long way down theme

Now that he's at the Lobby level and the elevator doors are open . Went downinto me and chewed on everythinginside as ifI had somehowswallowedmy own teethand they weresharper thanId ever known. An error occurred trying to load this video. [] I thought about this when the man withthe gold chains got on and checked to see if theL button was already glowing. Its worth considering that while Wills elevator ride is supernatural and enlightens him to information that he couldnt have gotten without the ghosts, the simple act of thinking about the dead and what secrets they may have taken to their graves can still be a useful exercise. Over the course of the story, Wills interaction with the other characters continues to place doubt on the assumption that Riggs shot Shawn. 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 . (approx. Long Way Down Summary. The novels attitude to The Rules is critical, but it also suggests that people who live such difficult lives must have some code of conduct, and the law does not provide one for them. However, the surety Will begins the elevator ride with is steadily worn down by the ghosts who challenge him to reconsider his decision. Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. for RULE. Most examples do not fit the identified symbols. A piece. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Or does he choose to break The Rules and stop the cycle of violence? 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 . around knew. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. 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. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Or, you can call it a gun. eNotes Editorial. The last date is today's Or does he? 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. His presence is the most impactful because he is the person that Will loves most. Additionally, Will meets the ghost of a man named Frick, who Will is shocked to discover murdered Buck. It is Wills encounter with her that is the beginning of the seeds uprooting. Hey there! The fourth ghost who steps into the elevator is Mikey, Wills dad. 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). Teachers and parents! At two seconds past 9:08 a.m., Buck enters the elevator on the seventh floor. Loyalty and Revenge. 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 . He shows Will what its like to be on the other side of the barrel, whats it like to be afraid for your life. All storyboards and images are private and secure. By not doing so, Will would be labeled by his community as a coward, in addition to the trauma of losing his brother. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." gets passed down like name-brand. Will believes the men in his life all followed The Rules, and he reaches for these guidelines when coping with the loss of Shawn. He tells Will that he couldnt kiss [Wills] mother, couldnt kiss [his] boys good night (p.216). And then he breaks Rule #1. Whitney Atkinson. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. I write about a lot of things, but it usually all comes back to storytelling. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Instant PDF downloads. GradeSaver, 3 November 2022 Web. 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. A gat. Create a storyboard that identifies symbolism in the story. The next important thing in Mikeys story is a link to the theme of truth. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Past present future forever (p.174). Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. By the end of the novel, Will faces the question of whether he is going to be the one to stop the cycle of violence that claimed Shawn. I feel like its a lifeline. Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis, The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions. T-shirts around here. Struggling with distance learning? Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. In this elevator, Will, the main character, is greeted . PDF downloads of all 1715 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Since he pulled the trigger on Buck, a trigger was pulled on him by Shawn. Print Word PDF. 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. I'm a writer and blogger who enjoys writing in a variety of genres. The first anagram we are introduced to has been hastily scribbled on his wall, reading: SCARE=CARES (p.36). Uncle Marks parting words are chilling. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S. Below you will find the important quotes in, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Will goes back to the day, explaining that he is talking with his friend Tony when Shawn is shot outside their building. After Will tells Buck about Shawns death, Buck responds: So what you bout to do? (p.94). 111 lessons. This is the last anagram that he makes in the book and really demonstrates how much his encounter with Frick changes things. Not affiliated with Harvard College. date the date you are citing the material. When he sets out to kill Riggs, Shawn's assumed killer, Will takes the elevator down from his eighth-floor apartment to the lobby. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Rule No.3 states simply: "Get revenge." A burner. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance The third poem of Long Way Down reveals that Wills brother, Shawn, has just been shot and killed, and the poems that immediately follow it describe Wills shock and sadness at this tragedy. Will never gets a direct answer to this question. purchase. No one else can view anything. This is only the first part of Will's . It happens in an elevator teenaged Will is on his way to take revenge for the murder . It is when Will sees his brother lying dead that the shooting becomes something out of the ordinary. 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. Long Way Down Jason Reynolds. Will and Shawn, p. 319-320. But I guess not surprising, which I guess is even stranger, and even sadder.". This is, importantly, something that Pop only found out after the fact, though its somewhat unclear if Pop knew he made a mistake when he was still alive or only figured it out after he died. The Genius of Elizabeth Weins Code Name Verity [SPOILERS], Three-Act Story Structure Study: Neal Shustermans Scythe, MG & YA Books by POC Authors + representation chat. 