Cycle Of Violence In Jason Reynolds Long Way Down

From losing one’s brother due to the endless cycle of violence to having one’s innocence revoked for avenging his brother's death, Will has the choice between avenging his brother's death and losing his innocence as a child or ending the cycle of gun violence and keep living life as a normal kid should be. If he doesn't avenge his brother's death, he's breaking the neighborhood's rules. Everyone knows the rules, and they should never be broken. Jason Reynolds used the elevator in Will’s apartment building as a symbol of Will being trapped in his thoughts of wanting to get revenge on his brother Shawn’s killer, Carson Rigger. In the novel Long Way Down, the author Jason Reynolds uses symbolism, to narrate the main character, Will throughout

Shawn ended up getting murdered because Shawn killed a man named Frick; Frick killed Shawn’s best friend Buck. Shawn was just following the neighborhood's rules. “They weren't meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken to follow.” It's all a loophole Will’s family got stuck in and can not end now because it's a cycle they are not allowed to break due to the rules the neighborhood goes by. Uncle Mark, Shawn, and Wills Pops was the one who passed on the “The Rules” and the cycle of violence to Will’s family. Will could honestly end the loophole and not killed Riggs. But it's all the pressure Will feels about The Rules, If he doesn't follow them he’ll have more hallucinate of him just talking to the ghost in his mind. He just thinks he's going to get judged primarily because it's his brother who passed away. Shawn's pistol symbolizes the cycle of violence that's prevalent in the neighborhood. Due to the cycle of violence, Uncle Mark brought into the family, there's no way on stopping it since The Rules always have to be followed. There are just young men losing their lives over some Rules they're forced to follow. They don't honestly deserve that. Will doesn't deserve on getting murdered later on in his life, just to get revenge for his brother's

Due to Will being trapped in his own head, Will starts hallucinating; Will got trapped in an elevator, beginning on the seventh floor until he got to the lobby all under 60 seconds. As he made his way down to the lobby, he met someone new on each level. They're people who have already passed away due to gun violence. In reality, he's just hallucinating that he's seeing seven ghosts. Another symbolism used in The Long Way Down is the middle drawer of Shawn's dresser room representing the darkness and danger Shawn hold himself in. Will and his mother never wanted to accept the idea that Shawn had a dark side of him. Especially where he had a pistol in his mother's household. Will always said that the middle drawer made Shawn's room out of place. It gave him a sense that he should never open the drawer. Since he passed away now it's his time to use the gun and get revenge, if he even has to nerve to shoot someone. Also in the elevator, the L button (Lobby) symbolizes where Will is going to take his life. It also means L or Losers in Shawn’s and Will’s life. Rather he is going to do what he has been taught to do and just kill Riggs or he’ll not follow The Rules and live life as a normal kid should. Perhaps he will ruin his own life just for his