What is the main conflict in Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers?

Jamal easily gets drawn into situations that prove to be harmful. At school, the classroom bully, Dwayne Parsons, continually challenges Jamal to a fight. Jamal feels he has no recourse but to fight him. Jamal gets drawn into the gang his brother was in before he was put into jail. Jamal is bullied and learns the hard way that a gun is will not solve his woes. His internal conflict drives the story. His poor existence leaves him helpless to life's struggles, and his momentary elation over the power that a weapon can give is mistaken for the answer to his problems.