parental protection
"To be a good father and mother requires that the parents defer many of their own needs and desires in favor of the needs of their children. As a consequence of this sacrifice, conscientious parents develop a nobility of character" - James E. Faust
As Wes walked in the front door, a look of defiance on his face, she didn’t have to ask to know if he had gone to school. All the money, all the effort, all for nothing; the Bronx schools would have offered the same education as Riverdale, considering his attendance. Mary was drowning in despair. "She was losing her son, and she was not sure how to turn the tide" (Moore, 89). The Ds and Cs kept showing up in the mail while Wes kept spending more and more of his time in the streets and with his crew. It got to the point where teachers were suggesting that he had a mental disability, but this suggestion failed to cement itself in Joy’s mind; how could her boy, who could effortlessly remember hip-hop lyrics, have trouble remembering schoolwork?
So much potential, getting chipped away at with every report card. She could try threatening him with military school again, but what effect would that have? Her threats were unable to penetrate his bubble of worries that decreasingly involved school. Instead, he was emboldened with every threat that was handed out and inevitably not enforced. Well, Mary knew that something had to change; she had to get her son away from the Bronx. Riverdale had not worked, and neither had his friendship with Justin. The only option left was to actually go through with her threats: Wes was headed to military school. Even if she couldn’t afford it, her struggles were worth protecting her son.
Parents will go to great lengths to protect their children. After all, they are a biological extension of themselves, the carrier of their genes and the future of the species, not to mention the special bond between parent and child. In the animal world, there are various defense mechanisms used to protect the young; elephants surround their young when a perceived danger is near, clownfish put their eggs in sea anemones, and many birds and mammals use camouflage to hide their young (“BBC Nature”). Human parents have different ways to protect their children, as they don’t have to worry about physical danger as often; instead, they stress over societal dangers. In 2015, some of the top ten concerns parents had for their children were bullying, drug abuse, sexting, and Internet safety (“Top 10 child health problems”). Parents try to protect their kids from these dangers in a variety of ways, such as restricting social media use and watching them carefully for signs of drug use.
Indeed, while physical danger was very real in “The Other Wes Moore” for both Wes Moores, there was also societal danger. Both Mary and Joy Moore tried to protect their sons from
these dangers, such as drugs and gang fighting. Nevertheless, only Joy had a measure of success, as the “other” Wes Moore succumbed to the temptation of drugs and gangs while the author skirted them. This difference in results could have been because Joy Moore protected her son from societal dangers better than Mary by closely observing him and intervening when he began to slide down the path towards involvement in gangs and failing high school, whilst Mary was unable to intervene successfully due to no support from relatives like Joy had.
Video of Elephants Protecting Young -
Joy’s intervention into Wes’ life to protect him showcases the sacrifice parents are willing to go through for their children. She sacrificed all of her financial assets, as well as those of her own parents, and free time in order to save him from the Bronx. In my experience, most parents would not go this far to help their children, but many make smaller acts of sacrifice, like staying home with their kids instead of going out with friends and driving them to events when they could be working or enjoying their free time. Overall, parents will sacrifice themselves and substantial parts of their lives to improve the lives of their children.
Works Cited
"BBC Nature - Predation Defence Videos, News and Facts." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
"James E. Faust Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.
Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010. Print.
"Top 10 Child Health Problems: More Concern for Sexting, Internet Safety." National Poll on Children's Health. C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, 10 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.