The Importance of Punishing Wes in 'The Other Wes Moore'

Why was it so important to Joy Moore to punish Wes when he hit Nikki? How did his father react?

What do we learn about Joy Moore’s history that would make her react to this incident in such a way?

Final Answer:

Joy Moore in the book 'The Other Wes Moore' was adamant about punishing her son to teach him respect for women and discourage violent tendencies in him, unlike his indifferent father. Joy's history growing up amidst violence influenced her stern stand.

Explanation:

The question pertains to the book 'The Other Wes Moore', a nonfiction work by Wes Moore. It was vital for Joy Moore to punish her son Wes after he hit his sister Nikki because she didn't want her son to follow in the steps of Wes’s father, who happened to be a man with violent tendencies and had no regard for women. She wanted Wes to learn to respect women and to prevent him from going down the path of violence and aggression. Contrarily, Wes's father seemed indifferent to such incident, which displays an irresponsible attitude. From Joy Moore's history, we also learn that she grew up in a neighborhood rife with violence and had firsthand experience of its destructive consequences, which propelled her to take action against Wes's harmful behavior.