Empathy In Long Way Down

Growth In Empathy There are over 8 billion people on the planet, and still, everyone goes through a journey during their life. Everyone goes through growth during their lives, especially during times of high emotions. Coming of age is a journey everybody goes through during adolescence while traveling into adulthood and is usually signified by a significant event during your life. Will is the main character of Long Way Down and goes through a coming-of-age journey throughout the book. The Barber is the main character of Lather and Nothing Else and goes through a similar journey as Will does. Will goes through a character development journey that allows him to develop empathy. Long Way Down, in short, is about Will, a teenage boy whose brother was just murdered and has a

At the beginning of the book, Will is self-centered and doesn’t think about how his actions would affect people around him, such as his mother, who was already very distraught about the murder of her son. During Will’s elevator ride, he talks with his Uncle Mark, who has passed, and who makes up a fake movie for Will about what would happen if Will carried out his revenge. This fake scenario is very powerful and shows Will that it is better to be empathetic rather than to get revenge. “...and shoots, it was like the words came out and at the same time went in. Went down into me and chewed on everything inside.” (Reynolds 190). This quote is an excerpt from the conversation Will and his Uncle Mark had. Will’s Uncle Mark pressures Will to say the last line, “and shoots”, but he isn't able to until someone else has said it first for him. Just saying those words makes Will feel guilty as if something is inside of him, which changes his mind on the idea of getting revenge on his brother. The Barber is the main character of Lather and Nothing Else and goes through a similar development as Will