Long Way Down Essay Questions

What unique effects does Jason Reynolds achieve by writing Long Way Down in verse as opposed to prose?

From the first page of Long Way Down, it becomes clear that this novel is unlike others: Rather than prose, the book is made up of hundreds of short poems. While the generous amount of blank space on every page ensures the reader will move through the narrative speedily, Reynolds' decision to write in verse also opens up the text's appearance as a space for expression. By breaking sentences into lines of verse, Reynolds can experiment with the length of word groupings and stanzas, dictating when and where the reader slows down or speeds up. He can also emphasize certain words by marooning them in their own stanzas. Verse also frees up Reynolds to match form to content in passages such as this:

I’VE NEVER BEEN

in an earthquake.
Don’t know if this was
even close to how they
are, but the ground
defi nitely felt like
it o pened up
and ate me. (15)

In this passage, Reynolds adjusts the spacing of words and letters to emulate a rift running through the text. The effect is that the reader imagines the letters shaking as a split occurs in both Will's imagination and the words on the page.

What role does masculinity play in the novel?

As one of the novel's major themes, masculinity plays a significant role in Long Way Down. From early in the book, Reynolds makes it evident that Will is at an age when he is still learning how to be a man. The conversation about not being tall enough that he and Tony are having before Shawn is shot speaks to Will's desire to be seen as more manly than he is. Because his father died when Will was three, Will's ideas about masculinity have mostly been informed by Shawn, his older brother. Will looks up to Shawn, proud to wear his cologne and to follow his advice about dating. However, Will also follows Shawn's example when Shawn teaches him The Rules, a set of dictates that discourage crying and snitching, and that encourage revenge. When Shawn dies, Will believes the manly thing to do is to suppress his tears and avenge Shawn's death, skirting the police so that he may handle the issue himself. It is only when the ghosts of loved ones challenge Will's masculine posturing that Will exposes his true vulnerability and uncertainty. By the end of the book, Will is a broken, tortured figure, unable to deny that he can't deal with the pressure to live up to expectations. He realizes that The Rules and their preconceived notions of masculinity have only perpetuated pain and grief in his community.

What is the significance of Shawn's handgun?

The handgun that Will finds in his brother's crooked middle drawer is an important symbol of violence perpetuating itself. When Will doesn't know how to deal with his grief, he takes out Shawn's gun and lists the many nicknames he knows for firearms, settling on "a tool for RULE No. 3." The decision to use the gun to avenge Shawn's death brings momentary reassurance to Will as he grapples with the needless loss of his brother. However, Will's experience with the ghosts in the elevator steadily wears away his reassurance as he comes to understand that this tool for violence will eventually be used against him if he uses it against Riggs. Will learns that the gun has already had a cursed line of owners. It started with Buck, who passed the gun down to Shawn, who used it to kill the man who killed Buck. Retaliation for Frick's murder sealed Shawn's fate, leading Will to conclude that he too will be killed if he retaliates against a member of the Dark Suns. Ultimately, the handgun will survive while more lives are lost, because its only use is to bring about more needless deaths.

What role does grief play in Long Way Down?

Grief plays a significant role in Long Way Down as the novel's central theme. The theme of deep sorrow following the loss of someone first arises when Will says that his older brother died the day before yesterday. Will's experience showcases the many facets of grief as he bounces between acceptance, denial, anger, depression, and bargaining in no particular order. The night Shawn dies, Will shows denial by suppressing his tears in accordance with Rule No. 1. The Rules keep Will in denial and anger as he sets out to avenge Shawn's death. However, Will encounters more and more grief with each ghost that steps onto his elevator, bringing back painful and pleasantly sentimental memories that weaken his resolve. As the novel progresses, the reader comes to understand that Will lives in a community that deals with disproportionately high levels of gun violence, meaning he has been mired in unexpressed grief since childhood. It becomes clear that Will is committed to not showing weakness in the form of emotional vulnerability because he has been made incredibly fragile by the loss of so many loved ones. In the end, Will has no safe outlet for his grief because the need to put up a front of masculine indifference has conditioned him to channel grief into anger and destruction.

What is the significant about Will's reaction to gun violence in Long Way Down?

The disproportionately high incidence of gun violence in American communities of color like Will's is the broader issue at the center of Long Way Down. From early in the novel, Reynolds depicts Will as a teenager who is all too familiar with the omnipresent gun violence that has claimed the lives of so many loved ones in his community. When Will describes Shawn's shooting, he speaks of how he first reacted to the gunshots with the routine duck-and-cover protocol, just as he would do with any shooting. He also notes how the police officer questions witnesses as though he is new to policing and doesn't understand what Will does: that no one will provide any incriminating eye-witness tips. As the novel goes on, the reader comes to understand that Will's battle-weary attitude stems from a lifetime of watching loved ones die by gun homicide. Will treats Shawn's shooting as an initiation into an inevitable destiny: it is now Will's turn to fire a gun in revenge, as The Rules dictate. However, the ghosts in the elevator challenge Will's commitment to his plan to shoot Riggs, and Will admits he doesn't know whether he wants to become the next in a long line of victims or step away from the cycle of self-perpetuating gun violence.