For many, childhood can determine many outcomes/decisions in their life. The things people experience as young people can play an important role in the lives they live as adults today. This is shown throughout the book “The Other Wes Moore”. Two guys, with the same name, both from Baltimore, one now trying to achieve great things (who I'll call Wes throughout my article) and the other who's serving a life sentence (who I'll call Moore throughout my article) . Because it's clear that these two men have some important differences, they also have some similarities. These similarities and differences manifest themselves in their family, community and even themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the first big similarities that the book wanted us to notice between the two boys was the fact that growing up neither of them had a father in their lives. And that this had an impact on both children's lives. Wes' father becomes seriously ill and dies when he was still very young. Then we have Moore's father, who cowardly chooses not to be a part of his life, which leads Moore to be angry and hurt about it. When the two men meet to converse face to face the theme of absent fathers emerges. And Moore tells Wes “Your father wasn't there because he couldn't be, mine wasn't there because he chose not to be. We will mourn their absence in different ways." (Moore, 2010, p.10) From this I assume that Moore expresses that he is bitter about his father's absence in his life and feels that he has every right to be. Moore states in the book that families with single mothers were normal, and he very rarely saw two families with “happy” parents (Moore, 2010, p.29-30). Another similarity I would like to point out is the environment in which the two boys grew up. As children, both Wes and Moore lived in communities where there were drugs and violence. Moore's older brother Tony was someone he looked up to as a child, as he had no father figure. Tony was in the drug business and wasn't the best role model for Moore. Soon Moore would get a feel for the drug life and decide that's what he wanted to do. Since he didn't have many people in his life to stop him from making bad decisions, he was a child who could do whatever he wanted because he had very little supervision at a young age. Moore was almost left to his own devices and make his own rules with little guidance from his older brother Tony. This led him to feel like he had to make bold decisions to protect himself and earn a name for himself. He was arrested at age 6 for a knife incident (Moore, 2010, p.32-33). This then led him to see his older brother in the drug game, with all these materialistic things, and eventually he wanted to participate. Once Wes moved in with his grandparents, he started making friends in the area. His grades begin to slip and his mother threatens to send him to military school. Time passes and Wes gets in trouble with the police and at school. His mother has had enough and sends him to military school (Moore, 2010). Socially, we believe that discipline and guidance for youth is very necessary. You can see this instilled in Wes' mother because she does not tolerate acting out and will punish Wes when necessary. As young people, it is good to set boundaries because when they start to transform into adulthood, all these negative ways are ingrained in individuals if they are not corrected. For example, like Moore, he knew right from wrong, but had no one to enforce those expectations. Then, as he continues to age, he feels like he is “too in.”.