# data[].attributes.body
Joy (mom), Westley (dad), Nikki (older sister), Shani (younger sister), Bill (Joy's ex husband), Justin (friend), James Thomas and Winell Thomas (Grandparents)

# data[].attributes.body
Wes remembers his father as a calm man, protector, and guider of doing right and wrong. He suggested Wes to apologize to Nikki after Joy scolded him for hitting her.

# data[].attributes.body
The second memory was about how his father was dying due to his epiglottis swelling up making it difficult for him to breathe. The hospital disregarded Westley and assumed that he was making up his symptoms. They gave him something to numb his throat and sent him home which basically killed him later on.

# data[].attributes.body
Mary (mom), Bernard (absent dad), Kenneth and Alma (maternal grandparents), Tony (older half-brother), Mamie (paternal grandmother), Woody (friend), White boy (friend)

# data[].attributes.body
Tony is Wes's older half brother who mostly spends his time in the Murphy Homes Projects, which feels like a complete nightmare for him. What he does there is deal drugs. Tony gives out pointers to Wes about how he should watch his back because he wants to protect him no matter what. Wes idolizes Tony and sees him as a, quote on quote, "certified gangsta," because he felt he was like close to his caretaker.

# data[].attributes.body
Mary was working a part-time job and going to school while receiving a Pell grant which was just enough to get her family through day by day. In 1982 Ronald Reagan cut the Pell grants which negatively affected Mary to where she couldn't finish college and had to drop out. That balance she once had that got her and her family through everyday was now gone and she had to turn her part-time job into a full-time job.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes' grandma didn't want Wes to be punished because Bernard wasn't in his life so they went over to his Grandma's house. When he got to his grandma's house he met his father for the first time sitting on the couch.

# data[].attributes.body
The lawsuit was about how the hospital misdiagnosed the dad Westley. She didn't want a drawn out legal affair because of how it might affect the kids, so she opted to settle in court. Joy used the money to provide equipment and training to paramedics on new procedures that involved respiratory or cardiac arrest.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes's family moved to the Bronx because his mother was in a state of depression after the death of his father. Wes's grandparents' home holds 3 bedrooms and its capacity of people is between 5 to 9. It is currently having 7 people living in their, which includes Wes's family. Also, Wes's grandparents are from Jamaica.

# data[].attributes.body
"Once proud neighborhood become synonymous with the collapse of the American inner city" (43). The neighborhood was slowly reflecting the poverty and depression of areas surrounding it.
Urban decay is when a city that was once profiting and functioning becomes neglected and run down or abandoned.
"That fence had created a circle of trust" (45). The kids that would play at the basketball court created bonds and friendships, they had found people they could count on. There was a place that felt safe despite everything outside.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes goes to a Predominantly white private school away from his neighborhood called Riverdale Country School. He has to get there by subway just to get to school everyday. He tried to make sure that friends from the school wouldn't know how much poorer he was than everyone else at school so he had a schedule for clothes, wearing different combinations with 3 shirts and 3 pairs of pants.

# data[].attributes.body
Since crack increased, its method of distribution became more complex, making everyone battle just to obtain this drug. This resulted in a 61% increase in the murder rate. There were 2,605 homicides in NYC in the year of 1990, which was way more than in the year of 2008. The murdered victims were mostly focused on young black men. This severely affected everyone who was in that hectic process in a negative way.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes had been suspended for fighting. He was hyper aware that he was poorer than his classmates. He was seen as to rich for the neighborhood but to poor for the school to have friends at either place. Wes had no dad, his mother was overworked and a long way to get to school each day. Wes had to take a different path home every day for safety.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes explains that boys become men by how they handle adulthood or adult-sized responsibilities. A moment that made TOWM become a man would have to be being able to reflect on things he did wrong and realizing how he ended up where he did.

# data[].attributes.body
-I think Wes wanted to be like Tony because he may have felt like he was the underdog compared to him. Maybe he felt as if Tony was accomplishing more than him.

-I think Tony did not want Wes to be like him because he did not want him to make the same mistakes he did. For example, if Wes kept selling drugs, he'll be bound to get shot as Tony did.

# data[].attributes.body
Hip-hop was something that Wes felt validated by. "My obsession with hip-hop kept me credible with the kids in my neighborhood. It let them know that regardless of my school affliction, I still understood. Hip-hop also gave the kids at my school a point of entry into my life" (76). Wes's music was a way for him to make friends when before, he was not able to connect with either group. He was seen as to rich for the neighborhood but to poor for the school.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes' reaction was in a tear-filled, remorseful manner. He was deeply fearful of going to jail and his mother finding out that he got in trouble for doing graffiti. Shea's reaction, on the other hand, was very calm and aloof. He looks like he doesn't care about how Wes is handling getting arrested, hinting that did not learn from this experience. Although, it also feels like he's been going at this for a long time.

