Long Way Down By Jason Reinold

The theme of Jason Reynold’s novel “Long Way Down” is that the continual repeating of mistakes and the repetitive nature of violence, shootings, and deaths in Will’s neighborhood must come to an end. It is the rules of the neighborhood that drive this horrible cycle of revenge and continue to destroy the living. The rules are no crying, no snitching, and revenge. The first rule, no crying, implies that one should not cry regardless of how challenging or sad the situation is. As for the second rule, no snitching means you won't inform the police or anyone else about anything you hear or see what’s wrong. The third and final rule, revenge refers to retaliating or hurting someone in return for being hurt by that same person. Will assumes he must

On the ride down the ghost of Buck, who was killed because he followed the cycle of violence, said,“ You gon’ follow the rules huh? But you ain’t got it in you, Will. Your brother did, but you- you don't ” ( Reynolds 101 ). Buck's presence shocks Will because he knows Buck is dead, but Buck knows precisely what Will's planning and tells Will he is not a killer. Buck knows from experience that Will would end up in a poor unfortunate situation like his brother Shawn if he follows in his footsteps. Buck attempted to persuade Will not to continue on the same track by stating that he could not avenge his brother Shawn's death. Buck continuously tries to lower Will's self-esteem, by telling him he isn’t capable. Buck uses a sense of humor to mock and teases Will in hopes to change his mind. Buck does not appear to take Will's desire for revenge seriously. As a whole, Buck attempted to advise Will about how the repetition of violence, shootings, and deaths is

On the ride down, the ghost of Uncle Mark, Will’s Uncle who was killed because he followed the cycle of violence, said “And the reason why is because, for the first time in your life, you realize, or at least think you could kill someone, right” (Reynolds 172)? On the elevator, Uncle Mark tried to get Will to narrate his revenge plan as a movie, but Will struggled when he got to the part about vocalizing his intent to shoot Riggs. Uncle Mark ominously makes Will tell the truth about how he planned to avenge Shawn's shooting death, forcing Will to walk through the scene of killing Carlson Riggs. As Will rehearsed his part, it gave him a more vivid perspective of the circumstances he would have to face while killing Carlson Riggs. Will realized that this plan of action would be life-changing and challenging. At that time, Will was frightened and was rethinking his decision. Will was able to gain a comprehensive understanding of actions because of Uncle Mark. All in all, the ghost of Uncle Mark showed Will how the choice of following the neighborhood rules to kill Carlson Riggs could impact his