14. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

1.  What are the main themes in the story?
Choices...how important they are and how the wrong choice can lead to other wrong choices until you end up in a place you never expected.

2.  Do you think having "positive" role models as a child serves as a deterrent to a life of crime? Is what constitutes a "positive" role model the same for everyone or does it vary?  If everyone around you is doing right you are going to want to do right.  Positive role models give children an example of how they should be in this world where there is always someone trying to influence them.  A role model should lead by example with actions not with words.   Positive role models influence others to lead a life that is productive, crime free, and hopeful.

3. Oprah Winfrey has said that "when you hear this story, it's going to turn the way you think about free will and fate upside down."  So, which is it... freedom or determinism?  If determinism, what kind of determinism-God, cosmic fate, environment, biology, psychology?  Or if freedom, to what degree are we free to choose and create our own destiny?  I think who we become is like a gumbo with several different ingredients.  Throw in biology, environment, and a dash of free will and you make a person.  I believe our biological make up is a start to who we will become.  Things we have no control of like height, skin color, "beauty" according to society standards, disposition. These qualities influence our behavior.  Then mix in environment.  Those around us who serve as an example to who we should be and how we should act. Those who create a haven in a dark situation.  Or those who make a mansion feel like living in hell.  Environmental factors weigh heavily on us.  Making us more likely to act one way or another.  But free will is not totally absolved in the situation.  After all the environmental and biological influences are placed on us we still have to make the choice about how we should act and react to our situations.