# data[].attributes.body
His first few weeks at camp he had to wake up at like 5:30am to start the day. Wes was being rebellious and stayed in bed then Sergeant Anderson had to get him up and he used force. The whole time he was there he was trying to figure out an escape route to leave the school and found that there was a train station somewhere. Sergeant Anderson wet into his room and gave him a "map" to the train station then Wes left out towards midnight. When Wes found out that he couldn't escape he then broke down and started crying. Turned out that Sergeant Anderson was pranking Wes and the map just led him deep into the woods. After that he gave Wes a 5 minute phone call and he begged his mother to come back home then came to learn that his mother sacrificed a lot to send him there. She had to ask family and friends for help because she was short on some money.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes grew up without a father or any father figure. "Wes's nonexistent relationship with his father probably contributed to his seeming indifference about becoming a father himself. All he knew was his mom. He had no idea what his role would be in this situation- he wasn't even sure he had a role" (101).
When Wes and Tony went to visit his aunt's house his father was there. "He had not seen his father in years and didn't know what he would say to him, or if he cared to say anything at all" (101). Wes's father was asleep on the couch. When Wes woke his father up his father didn't recognize him. So Wes and Tony left the house without another word to his father.

# data[].attributes.body
They met on the school bus and Wes was with his godbrother Red while Alicia was with her twin sister. Wes let Red choose the one he wanted to go after and Wes took the other one which happened to be Alicia. He got her number and within two months of them going to each other's houses Wes had got Alicia pregnant. Fast forward it was late at night and after walking Alicia outside a boy named Ray was outside and the 2 were arguing. Wes was spotted by Ray and attention was turned to him. Wes got into the fight and was messed up bad, after that he then went to go get his gun and he shot Ray. He then was caught by police.

# data[].attributes.body
As Wes barely escaped Ray's wrath, he snaps and decides to get revenge. Following the corrupted advice Tony gave his, Wes grabs his gun and blindly chases Ray down through the town while trying to take a shot at him in the process. Some of his partners make the decision to join him on his pursuit. The townsfolk gain awareness of what's going on, trying to avoid gunfire. Ray barely manages to escape however, and Wes and his partners make the assumption that he's dead.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes was a lieutenant in the drug ring. He was the leader of a small group.
Corner boys were the youngest, typically 7-11. The corner boys were in charge of looking out for cops.
Hitters were in charge of the money, they had the most dangerous job.
Housemen were the ones to distribute the drugs. They made sure that the sellers had their supply.
The muscle was there to protect the group. They usually carried a weapon.
Wes's group would make around $4,000 a day.

# data[].attributes.body
As Wes and Dalio were trying to get back to the campus of the military school, they encountered their attackers. The irony in this situation is that Wes was trying to get back to campus for safety instead of getting away from it because, throughout his time in military school, he has gained some attachment to it.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes was about to take this girl on a movie date. There was a man asking Wes did he know where he could find some drugs. The man seemed sketchy and was screaming red flag so at first Wes turned him down and acted confused. He then started thinking to himself that he dealt with sketchy people before and he has gotten away with it plenty of times and this time could be no different. He was then faced with a choice to g deal with the man and risk missing the movie or just leave the man alone. He thought that the money he makes from this deal could pay for the date so stashes the cocaine in the telephone booth and flags the man down. He then tells the man that if he receives $20 he will be taken care of and told him where the drugs were. As he was leaving cops popped out of everywhere and caught him red-handed.

# data[].attributes.body
During the conversation the other Wes was claiming his innocence saying that he wasn't even there the day of the murder that got him in prison. The author Wes didn't really believe him and was asking himself questions about what might have been going through the other Wes' mind. The author Wes then asks him, "Do you think that we are products of our environment?" The other Wes then basically says yes then adds on saying that maybe we are products of our expectations, Whether that be from others or ourselves. He then says we will do what is expected of us, whether they expect good things or bad things.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes grew up with the knowledge that life doesn't last. A constant reminder ever since his father had died. "When it is time for you to leave this school, leave your job, or even leave this earth, you make sure you have worked hard to make sure it mattered you were ever here" (Moore 133). Wes was taught by those he looked up to that no matter how much time you are given, you must use it to make an impact. To be a leader, to become who he wanted to be.

# data[].attributes.body
As the light turned green, the people in the aircraft began to jump out. Afterwards, Wes started to jump out as well and was falling through the sky. He was counting to three while being hesitant to open his eyes. But when he got his parachute open, he opened his eyes to look around. Wes had felt a bunch of calming emotions while being satisfied that his first skydive was a complete success.

# data[].attributes.body
Cheryl is the mother to Wes's youngest two children. She was an addict and used heroin. Cheryl took drugs when she was pregnant and would steal from Wes.

# data[].attributes.body
Wes' Options are putting in effort to apply to the Job Corps or stay where he is now and suffer the consequences. He needs these options in order to provide for his family without any injury, incarceration, or death.

# data[].attributes.body
Job Corp was designed to help disadvantaged youth. The people that go there hope to leave with their GED. Wes' role was to do his GED training and get his GED. He planned to get into carpentry because he said that he was always good with his hands.