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. 20 chapters | Long Way Down thoroughly explores the theme of revenge. If he did not kill Buck, he would not have died. If everyone followed The Rules, there would be no end to the bloodshed. In this sense, its possible to argue that Pop wasnt properly loyalhe didnt actually avenge Uncle Marks death, after alland that he himself then died needlessly. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. And thats not just because shes the only female ghost. LitCharts Teacher Editions. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Its heavily implied that the nighttime is a metaphor for the collection of dark emotions that can overcome a person after someone they love has been killed. Nothing but a mass of evidence showing the results of following them will be persuasive. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. In his narration, Will attempts to put forward this fearless persona, bringing attention to the fact that most readers might assume someone would be terrified to realize they are stuck in an elevator with a ghost. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Shawn had been able to carry out what Will is preparing to do, and because of this, someone else had killed him. 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. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Bigger huh. Interestingly, each of the six ghosts asks Will a question that pushes him to reconsider killing Riggs. Throughout the book, masculinity arises as a key theme. Shawn is the embodiment of Wills pain, his death the catalyst to why Will is in the elevator in the first place. 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. Like. Bubble gum and blood (p.133). But it also suggests that such emotions, and the violent actions that Will and others like him want to take as an expression of that loyalty, have irrevocable consequences for all parties involved. "Long Way Down Themes". 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. This is only the first part of Wills 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. This is the final line of the book and quite possibly the most powerful. 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. his face was wetwith tears he wasntsupposed to crywhen he was alive. 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? Dani, of course, is living proof that success isnt guaranteedshes dead because someone else trying to follow the Rules made a mistake. The Rules are simple: no crying, no snitching (to the police), and if a friend or family member is killed, the survivor must avenge their loved ones death by killing their killer. it was like the wordcame out and at the same timetime went in. that I didlike he told me,like Buck told him,like our grandfather toldour uncle, like our uncletold our dad. The questions and admissions of Pop and Dani force Will to contend with the possibility that the Rules dont work as well as theyre supposed totheyre no guarantee that an avenger is going to exact revenge; they simply guarantee that someone is going to die. When Will's older brother Shawn is shot dead on the playground outside their building, Will takes Shawn's gun and sets out to . They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Indeed, all six ghostly figures bear witness to the ways in which a brief moment of fury or foolishness can cause irreparable consequences. An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestseller Jason Reynoldss fiercely stunning novel that takes place in sixty potent secondsthe time it takes a kid to decide whether or not hes going to murder the guy who killed his brother. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Bucks cigarette. What Will learns in the elevator is that this story is far more complicated than just that of two menPop and his killerseeking revenge. I said,after listening tomy father admitwhat I had alreadyknown, wouldve been totell Buck how importantthat soap was. Crochet, hes said, taught him the value of going slowly and taking life one stepor one stitchat a time. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. The cycle of violence is the strongest theme that Reynolds book explores. killed my dad.Thats what my motheralways said. Reynolds subtly builds on the theme whenever Will speaks admiringly of Shawn or mentions how he wears Shawn's cologne and oversized hand-me-down clothing. Will doesnt recognize her at first because the ghost he sees is older than he remembers Dani was Wills childhood friend. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Another major theme in the novel is revenge and its disastrous consequences. Struggling with distance learning? You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Ed. 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. The broader issue at the heart of Long Way Down is the omnipresent gun violence Will and his community must deal with. 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. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Some of Reynolds first successful works were partially written during slow times at the Rag and Bone store he managed. The clearest symbol of vulnerability in this novel is crying; it is the first Rule, and the act that most clearly expresses weakness. Long Way Down tells the story of Will, a 15-year-old boy riding the elevator in his apartment building down to the lobby. Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down. Uncle Mark said,all chuckle, chuckle.He leaned toward Buck. BEEF. Its the only thing ever out of place on Shawns side (p.38) and its where Will finds Shawns gun. This multifaceted relationshipShawn was, in many ways, a brother, a mentor, and a father figure to Willmeans that Shawn and Will were extremely close. Its possible hes disappointed in Will for following in his footsteps. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. In this activity, students will identify themes in Long Way Down and illustrate examples from the text. Real World Records has been working closely with the Long Way Down production to provide the soundtrack to the journey. The author can choose to leave the storyboard public or mark it as Unlisted.

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