Analysis Of Jason Reynolds Long Way Down

For my first poem, I chose to construct this piece in the form of a “title poem,” using a direct quote from Jason Reynolds’ novel, Long Way Down. In doing so, I labeled my poem, “Title Poem: ‘Somewhere between guilt and grief”’ (Reynolds 218). Reynold’s protagonist, Will voices this line when describing the empty eyes of his Father and Uncle. By combining Reynolds’ literary and my own poetic technique, I was able to create a moment inside Will’s mind and what he was possibly thinking while staring into the lifeless eyes of his family members. I fabricated this poem of choppy verses and straightforward ideas yet maintaining depth throughout, something the author has mastered. For example, I include rather simple words like “sticky, muddy, webbed,”

Additionally, I drafted these poems with the intention to have a dark, central theme. Since the beginning of the novel, he is determined to avenge his brother’s death, Shawn, to find his place within society and his family. The Rules deeply affect his understanding of life, and to fit in, Will has to lower himself to murder in order to feel like a human who belongs. Therefore, he is distraught and conflicted between societal acceptance and his value for life. I end the first poem with a line that was meant to represent the objective of this collection: Will is unraveling. While constructing this poem, I struggled with the diction because my writing style typically uses more sophisticated vocabulary, but I gave my best effort to imitate Reynolds’ language for the purpose of demonstrating my understanding of his novel. However, I am proud of my ability to play with the structure of this piece similar to the authors’ abnormal

He portrays the devastating experience of our own mind trying to torment us. When applied to Will, he morally struggles to contend with the grief of losing his brother, Shawn, and the decision to achieve revenge by shooting Shawn’s killer. I interpreted his internal dilemma as his conscience that tries to guide him toward a solution. Furthermore, to fully capture my reader with the novel’s characteristics, this poem is in first-person which is meant to be Will’s point of view. I wanted to capture his feelings in the same manner and fashion that Reynolds writes, Will is “being held underwater,” mentally (Reynolds 153). In terms of syntax, I chose to emulate Reynolds’ clipped sentences and unusual punctuation as a nod to his literary style. Moreover, Reynolds typically includes a cascading format when considering his intent on an idea. Evidently, a running theme in my work is a similar diagonal line to add purpose and make my poem thought-provoking. “This Nameless Thing” was by far my favorite to develop because I truly felt grounded in my understanding of Reynolds’ concept of a parasite. When writing this, I thought a sliver of me intersected with Will’s character. Nonetheless, it was difficult to form those thoughts into words that would appeal to my reader, and I think Reynolds’ experienced the same