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"Our home was on a busy street that sat right on the border of Maryland and Washington, D.C., stuck confusingly between two different municipal jurisdictions, a fact that would become very significant in the near future" (Moore 7).

Wes's first home is significant because that was the last place where he was with his entire family, and the only place before he went to military school where he was sheltered from all the bad stuff that was going on outside. After the death of Wes's father, the family was forced to move out of the home because his mother couldn't afford to have them living their anymore, so he was forced to move to the Bronx where he was exposed to the street life.

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"From this first moment on a Bronx court, I could tell there was something special about it. The basketball court is a strange patch of neutral ground, a meeting place for every element of a neighborhood's cohort of young men" (Moore 44).

The basketball court represented a source of escape from the harsh realities of Wes' life. This basketball court offered a safe space where Wes and others would bond over the shared interest in the game as well as forget about the troubles of their lives. Wes also saw a sense of hope through the basketball courts. Possibly in the future, he could be a pro. Within these neighborhoods that have high rates of poverty, sports courts were the main way people from these areas could go to forget about their status in life.

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"Every time I looked around at the buildings and the trees and the view of the river, I was reminded of the sacrifices my mother was making to keep me there. And every time I looked at my fellow students, I was reminded of how little I fit in" (Moore 52).

Riverdale was important in Wes's story for multiple reasons. One reason was it showed the sacrifices Joy, his mother, was willing to take to keep her son going down the right road. Wes's whole family had to pay a lot of money, which they did no have much of, to put Wes in the school, putting all their hope that it could turn Wes, and their whole family around. It also showed a conflict in Wes's life were he felt he did not fit in. The school was filled with rich kids, which Wes was not, which led Wes to do things like fighting to try and make a name for himself and fit in with not the school, but the streets and try to make friends that way, turning him down the wrong road.

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"After he finished cuffing me, the cop opened the rear door of his cruiser and pushed my head down while shoving me into the back-seat. I was terrified" (Moore 81-82).

The police car was significant because it shows a moment where Wes was given an second chance, and didn't make the best out of it. After being caught vandalizing the side of a wall, Wes and Shea, another kid from the streets, were taken into a cop car. Wes was extremely worried and scared because he was unsure what his family was going to make out of this situation. However, after the officer talked to them for a little bit about what they had done and why not to do it again, Wes and Shea were let go with just a warning. However, instead of taking the officer's wise advise, Wes just went on with his delinquent ways, not taking advantage of his second chance.

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"Finally, I sat down on a rock that could have sworn I had just ripped over ten paces back and began to cry. I was defeated. I had never wanted anything more in my life than to leave that school, and I was slowly coming to the realization that it was not going to happen" (Moore 93).

The woods are a very important location in Wes's life because it was the moment he learnt that if he doesn't change the way he approach life, he isn't going to make it out of the school. After one of the sergeants gave Wes fake instructions to get out of the school, Wes is stuck feeling defeated and crying in the woods, knowing that he won't be able to run away from the school or have his mother pull him out of it. Here Wes decides to change the way he makes decisions, finally starting to make the right decisions and building a life for himself in the future.

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"My mother had noticed the way I had changed since leaving for military school. My back stood straight, and my sentences now ended with 'sir' or 'ma'am'...The financial strain Valley Forge brought on my mother was lessened significantly after the first year, when the school game me academic, and later, athletic, scholarships" (Moore 115).

Wes going to Valley Forge was probably the most impacting event that happened in his life that caused him to go down the right path. After going there, Wes's whole attitude changed both in school and with other people. He started paying attention and getting good grades in school, to the point that he started earning scholarships. He started speaking with respect for others, and overall became a really great person because of his experiences there and the sacrifices that came from his family to put him there.

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"I looked down at the trees waving in the distance, and the gorgeous brown Alabama soil that seemed to be rising to meet me. My equipment was functional, my training was sound, my faith confirmed. I cut through the sky, the wind whipping against my face as I kept my eyes high, staring intently at the horizon" (Moore 137).

The moment Wes jumped out the airplane and parachuted down onto Alabama symbolized a restart in Wes's life for the better. He had finally finished all his training and was able to put it into work, finally able to do something that he was passionate about that did good in the world. All the bad things Wes had done and all the bad decisions he had made did not matter at this moment, as Wes has completely turned his life around.

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"The once overwhelming sensory overload of township life now seemed second nature to me...My stride through the Langa streets was slower and less frantic than it had been. I was finally feeling at home" (Moore 168-169).

