Will Hollomans biggest struggle is trying to find an outlet for his grief. Despite the front he puts up, Will's fear gradually surfaces, and it becomes apparent that he is more affected by disturbing things than it would be 'manly,' in his view, to admit. Instant PDF downloads. Already a member? Wills father, Pop, was killed when Will was a toddleras much as Will wants to remember Pop, he doesnt. How does Will change over the course of Long Way Down? And thats not just because shes the only female ghost. Its possible that he regrets teaching Will The Rules and blames himself. Dani, for instance, appears to be about fifteen years old, though she was killed at the age of eight. Uncle Mark brings self-reflectionto the table and forces Will to ask himself if he is capable of murder. Getting revenge solved nothing. Teachers and parents! The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The three specific Rules Will relates to the reader are No Crying. The first character that Will encounters is Buck, the only big brother Shawn had ever had (p.86) and the one who taught [Shawn] The Rules (p.93). A strap. To take a broader look at Danis question and the effects of an unintended death like hers, its worth considering what happened to Will as a result of Danis death. While Will hopes to live by the same rules that led to the murders of so many loved ones, he comes to realize that if he is to live by The Rules, he will invariably die by The Rules. Indeed, the narrative traces the chain of violent acts connected to Wills decision to avenge Shawn: Will intends to kill Riggs for (presumably) having killed Shawn, Riggs killed Shawn for having killed Frick, Shawn killed Frick for having killed Buck, and so on. Will, however, speaks with a casual indifference to things that would normally frighten people, such as a nearby shooting that provokes the routine reaction of ducking for cover and then counting bodies. He tells Will that he couldnt kiss [Wills] mother, couldnt kiss [his] boys good night (p.216). purchase. (including. All of the ghosts in the elevator are interesting in their own way, but the second person who enters the elevator, Dani, is especially fascinating to me. This is important because when Will plays along, he realizes he cant imagine shooting Riggs. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Why is Will going to shoot Riggs? Struggling with distance learning? Tell me if youve read Long Way Downand if you have any other thoughts on it. Shawn introduced Will to the concept of loyalty by introducing him to the Rules, which are three rules that govern life in their neighborhood. that I didlike he told me,like Buck told him,like our grandfather toldour uncle, like our uncletold our dad. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Refine any search. However, he responds to his grief in his community's expected way, which is to get revenge. They werent meant to be broken.They were meant for the broken. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Complete your free account to request a guide. In short, loyalty according to the Rules doesnt necessarily mean loyalty in practice. This sets the tone for the story, which requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief, given that Wills journey happens over a single minute and contains A Christmas Carol type interactions with ghosts. Went downinto me and chewed on everythinginside as ifI had somehowswallowedmy own teethand they weresharper thanId ever known. Will says that The Rules, which define what it is to be a man, do not come from any man in particular. Struggling with distance learning? The book Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a unique free verse poetry book. Like. Prologue Quotes. And understandably, this isnt a conversation Will wants to have at all, let alone take seriously. Therefore, the very fact that Will is still willing to arm himself and avenge Shawns death suggests that Will prioritizes his loyalty to the dead over his loyalty to the living, even if the living will be the ones who get hurt. The clearest symbol of vulnerability in this novel is crying; it is the first Rule, and the act that most clearly expresses weakness. Will's true vulnerability is exposed when he pees himself in fear, when he cries over his uncertainty about killing Riggs, and when he seems to want nothing more than to hug the people he has lost. his face was wetwith tears he wasntsupposed to crywhen he was alive. The fourth ghost who steps into the elevator is Mikey, Wills dad. Teachers and parents! In Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Will is a young man on an elevator ride on his way to shoot a guy named Riggs. The same goes for Buck, Shawns mentor who died a few years ago, as well as for Uncle Martin, who was killed before Will was born. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES. One minute and seven seconds later, the door opens in the lobby, and Buck, Dani, Uncle Mark, Pop, Frick, and Shawn run out of the doors in the midst of a cloud of cigarette smoke. 10 likes. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. As important as their mentorship has been, he is destined to suffer the same fate if he carries out his plan. Will and Shawn, p. 319-320. