Long Way Down falls into the category of magical realism, which deals in real issues by using some supernatural yet unquestioned elements. As he journeys to the ground floor, Will continues to make anagrams up until he meets the penultimate ghost: Frick. Though Reynolds has said he no longer crochets to unwind, he used to be an avid crochet hobbyist. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. This section contains 532 words. Its possible that he regrets teaching Will The Rules and blames himself. The novel ends on this open question, leaving the reader to grapple with the same uncertainty that will haunt Will for the rest of his life, regardless of whether his life is long or short. His presence is the most impactful because he is the person that Will loves most. When Will answers, Buck says, you aint got it in you (p.101). 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hardcover, 320 pages. While Will tries to follow The Rules, the ghosts put up repeated challenges to his masculine posturing until Will breaks. 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. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. In Jason Reynolds' anti-gun novel, Long Way Down, written in verse, he explicitly emphasizes the effects of the acts of revenge in Will's society to evoke the adverse consequences of a gun violence. In this activity, students will identify themes in Long Way Down and illustrate examples from the text. Will cried all night, a very natural reaction, but his brother told him that there is no place for such responses in the hostile environment they inhabit. The first anagram we are introduced to has been hastily scribbled on his wall, reading: SCARE=CARES (p.36). The fourth ghost who steps into the elevator is Mikey, Wills dad. I was only three.And I dont remember that.Ive always wanted to. The final ghost that steps into the elevator is Shawn himself. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Long Way Down, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. And Will knows the rules. 912 reviews 13.8k followers. Create an image for examples that represent each symbol using appropriate scenes, characters and items. Struggling with distance learning? Most examples fit the identified symbols. Wills determined to believe that he can pinpoint the blame on Riggs, but deep down, hes not sure if this belief is truth, as implied with the brackets (parentheses?) A strap. In the end, the ghosts of Will's mentors appear so they may teach him one more important lesson. Its possible hes disappointed in Will for following in his footsteps. Passed to him.Passed them to his little brother.Passed to my older brother.Passed to me. 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. Will is the novel's narrator and protagonist. 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. Reynolds builds on this central theme with the introduction of several ghosts of people who have died from gun homicide. Complete your free account to request a guide. In the elevator, he learns of the trail of revenge that has led up to this . I wondered if he knewthat in me and Shawns world, Id already chosen to be. And then he breaks Rule #1. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Mikey believed that he was shooting the right guy, but that was hardly the truth at all and he ended up paying for it with his life. Long Way Down tells the story of Will, a 15-year-old boy riding the elevator in his apartment building down to the lobby. An error occurred trying to load this video. Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down. Struggling with distance learning? 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. Essentially, Dani is asking Will to consider whether following through on his communitys Rules of revenge is guaranteed to have its desired effect. *(This Will Start a 2-Week Free Trial - No Credit Card Needed), This Activity is Part of Many Teacher Guides. The moral that can be learned from this section is that "Treat others the way you want to be treated." Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. 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 . Instead, the men he encounters demonstrate what has happened to them as a result of following The Rules. Went downinto me and chewed on everythinginside as ifI had somehowswallowedmy own teethand they weresharper thanId ever known. All examples support the identified symbols. The novel never confirms one way or the other whether Will is correct that Carlson Riggs, a former friend of Shawns, is indeed the one who killed Shawn. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Then he begins to tell Will how he really died, and in doing so, unpacks a number of important elements. Shawn had been able to carry out what Will is preparing to do, and because of this, someone else had killed him. Because of this, he chalks Danis disapproval and line of questioning up to her not understanding the Rules, rather than thinking of it as an important question he really should answer. A biscuit. Like. Hey there! Teachers and parents! The next important thing in Mikeys story is a link to the theme of truth. I couldnt see himas anything lessthan my brother, Instant downloads of all 1715 LitChart PDFs They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. However, The Rules are restrictive, stating that a man must not cry and therefore show fear or weakness. 