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Joy is a fiercely determined mother and the primary catalyst in pushing Moore to improve himself. She is an accomplished and educated woman in her own right, and has ambitions for her children, especially Moore. Rather than sending her son to the same public schools she attended in the Bronx, she intentionally selects private schools with famous alumni, hoping to give him a better educational foundation and stronger social connections than she had. Interestingly, even in childhood, Joy understood the value of fitting in, which is why she worked to overcome her Jamaican accent after moving to the Bronx. Moore has a similar desire to fit in. However, Joy’s aspirations for him make it more difficult for him to feel a sense of belonging anywhere. A strict disciplinarian, Joy follows through with her threat to send him to military school, despite the considerable financial difficulties this causes her.
Joy frequently demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice in the present to achieve a future goal. Because of this quality, she leaves the home she shared with Westley, Moore’s father, before he died, to relocate to the Bronx to be with her parents. In this way, Joy models the value of long-term thinking, helping Moore adopt a mindset that emerges as a key factor in his success, as compared to the short-term survival tactics that lead to Wes’s incarceration. When Joy uses the settlement she receives for Westley’s tragic death, she demonstrates her compassion and ambition by establishing a charitable organization to help prevent other families from experiencing similar tragedies. These types of sacrifices demonstrate that Joy consistently acts to help others rather than adopting a position of self-interest. Even when it pains her emotionally, and strains her financially, to send Moore to Valley Forge, she does everything she can to set him up for success, including asking family members and close friends for money. This reveals her faith in humanity, and the belief that people should help one another when they can.
