But I guess not surprising, which I guess is even stranger, and even sadder.". Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1715 titles we cover. When Dani was killed, Will remembers seeing her with her mouth, open. It is written in poem form, so it can be considered a verse novel. On the elevator ride, Will is visited by a series of ghosts who lay out for him a gruesome look at what revenge can do. Storyboard cells clearly show connection with the symbols and help with understanding. Mikey had killed the wrong guy (p.218). 2023 . Cooper, James ed. Revenge killing, family .. are themes. LitCharts Teacher Editions. But after everything that Wills been through, I find it very hard to believe that Will does go ahead and get revenge on the person who may not even be his brothers murderer. Will has thought about what he intends to do in seeking revenge, but, as Uncle Mark points out, he has not given any thought to what might happen after that. A cannon. At fifteen, he has already lived through innumerable shootings, and so he and Tony know the drill when they hear shots, ducking until the sound stops and then standing up to count bodies. Descriptions are unclear. Will also understands how mentorship was important to Shawn himself, who learned how to be a man in the world from Buck, who himself stepped in to be a mentor when Shawn's and Will's father was killed. Why is Will going to shoot Riggs? eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. 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. After carrying out his revenge on his brothers killer, he had no peace. Not only is this a disturbing image that really nails home the actual death of a child, this is a turning point for Will. I highly recommend you use this site! "I got scared. In the climactic scene with Shawn, Will wants the mute ghost of his brother to tell him if he is duty-bound to kill Riggs. In Jason Reynolds' novel ''Long Way Down,'' published in 2017, a young man seeking revenge for his brother's death is visited by ghosts during an elevator ride. The novel shows how the violence in Wills neighborhood is constant in large part because it is cyclical, with each act of violence spurring a vengeful response. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. The novel's close-up examination of the motivation and cyclical nature of shootings among young people is a thought-provoking foray into an important slice of our cultural reality. In the form in which they appear to Will, they have continued to grow and change as though they were living. The timescale of the main narrative is therefore exceptionally short, and Will periodically reminds the reader of how little time has passed. At only fifteen, Will assumes this responsibility as though it is a rite of passage into manhood. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. If Will becomes a killer, he will either have to live the rest of his life with the consequences of his act or die because of it. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. 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. An unbroken chain that gets passed down and inherited (p.27), it weighs down heavily on Will, who has been heavily affected by it and has to decide whether or not to further it himself. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. She has a Bachelor's degree in Special Education, Elementary Education, and English from Gordon College and a Master's degree in Special Education from Salem State University. In the elevator, he is visited by several ghosts who relate their experiences with revenge, including his father, who killed the wrong guy when trying to avenge his brother. Like. Or perhaps he is trying to show Will that its okay to break The Rules. it was like the wordcame out and at the same timetime went in. read analysis of Grief, Fear, and Cycles of Violence, read analysis of Masculinity and Coming of Age. BUCK IS DEAD. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme, The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Perspective and Reality appears in each chapter of. Were doing this so that we can link the symbols back later. Most storyboard cells help to show the symbols but some storyboard cells are difficult to understand. No one else can view anything. By presenting a story in which the wisdom of the dead takes center stage, Reynolds poses a compelling thought experiment: what might happen if someone in Wills position had this unencumbered access to information that, in reality, is usually lost forever when someone, At 15 years old, Will is on the brink of coming of age, even before his brother Shawn is shot and killed. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. 18 Apr. 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 . Long Way Down thoroughly explores the theme of revenge. 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. Dani was Wills childhood best friend and was killed as an eight-year-old when someone missed their intended target and accidentally shot her instead. Happiness in Brave New World: Quotes & Analysis, Timeline of Night by Elie Wiesel | Chronology, Context & Analysis, 12th Grade English: Homework Help Resource, 9th Grade English: Homework Help Resource, AP English Literature: Homeschool Curriculum, American Literature Syllabus Resource & Lesson Plans, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare: Study Guide, Create an account to start this course today. killed my dad.Thats what my motheralways said. L ong Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a 2017 verse novel about Will Holloman, a fifteen-year-old boy grieving over the death of his brother.. Will's older brother, Shawn . While its important to not diminish the importance of the relationship between Will and Shawn (Shawn is the reason Will plans to kill someone, after all), the fact that it was just the two of them and their mother speaks to the fractured nature of families in Wills community, which partially explains the importance of loyalty to that community. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. his face was wetwith tears he wasntsupposed to crywhen he was alive. The theme arises early in the novel when Will states that his brother Shawn was killed two days earlier. PDF downloads of all 1715 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Its not made clear exactly what it is, but its said that itll snatch your teaching from you, put a gun in your hand, a grumble in your gut, and some sharp in your teeth (p.249). 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. The ubiquity of violence has led Will and the others in his neighborhood to develop various survival strategies. eNotes Editorial. 912 reviews 13.8k followers. Thank you for sticking with me on this extremely long analysis! The man is Buck, a man who used to be like a big brother to Shawn, the man who gave Shawn the gun Will now carries, and a man . Mixed into Will's determination to abide by The Rules and avenge his brother's death is a strong sense of moral obligation to make sure Shawn's killer suffers consequences. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. It's impossible to ignore the supernatural aspect of Long Way Down all the individuals who share the elevator with Will on his way to avenge his . When recounting Shawn's shooting, Will casually details how he initially reacted to the sounds of gunshots as though it was any other shooting. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. When Reynolds was 19, one of his best friends was murdered on the street. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. Refine any search. Will's father and brother both died shortly after their acts of revenge. Not affiliated with Harvard College. They will also appear in Google search results. First the guilt, then the grief that comes with discovering the truth, and finally death as one of Riggs loved ones follows through with The Rules and kills Will. This is important because when Will plays along, he realizes he cant imagine shooting Riggs. publication in traditional print. (approx. 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). What You Need And What Happens Next in This Movie. Will Holloman. He tells Will that he couldnt kiss [Wills] mother, couldnt kiss [his] boys good night (p.216). The track was only bundled with the Limited Edition of the game, and cannot be purchased separately. I feel like its a lifeline. 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. When someone else joins him, the elevator ride begins to get strange. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Any literary elements can be conveyed through characters, setting, dialogue, plot, or a combination. Next up is Uncle Mark. Uncle Mark quietly corrects him: its never the end (p.194), coming back to the cycle of violence and the consequences of following The Rules. What is the moral or message of Long Way Down? In particular, Pop illuminates the fundamental flaw in the Rules and how they play out: he thought he shot Uncle Marks killer, but realizes now that he made a mistake and killed the wrong man. I will be spoiling almost everything in this book as I analyse it, so I would highly recommend reading it first before continuing. 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. Long Way Down was inspired by Reynolds's experiences working with incarcerated youth, whose fates, he acknowledges, could've easily been his own. It is Wills encounter with her that is the beginning of the seeds uprooting. Uncle Mark brings self-reflectionto the table and forces Will to ask himself if he is capable of murder. However, after Shawns murder, Will realizes that manhood has unexpectedly arrived early for him: he must, per the Rules of conduct in his community, avenge Shawns death by killing Carlson Riggs, who he believes is Shawns killer. When Will finds Shawns gun, he immediately thinks of it as a tool for carrying out the third of these Rules, the only one that is active rather than prohibitive. Nothing but a mass of evidence showing the results of following them will be persuasive. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. [] I thought about this when the man withthe gold chains got on and checked to see if theL button was already glowing. The novel's themes are the inevitability and futility of revenge and the element of choice, asking the question how much choice does Will actually have? Since he pulled the trigger on Buck, a trigger was pulled on him by Shawn. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. After Will figures out who Dani is, her first question cuts Will to the core: what if he misses when he tries to shoot Shawns killer? Reynolds doesnt explicitly tell us. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. This is only the first part of Will's journeyonce he reaches the lobby, his plan is to avenge the death of his older brother, Shawn, who was shot the night before in what was likely a gang-related incident. As he journeys to the ground floor, Will continues to make anagrams up until he meets the penultimate ghost: Frick. around the grip, placingthem over Shawnsprints like littlebrother holding bigbrothers hand again. In the elevator, he learns of the trail of revenge that has led up to this . Over the course of the story, Wills interaction with the other characters continues to place doubt on the assumption that Riggs shot Shawn. Also.the audiobook is just an hour or so long! Revenge. