https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw en-us 2023-05-02 18:10:23 UTC 2023-05-18 14:45:38 UTC hello@padlet.com 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2578695405 The absence of Wes' father Bernard, affected his childhood and made it hard for him to make righteous decisions throughout his future. Alcoholism and drugs have consumed Bernard's life and Wes becomes aware of this at the young age of 6 when he is first met face to face with his biological father. Since his father chose to be absent, Wes fills his fatherless void by his older brother Tony. At the time Tony is always at Murphy homes project , drug filled and dangerous, giving Wes the title "the man" of the house. Mary being the other Adult, fails to ensure safety and guilelessness of her children despite troubled efforts. ]]> 2023-05-04 18:33:26 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2578695405 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2578696327 Wes is full of envy observing Tony's lifestyle full of drug dealing and stylish clothing. Mary is starting to see this through Wes' carelessness about school and his recent usage of drugs. Wes' first interference in the drug game starts as he takes a gig wearing a headset in watch of police. Mary and Tony both try to convince Wes of the dangers in drugs however both of them abuse drugs making their warnings easy to ignore. Months prior he used Mary's weed and drank alcohol with Woody which in turn made him sick and he realized the strong allure of drugs. These events kick started Wes' inevitable drug dealing and he was pulled in due to the money and power he achieved from it.]]> 2023-05-04 18:34:08 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2578696327 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2578728875 Wes has been given opportunities to make better choices but doesn't take advantage of them. His mom and Tony have found out about his alleged drug dealing after he tries to cover it up with a simple DJ gig. Tony has felt the need to protect Wes at any cost especially with not entering the drug game. Tonys lectures have had no effect on Wes so he results in beating him up in effort to change his perspective. Tonys need for violence and resilience have molded Wes the same way. This chapter has given Wes a second chance to stop dealing drugs, but the lure of power and material items keep him going. ]]> 2023-05-04 19:02:08 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2578728875 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2582591093 Tony struggles to guide Wes down the right path. Instead of supplying moral codes to better his life, he instead enforces violence as an answer to disrespect. In this scenario, Wes has pulled knife on a kid who threw punches on him on a small game of football. This lack of respect makes him vulnerable to bad decisions. Both Tony and Wes want to earn respect of their piers, and to do so they result to violence. This need for acceptance doesn't end and leads to more negative consequences in the future.]]> 2023-05-08 19:29:04 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2582591093 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2588835447 Wes now has his third and fourth child with, drug addicted ,   girlfriend Cheryl. Her presence in his life makes him aware of the damaging affects of drugs upon his community. With help of his friend Levis, Wes join the Job corps and gets his GED in carpentry. Wes is fulfilled by the respect and encouragement he receives by his teachers and friends, which is something hes longed for since a young age. In the Corps, he builds a house for her daughter symbolizing protection against the treacherous streets  that have molded his turbulent life path. When the program ends, Wes is left with no support and ends up cooking cocaine due to his exhausting work schedule. 

"the people who would do anything to score. He knew these people because he was the one who got them what they needed. It was his job. And it pained him to realize the mother of his children was just like them." (138)]]> 2023-05-12 15:01:46 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2588835447 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2591626684 Wes has a different and consequential meaning of giving and earning respect. Wes and Alicia breakup after having their child and Wes has found a new girl to occupy himself with. One day the girl is leaving his house and the girls boyfriend Ray shows up and begins throwing punches out of rage. Wes fights back and they both fight but not for the love of the girl but for the respect of one another in which they demand. Wes orders his crew to shoot Ray and Wes ends up in custody by the end. This violent way of earning respect often leads many, like Wes, down the wrong life path as negative actions keep repeating themselves.]]> 2023-05-15 16:50:48 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2591626684 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2591627231 Wes has dropped out of high school and is a full time drug dealer living with his aunt Nicey. Alicia lives with her parents and the kid. This chapter emphasizes the importance of familial bonds in a developmental part of ones life. Wes is not around his family much in this part of his life but instead is surrounded by his drug crew which he calls family. His bond with them is incredibly tight, for better or for worse. Wes has also gotten caught selling cocaine to an undercover police, he is arrested and has no one to protect him. 

"The drug game had its own rules, its own structure. He was a lieutenant, the leader nof his small crew. Everyone in the crew had a speciic job with carefully delineated responsibilities....An unbreakable bond united the crew-for many members it was the only support system they had. It was Family" (111)]]> 2023-05-15 16:51:15 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2591627231 9960654 https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2591627621 Mary watches in disbelief as a her two sons are convicted as armed and dangerous. Wes and Tony are the number one suspects in an armed robbery killing Sargent Prothero who was working security for the jewelry store.  After a ten day man hunt, Tony and Wes are arrested in their Uncles Philadelphia home. At trial Wes is pronounced guilty to life and prison and for the first time in his life he knows what his future will withhold. His imprisonment meant leaving his children without a father figure, the one thing he didn't want for them that he had to grow up and grow out of. Wes and Tonys actions effect many more people around them and this is emphasized by only being in Mary's POV rather than Wes's throughout chapter 8. Readers are left to question if Wes truly agrees with Tony's morals and his means to violence

"She prayed her sons were not responsible. As she lay in bed,she realized that, no matter what the outcome, all of their lives had changed forever" (149)-]]> 2023-05-15 16:51:32 UTC https://padlet.com/9960654/kfh2oqiigieangdw/wish/2591627621