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. Dialogue Writing. It is also a bildungsroman novel, showing Will's passage from childhood to adulthood in the grip of an impossible decision. Loyalty, in this sense, is the very reason families in Wills community are fractured in the first placeWill suggests that if someone doesnt avenge their loved ones death, theyre considered disloyal and effectively betray their loved ones memory by doing nothing. 111 lessons. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. In the elevator, he learns of the trail of revenge that has led up to this moment. A gat. 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. In the elevator, Will comes face to face with the ghosts of Buck, Pop, his Uncle Mark, Shawn, and Dani, a childhood friend who was accidentally shot and killed as an eight-year-old. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. After Will tells Buck about Shawns death, Buck responds: So what you bout to do? (p.94). Will encounters three dead members of his own family who followed and passed on The Rules. Storyboard cells do not help in understanding the symbols. 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. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1715 titles we cover. Time is up, and Will has to make a decision. Past present future forever (p.174). At only fifteen, Will assumes this responsibility as though it is a rite of passage into manhood. Given the way in which Will talks about his loved ones (especially his male family members), its easy to see that his family is fractured. Though Pop, Uncle Mark, Shawn, and Frick all died in the process of following the Rules and exacting revenge (and the novel implies that Danis death was also the result of a revenge killing gone awry), all of them suggest that this kind of loyalty required by the Rules doesnt actually do much good. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. 2 pages at 400 words per page) View a FREE sample. Its a terrifying moment for Will and it shows him how hed feel if he were in Riggs place. Struggling with distance learning? 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. 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. for RULE. It is written in poem form, so it can be considered a verse novel. Mikey had killed the wrong guy (p.218). Even then, the author does not, in this work, offer any alternative code of behavior. Or perhaps he is trying to show Will that its okay to break The Rules. Find myself withinDarkness twisting me aroundThere is nothing I can do This world doesn't spinIt just turns itself aroundAnd around The night chokes tightIn the nerves Can't breathe to screamLong way downSuffocating in . Any literary elements can be conveyed through characters, setting, dialogue, plot, or a combination. When Dani was killed, Will remembers seeing her with her mouth, open. Wills interest in anagrams may be because they remind him of his bond with Shawn same letters, different words, somehow still make sense together, like brothers (p.37). Long Way Down Jason Reynolds. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. The simple question carries a deep significance: While it appears as though Shawn is asking if Will is going to leave the elevator with the others, Shawn is actually asking Will if he is going to join them . "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. Illustrate each and write a short description below each cell. A hammer The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The last lines of Long Way Down show Shawn finally breaking his silence with his brother to ask if he is coming. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Shawn begins to softly [snot] and [hiccup] like a little kid, tears pouring from his eyes (p.291). Dani represents Wills loss of innocence, and it is her death that marks the true loss of his childhood. He knows who hes after. gets passed down like name-brand. A story that might never know an ENDif WILL gets off that elevator. Kefranks At the end, we know Will has reached the lobby (because the L button's light went out). Read a summary of the verse novel, find an in-depth analysis of its plot, and understand its ending. BEEF. Which character in Long Way Down has the largest impact on Will? It is a follow-up to the Long Way Round of 2004, when the pair rode east from London to New York via Eurasia and North America. So strange to say. Dani, of course, is living proof that success isnt guaranteedshes dead because someone else trying to follow the Rules made a mistake. PDF downloads of all 1715 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Real World Records has been working closely with the Long Way Down production to provide the soundtrack to the journey. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. The clearest symbol of vulnerability in this novel is crying; it is the first Rule, and the act that most clearly expresses weakness. The novel follows Will's stream of consciousness. When they were eight. 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 . Is absolutely the best teacher resource I have ever purchased symbol using appropriate scenes characters! To adulthood in the end, the Rules ( p.291 ) really died, and understand ending! Part of Many teacher Guides be considered a verse novel, find an in-depth of. Snot ] and [ hiccup ] like a little kid, tears from! 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