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Tony's Influence On The Other Wes Moore

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In the novel, The Other Wes Moore, Moore discovers the way people shape our lives and influence our future by examining the effects of family support, influence from peers, and his experience with authoritative figures in his life. He sees this through the story of the other Wes Moore. A young man who grew up a product of his environment, single mother, and a brother who was to involved with the bad life to be of any help to him. With this Wes Moore's life was sentenced to where he is now. The author is astonished by the fact that although their paths significantly differed they weren't always so different. A young boy who quickly became chaotic because of where he came from and the people that surrounded him. His mother, his brother …show more content…

He grew up without a father, it was because of this loss that he often wondered what it would be like to have one. The fact that his own brother was hanging around the wrong people and falling deeper, and deeper into the world that demolishes any chances of a decent future for young people. A world full of violence, drugs, and imprisonment. Tony undoubtedly influenced Wes for the worst. This is obvious when the author writes, “To Wes, Tony was a “certified gangsta.” Tony had started dealing drugs in those shadowy hallways of Murphy Homes before he was ten. By the time he was fourteen, Tony had built a fierce reputation in the neighborhood. Despite his skinny frame and baby face, his eyes were lifeless and hooded, without a hint of spark or optimism. Tony’s dead-eyed ruthlessness inspired fear. He spent much of his time in West Baltimore but had decided to try to open up a drug sales operation in East Baltimore as well. Baltimore is a territorial and tribal city.” (28) In this quote, it is obvious that Wes looks up to his brother Tony more than he’ll care to admit. Wes saw Tony as a powerful superstar because no one could mess with him, In Wes’s mind that was all he wanted. This ambition and admiration for his brother contributed towards his downfall in more ways than …show more content…

Although through most of the book she seems to be more self-involved and doesn’t show a lot of concern for Wes which explains why she’s oblivious to what is going on with her younger son. That later changes when Tony divulges that Wes has been selling and buying drugs. It's almost like cold water has been splashed on her out of nowhere.She confronts the situation, “Tony’s outburst did accomplish one thing, though. It motivated Mary to dig deeper into Wes’s new income flow.” (72) This clearly shows that Tony had an effect on Mary. She not surprising, but equally heartbreaking finds drugs hidden in a shoe box hidden in Wes’s stuff. She flushes them down the toilet. Even though that was a good parenting move it didn’t help with her relationship with Wes. Even though Mary appeared to be into education and learning at the beginning of the book, she never really enforced that upon her kids. I think that her conformity had to do a lot with Wes and affected him

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