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. You can hear Real World music on the BBC 2 television series and this new double CD (as well as the accompanying DVD to be released on December 3rd . Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Long Way Down" by Jason Reynolds. Interestingly, each of the six ghosts asks Will a question that pushes him to reconsider killing Riggs. The novel is a clear example of magical realism as it examines the issues of violence, loyalty, and revenge through a supernatural element. Long Way Down has one main setting in this story, an elevator. It is a bit of a long post, so in Bucks words, Might as well relaxits a long way down (p.97). A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. I wondered if he knewthat in me and Shawns world, Id already chosen to be. Never ironed out. Knew. I highly recommend you use this site! Unlike a fictional narrative, real time does not stop at some arbitrary point. T he main themes in Long Way Down are everyday violence, the rules of masculinity, and the passage of time.. Log in here. If he did not kill Buck, he would not have died. Mentorshipguidance provided by a trusted or experienced personis another important theme in Long Way Down. Additionally, Will meets the ghost of a man named Frick, who Will is shocked to discover murdered Buck. Will is seeking revenge for his brother Shawn's murder. A fifteen-year-old Black teen, Will has grown up in an unnamed impoverished neighborhood with a high incidence of gun violence, drug abuse, and gang activity. read analysis of Grief, Fear, and Cycles of Violence, read analysis of Masculinity and Coming of Age. After Danis death, Shawn begins to teach him The Rules. Teachers may ask students to illustrate multiple examples of a single theme, symbol, or motif, or illustrate one example for each. The author seems to regard The Rules as being so deeply inculcated in men that it would be futile simply to say that they are destructive. The first anagram we are introduced to has been hastily scribbled on his wall, reading: SCARE=CARES (p.36). Perspective and Reality Theme Analysis. What Will learns in the elevator is that this story is far more complicated than just that of two menPop and his killerseeking revenge. In this elevator, Will, the main character, is greeted . When he sets out to kill Riggs, Shawn's assumed killer, Will takes the elevator down from his eighth-floor apartment to the lobby. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Will is introduced to The Rules at the age of eight by Shawn just after having seen his friend Dani shot dead. Or, you can call it a gun. They are simple, as the blurb explains: No crying. Will encounters three dead members of his own family who followed and passed on The Rules. I found a number of recurring symbols that either represented an idea and/or added to the books themes. The first thing that Mikey brings is guilt. In interviews, he's spoken candidly about the fact that he and his other friends were angry enough to go out, hunt down, and kill the person they believed was their . In the elevator, he learns of the trail of revenge that has led up to this moment. With his brother's gun, Will sets out to kill the man he believes shot Shawn. BEEF. Because of this, he didnt read a novel until he was 17. And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. Long Way Down tells the story of Will, a 15-year-old boy riding the elevator in his apartment building down to the lobby. I was only three.And I dont remember that.Ive always wanted to. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. Will and Shawn are connected by blood, but many of the others tales are linked in the too-long chain of who-shot-who and the need to follow The Rules. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Themes. When someone else joins him, the elevator ride begins to get strange. around the grip, placingthem over Shawnsprints like littlebrother holding bigbrothers hand again. Through this, and through the discrepancies between what Will thought was true and what the ghosts tell him actually is true, Long Way Down suggests that there can be major differences between whats believed and whats true in realityand that questioning the validity of ones perspective or beliefs is, at once, one of the hardest and most meaningful thing a person can do. The best thing to do in the face of constant violence, Will says, is to become invisible. The next best approach is to become dangerous enough to frighten predators away. As a young man living in a community rent apart by gang violence, Will feels obliged to put up a tough, brave front in the face of danger. If anything, to avenge Shawn's death will guarantee Will is the next victim of Rule No. Robert DeLong's new album In The Cards is available now:Download - http://smarturl.it/inthecardsStream - http://smarturl.it/InTheCardsStreaminghttp://robertd. The nighttime was a recurring idea that really intrigued me. Or does he? walking me to the store,teaching me how todo a Penny Drop. All symbols are correctly identified as objects that represent something else at a higher level in the story. Not affiliated with Harvard College. How do you feel about symbolism in works of fiction, and where else have you seen it done well? The six ghosts have little more than a minute in which to dissuade the fifteen-year-old protagonist from pursuing revenge. