Expectations Vs. Environment In The Other Wes Moore

Expectations versus environment has been an ongoing argument on which is more effective on a destiny. However, environment has much more effect in a destiny. It is nearly impossible not to see this play out in today’s society. “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore is a prime example of how environment overrides expectations when it comes to creating a destiny. This book is primarily about two boys with the same names, but incredibly different fates that were predetermined by their uncontrollable environment. Wes Moore(a) grew up to fulfil a role in the U.S. Army and write a book. Wes Moore(p) sealed his fate by committing a felony and earning a life sentence in prison. The environment runs through primary lives, late teens, and early adulthood,

As an adult, you've typically reached your social, economic, and environmental pinnacle. In Wes(p)’s case his destiny had already been sealed at this time. At age twenty-five he was convicted of felony murder and was sentenced to a life in the Jessup Correctional Facility. When asked about this for an interview on CBS May 10, 2010, 4:16 PM, Wes(p) quotes, “I thought that I had to be on the streets and live a life of crime. I thought that was my only real talent…” This, proven by Wes(p) himself, goes to show how influential environment is on destiny. Because Wes(p) was basically raised and grew up on drug ridden streets, he was thought to believe he would never be anything more than a product of the Baltimore streets. For that reason, Wes(p) ended up as nothing more than a product of his poor environment. Wes(a), however manipulated his environment to make the most out of his destiny. From the summer of 2005 to the summer of 2006 Wes(a) was deployed in the town of Khost, on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. He describes the environment as, “Spending so much time with my fellow soldiers reminded me why I had joined the military. The camaraderie, intensity, and passion for the job, and the sense of duty to something larger than myself, was something I had missed deeply. (Moore 177)” All individuals in the service have been trained to be adaptable and meet the constantly

This makes sense because Wes(a) explains his experience at Valley Forge as, “... leadership was honored and class clowns were ostracized…” If a level of authority expects a certain standard of you, you are inclined to uphold that standard for them. Expectations are exercised universally as well on the streets of Baltimore where Wes(p) grew up. His older brother, Tony Moore had high expectations for Wes that were unfortunately never fulfilled; “If you will not listen that is on you. You have the potential to do so much more, go so much further. (Moore 72)” The expectations that others have set for you no doubt affect you it is just a matter if you are willing to live up to them. That which is expected is what happens. It is not just kids on the streets that have expectations placed on them it is also kids in the classroom and in government offices; “I learned that the way governors projected the numbers of beds they'd need for prison facilities was by examining the reading scores of third graders. Elected officials deduced that a strong percentage of kids reading below their grade level by third grade would be needing a secure place to stay when they got older. (Moore 54)” Governors expect children reading below a third grade reading level to automatically end up in prison later in life. This is very over exaggerated because