The Power of Actions Over Words

Most people will agree that experience is life's best teacher. Many of us recognize that we've learned best when it came from a harsh instance that was so impactful, it became an instant lesson. When taught through experience, it is something we carry with us as if we've been through a battle; since it is something that no one had to tell us or give us, we earned it painfully. In the Other Wes Moore, we can see that this one of the most outstanding parts of the plot.

When Joy is scolding Wes about his academic life, she approaches it by relating to his love of hip-hop. She proceeds to point out that he doesn't lack intelligence but in fact, he just chooses to memorize and focus on things that are irrelevant. The other Wes then sees it as lack of acceptance towards his life since she merely focuses on external factors. Though these words do have meaning, they are simply just words to Wes and he sees it as a mother just scolding him regularly. The reason that he was truly struggling with his academics was his absences and the fact that his teacher told him the class was better off without him. The only issue here was that Joy chose not to dig deep and get to the root of the problem in Wes' life. 

Similarly, Mary chose to turn the blind eye when she noticed that the other Wes had more shoes than a young man with 'no income' should have. She chose to believe that he was truly a DJ, which did not make any logical sense. Her form of parenting was simply asking him and not doing anything about it. Though she later tried to teach him a lesson, it did not work in her favor since she did as a statement rather than a true lesson. This being said because she chose to throw away 4,000 dollars worth of drugs but doing nothing after he continued to live this dangerous lifestyle.

If we look later in the chapter, Wes was placed in Valley Forge Military Academy where he felt at a loss. Wes found himself in a place where he was forced to face discipline, something he had never truly encountered before. Naturally, he felt as though he didn't belong and was given a map guide him 'out' of Volley Forge. He later realized that said map was fake and ended up breaking down in woods, later noticing that all the members in his chain of command were watching him. He was able to call his mother and that's when he realized what he had done and explained that to his mother. Though it was a wondrous moment, she refused to let him come home. This is all through the actions of one individual (SGT. Austin) who gives him the fake map rather than telling him he is unable to go home. If he did say it verbally, it is unlikely that the message would have gotten across. 

When looking at the instances when both Wes' would receive advisement from family members or would be reprimanded, the effect would be minimal. Looking at Wes' experience, he only learned and thought to change his lifestyle because he learned through a personal experience. Through this humiliation and pain, he finally understood what Joy was telling him because he knew he had no control over this new setting. It only makes us question whether the other Wes Moore would have learned just as much as Wes did if placed in the same setting.

We may never know but what is certain is that if the experience was outstanding enough, it would have declared a life-changing moment.