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Imagery In Jason Reynolds's Long Way Down

463 Words2 Pages

According to Amnesty International, more than 500 people die each day due to gun violence. In the poetry novel “Long Way Down”, the main character Will, mourns the loss of his brother who is shot and killed. Will goes to find and kill Shawn’s killer. He is then visited by multiple ghosts in an elevator. The author Jason Reynolds uses imagery, repetition, and similes in order to show the mourning mood that is represented throughout the book.
First, Reynolds uses the literary device imagery to help convey the mood of mourning . At this point in the book, after Shawn got shot, Will described to the readers how everyone was taking the shock of his death. In the book, it says, “And my mom moaning low, Not my baby. Not my baby. Why? Hanging over my brother body like a dimmed light post.” (16). His use of imagery helps show how physically and emotionally hurt Will’s mom is. This expresses the mood of mourning because we now know how hurt Will’s mom is by Shawns death. …show more content…

After we dig deeper into the book Will explains that it is one of “the rules” to find who killed the person who was killed and kill them. In the book, it says, “I had never held a gun. Never ever touched one. Heavier than I expected, like holding a newborn except the cry would be much much much louder ” (59). Reynolds used repetition in this to show how much grief he is going through that he doesn't really explain how scary it is to hold a gun but how loud the cries of the person will be. . This expresses the mood of morning because it shows how hurt will is

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