The Effects of Ego In The Other Wes Moore

 

             The Effects Of Ego In The Other Wes Moore  

                                                     By Samir Ramessar

               

 Ego is a prominent theme in part II of The Other Wes Moore. We, the readers, see how ego

dictates the thoughts and actions of the characters.This is seen with Wes Moore(not the author). On page 118, Wes is approached by an undercover cop who wants to “purchase drugs”. Wes immediately suspects that this potential buyer is a cop and simply replies “no" when the cop asks if he knows where to get any drugs. However, he lets his ego get the best of him. Wes discreetly approaches the undercover cop in an attempt to make a sale. The consequences of his poor decision take effect immediately; Wes is chased down and apprehended by the police. We see Wes so blinded by his ego that he makes a puzzling decision,leaning in with the mindset of having gotten away with it many times before. 

             

Another example in the book is Shea. Shea is introduced to us in part I of the book; he’s a local

drug runner in the Bronx neighborhood that Wes Moore(the author) moves to. Shea comes off as a cocky and overly confident young man. We see this after him and Wes are arrested; Shea smiles and seems to shrug off the potentially dire situation.We don’t hear about Shea for quite some time after this.However, towards the end of part II, we get an update on him. An older Wes, who is now in military school, is opening a letter from his friend Justin. In this letter Wes learns that Shea has been arrested for “possession with the intent to distribute.” Shea’s ego could be a contributing factor in him being arrested. As mentioned earlier, when we’re first introduced to him, he comes off as this smug and cocky kid. He was someone who believed that he could and would get away with things, similar to Wes Moore(not the author). 


Just like the characters in The Other Wes Moore, I’ve been affected by my ego. When I was a freshman in high school, I decided to join my school’s track team. When I first began, I was overly confident and a bit egotistical. As you may have suspected, having such a high ego didn’t workout for me in the long run. I got absolutely humbled at my very first track meet;having an extremely high ego caused me to underestimate my competition. I thought it was going to be easy, that I had nothing to worry about. After losing I was left in shock, I sat on the infield, head down,sulking in defeat.“ How could I lose?” I thought to myself. My young, egotistical mind couldn’t come to terms with losing. I learned a valuable lesson that day: that needed to lower my ego, and be more humble.


In all, ego can greatly affect our actions and decisions. As seen in the examples I provided, having too much of an ego can be bad for you. It can cause you to make bad decisions and underestimate others. Instead you need to find a healthy medium having confidence and belief in yourself, but also possessing humility. 



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