Long Way Down Masculinity Quotes

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The gold chain in the novel Long Way Down, is full of symbolism and importance. We see this repeated and repeated many times throughout the book. When looking deeper, the chain represents masculinity. This includes manhood, and any qualities associated with it. Masculinity is important to Will and his community, it drives Will to act in whatever way he thinks is most masculine. First look at the rules the men of Wills community live by, No crying. No snitching. Revenge. This is ingrained into Will’s head. He even plans revenge the night his brother dies, acting on rule 3. Even though this isn't a smart idea at all, that doesn't matter to Shawn because revenge is the masculine thing to do. Going back to when Shawn died ,“Shawn lies there