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. The elevator moves impossibly slowly, giving Will ample time to speak . The book opens with, Dont nobody believe nothing these days (p.1) as Will tries to convince the reader that the events in the book actually happened. And then he breaks Rule #1. Just as Buck started the cycle of violence in Shawn by teaching him The Rules, he starts doubt within Will. By making this clear to Will, the ghosts in the elevator ask him to consider if his plan to kill Riggs is actually the right course of action, and if Will is actually behaving loyally by following through with it. Its possible hes disappointed in Will for following in his footsteps. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Rather than Shawn's death being the end of something, it is simply the next domino to fall in a sequence set in motion decades earlier. LitCharts Teacher Editions. However, when Will enters the elevator and meets with the ghosts of people he once knew, his commitment to revenge is shaken. The first thing that Mikey brings is guilt. He challenges what Will believes to be true, and as a result, Will is no longer sure of Riggs involvement in Shawns death. Comment. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Olson, Maxwell. 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. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Never ironed out. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. And Will knows the rules. Or does he choose to break The Rules and stop the cycle of violence? We see fragments of his memories and thought processes as he meets different people from his life. However, the surety Will begins the elevator ride with is steadily worn down by the ghosts who challenge him to reconsider his decision. 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. 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. 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. Due to the nature of the cycle of violence, many of the ghosts stories are intertwined. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. And the only one who could have fired Shawns gun was Shawn. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Ed. He doesnt say anything to Will, but actions speak louder than words. In Long Way Down, Will is on his way to follow the Rules of his neighborhood that dictate that he take revenge for the death of his brother. All symbols are correctly identified as objects that represent something else at a higher level in the story. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Hinton | Themes, Analysis & Quotes, Nike, Greek Goddess | Mythology, Symbol & Facts, Death by Scrabble: Irony, Point of View & Language, Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck | Motifs & Analysis, Citing Textual Evidence to Support Analysis, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie | Summary & Themes, A Dip in the Pool by Roald Dahl: Summary, Theme & Analysis. Difficulty Level 3 (Developing to Mastery), Type of Activity: Themes, Symbols & Motifs, (You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.). Getting revenge solved nothing. 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). Will is seeking revenge for his brother Shawn's murder. I love Jason Reynolds voice! A strap. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Loyalty and Revenge Theme Analysis. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. (I found this mildly confusing because where I live, the penultimate level is generally called level 1, but here, its level 2.) Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons. Already a member? A chopper. 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 novel looks at both the inevitability and the futility of revenge. that I didlike he told me,like Buck told him,like our grandfather toldour uncle, like our uncletold our dad. Written by Beah in the United States after he returned to civilian life, the narrative gives real-life insight into how children can be coerced to commit terrible acts of war. The second date is today's Read a summary of the verse novel, find an in-depth analysis of its plot, and understand its ending. She adds to his growing doubt by asking him, What if you miss? (p.142), a possibility that Will hadnt really considered before. PDF downloads of all 1715 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. While Will tries to follow The Rules, the ghosts put up repeated challenges to his masculine posturing until Will breaks. "Long Way Down Themes". Finally, Mikey tries to give Will a taste of empathy. Because of this, he didnt read a novel until he was 17. Frickthe man whom Shawn killed, and who was undergoing his initiation into the same gang that Riggs belongs to when he killed Buckdoesnt recognize Riggss description, which suggests that its likely Riggs didnt kill Shawn to avenge Fricks death. Revengethe action of inflicting hurt as retribution for a wrong sufferedenters the narrative when Will lays out The Rules. Learn about Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. When Shawn found out, he stuck to The Rules (p.267). He makes a painful piercing sound (p.300), as if hes mourning, until the elevator finally stops. walking me to the store,teaching me how todo a Penny Drop. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Long Way Down" by Jason Reynolds. He asks Will what happens after he shoots Riggs, to which Will replies, thats it. Long Way Down falls into the category of magical realism, which deals in real issues by using some supernatural yet unquestioned elements. Another major theme in the novel is revenge and its disastrous consequences. Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Jason Reynolds's Long Way Down. Riggs probably killed Will's brother, Shawn, the day before yesterday. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme, The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Loyalty and Revenge appears in each chapter of. Passed to him.Passed them to his little brother.Passed to my older brother.Passed to me. 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