When Moore traveled to South Africa for a semester, he was quickly greeted with a great sense of family and hospitality by the people there. He noticed that even though the living conditions there were poorer than even the conditions he lived in, all the people grew up very peaceful and happy. He realized that community plays such a large part in the upbringing of a person, most notably how a community can really turn a boy into a man. This leaves Wes with a sense of appreciation and thankfulness for all the people who were there that helped him on his journey and help him become the man he became.

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"She gazed out the window, down the same streets she'd been staring out at her whole life...She wondered how long she would have to call these streets home" (Moore 18).

The home Wes started out in at the beginning of the book is important because it reveals the struggles that not only he has to go through, but also the struggles that his whole family has gone through for generations. Wes's mother expalins that she had been "staring out" the same window "her whole life," which shows that her family had to live through the struggle of poverty and the street life while she was growing up too, just like how Wes is. The fact that they are still living there shows how much of a struggle it is to escape the poverty when they get trapped in it.

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"Tony had started dealing drugs in those shadowy hallways of Murphy Homes before he was ten" (Moore 27).

Although Wes himself didn't grow up in the Murphy Homes, the fact that Tony did had a large impact on Wes and his future. Tony is Wes's older half brother and his largest influence in life, as he is the only man he really looks up to. Tony got sucked into the drug game at a very young age, and even though he was already stuck in it and was making a name for himself in the business, he tried everything he could to make sure Wes did not get involved. However, Wes was constantly surrounded by this stuff when he was young as he was so influenced by his brother, so even though Tony tried his hardest to keep Wes in the right direction, his actions and life played a huge influence in Wes's life and future.

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"The boys found a spot under a bridge near the Morgan State University campus. Since Wes had been the one to discover the smoke, he was granted the privilege of the first hit" (Moore 60).

This point of the other Wes' life is significant because this bridge is starting to paint his picture. The bridge can be used symbolically to show how it's covering the sunlight, which can be interpreted as an opportunity. Without opportunities, his life will be a failure. The bridge can also be symbolized as crossroads between both Wes' lives. One being success and the other getting caught up with drugs and crime.

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"He went back to his room and desperatly tried to devise a plan. He owed money but had no drugs to sell...The only way to do that was to go see his connects and hit the street again" (Moore 74)

After seeing the collection of shoe boxes in Wes's room, Tony quickly realized that Wes had fallen victim to the drug game. After trying to deny these allegations, Tony beat the breaks off of Wes, telling him that he could have done so much better in his life. Wes's mother finds Wes's drugs and flushes them down the toilet, leaving Wes thousands in debt in drug money. Wes realizes that the only way to make that money back quickly was by hitting the streets again and selling more drugs. This is the moment where Wes's life seemingly is done for, as he is completely committed to the drug game.

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"As Ray's house came into view for all three young men, Ray decided to make a run for it, ducking behind a row of parked cars. Wes and his friend traded shots and finally heard Ray scream as he fell behind a black Toyota just fifty feet from his house" (Moore 105).

Ray's house is significant to the story because it is where Wes and his friend shot Ray. It was Wes's first very major act of violence and the fact that it could have very easily been avoided shows the mentality and hostility that Wes lives with.

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"Wes stood on the corner in Dundee Village...He was saying his final goodbyes when a man sidled up to him. He was clean-shaven, wearing jeans and an oversize T-shirt" (Moore 112).

Even though Wes had moved out of Dundee Village a long time ago, he still returned there to sell drugs because he could sell it for a higher price there. While there, he was approached by a man looking for drugs, and even though Wes was 99 percent sure he was a cop, he couldn't resist the urge to sell him drugs. Just as his gut had been telling him, however, the man ended up being a cop who arrested Wes. This represents one of the first moments where Wes got arrested because of his drug dealing.

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"As he walked, his eyes took in the campus. He noticed a beach volleyball court complete with sand. A full basketball court with regulation lines and nets for the rims sat next to a beautiful wooden gazebo. This was exactly what Wes imagined a college campus would look lie. HE had never seen anything like it before" (Moore 141).

The Job Corps campus is an extremely vital part of Wes's story as it was the place where he decided he was going to turn his life around for the better. He realized that maybe this would be his second chance at life, a way that he could provide for his family in a safe and respected way, so he took everything very seriously and proudly earned his GED. However, after his graduation Wes quickly learned that the world isn't as quick to forgive as he had hoped, and he was tragically sucked back into the drug game yet again.

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"His uncle was always telling them to close the door behind them to keep the cold air outside and the warm air inside...Wes hit the final stair he looked up and saw his brother lying face-down on the floor..." (Moore 154).

Wes's Uncle's house was important because it is where Wes and Tony were hiding away after they robbed the jewelry store and where he got arrested. Police arrive at their front door and take both Wes and Tony into custody. Any shimmer of hope for a comeback in Wes's life is officially gone at this point, as he is later sentenced to life in prison.