are very influenced by extrinsic factors to a higher extent than they are influenced by intrinsic factors that come from inside.