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Long Way Down" by Jason Reynolds. A strap. No Snitching. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Students can explore by identifying these elements themselves or in an " envelope activity ", where they are given one or more to track . [] I thought about this when the man withthe gold chains got on and checked to see if theL button was already glowing. Teachers can view all of their students storyboards, but students can only view their own. Print Word PDF. Revengethe action of inflicting hurt as retribution for a wrong sufferedenters the narrative when Will lays out The Rules. A heater. Long Way Down (2017) by Jason Reynolds is a young adult novel in free verse about Will Holloman, a young black boy struggling to make a decision after his brother Shawn is shot dead in the street.Will plans to seek revenge, but before he can leave the elevator of his building, he is greeted by a series of ghosts who confuse and complicate his perspective on Shawn's death and the idea of . We know the spirits of the dead exit the elevator at the lobby (along with the cigarette smoke) and Shawn's spirit asks Will if he's "coming" with them. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. The second date is today's In a world that forbids men to weep, not even for their fallen brothers, Will cant find a way to cope. Will doesnt recognize her at first because the ghost he sees is older than he remembers Dani was Wills childhood friend. Instant PDF downloads. While they don't explicitly discourage him from getting revenge, their questions provoke Will to rethink his commitment to The Rules. Buck represents the beginnings of doubt in Will. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. 5 years ago. Struggling with distance learning? Long Way Down exploresthe various connections that come forth from the cycle of violence and shows how following Rule #3, revenge, only results in more loss and bloodshed. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. Next up is Uncle Mark. Much of how Will conceptualizes manhood has to do with acting appropriately masculinethat is, as, Instant downloads of all 1715 LitChart PDFs Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Danis death, then, not only killed herit inducted Will into the cycle of violence and emotional repression that led him to his current state, in which hes considering taking anothers life so he can stay true to the Rules. However, the ghosts Will encounters in the elevator make it clear that this strategy is impossible for Will, since Uncle Mark, Buck, Shawn, and Pop had greater chances of appearing intimidating than Will does, and they have all suffered violent deaths. Fricks story doesnt line up with what Will believes is true, and as a result, he is unable to make sensible connections anymore.. Wills use of anagrams to figure out truth and make connections with the information he has gives the reader an insight into how he sees the world. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. to get my attention,which on any otheroccasion wouldvebeen the perfectopen for me to flirtor at least try to domy best impression of Shawn, And the next morning, over hard-boiled eggsand sugar cereal,Shawn taught meRule Number One, So I explained them toher so she wouldnt thinkless of me for followingthem, and had I known The Rules when wewere kids I wouldvedone the same thing. As compelling as Danis question might be to the reader, Will doesnt truly begin to question the righteousness of what hes doing until he comes face to face with Pop, who was killed when Will was three, and therefore isnt someone Will remembers. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1715 titles we cover. "Long Way Down - Themes" eNotes Publishing What is the moral or message of Long Way Down? Descriptions are unclear. Additionally, my opinions may not align with yours and thats cool, too. The broader issue at the heart of Long Way Down is the omnipresent gun violence Will and his community must deal with. So Mikey represents Will if he kills Riggs. These principles of masculinity confuse and complicate Wills emotions; he wants to cry for his dead brother, but he also wants to make his brother proud, to prove that he is man enough to handle this situation the way Shawn would have wanted. -Graham S. Reynolds has been upfront about the purpose of his books: to speak to young readers who dont often see themselves represented in book characters. And as a kidI always figuredhis heartwas forreal brokenlike an arm or a toy, wouldve been totell Buck how importantthat soap was. Descriptions say why examples are significant. His use of symbolism through ideas, objects, and characters to convey his themes adds so much depth to the story, making it even more hard-hitting than it already is. Over the course of the minute in which Will is in the elevator, ghosts of other people (many of them family members) who died as a result of similar violent incidents join Will. 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