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Societal Pressures In Long Way Down

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Society seems to be set by invisible rules that are considered acceptable. “Acceptable” actually translates to required, as there is so much pressure on every individual in one way or another. In Jason’s Reynolds’ book, Long Way Down, the main character, Will Holloman, experiences this same type of pressure with his community's own set of rules. He was taught from a young age to subside to “The Rules” which are no crying, no snitching, and get revenge, which causes Will to go through a cycle of overwhelming stress from the pressure. Similarly, as a teenage girl in our society today, I too feel that I must abide by an unnecessary set of rules and requirements in order to be deemed acceptable and wanted. Societal pressures such as unrealistic beauty standards fetter teen girls and women …show more content…

Throughout Long Way Down, a common topic mentioned was “The Rules.” These rules were no crying, no snitching, and getting revenge. As a matter of fact, these rules dictated many of Will and his family members’ actions. Reynolds did a great job on showing the pressure and emotional stress Will feels from the expectations of male toughness, especially growing up in a bad neighborhood. Will expresses, “I FELT LIKE CRYING/ which felt like/ another person/ trapped behind my face/ tiny fists punching/ the backs of my eyes/ feet kicking/ my throat at the spot/ where the swallow/ starts./ Stay put, I whispered to him,/ Stay strong, I whispered to me./ Because crying/ is against/ The Rules./ (Reynolds 30).” This vivid imagery shows the emotional stress and internal conflict that Will is facing. I like when Reynolds describes “tiny fists punching the back of my eyes” because

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On page 212, Will’s dad says, “But I didn’t cry. Didn’t snitch./ Knew exactly who killed Mark./ Knew I could get him./ The Rules.” “The Rules” is a term used in the book and is what guides victims into revenge.

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I got work to do. A job to do. Business to handle I, said”(Reynolds 100) this quotes shows the degree will took to following the three simple rules, He did not cry, He did not snitch and most importantly he’s on his way to try to get revenge. When Dani was in the elevator and saw that Will was trying to conceal a gun Dani asked Will “But you ever even shot a gun? She asked.

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It becomes evident to Will that following in Shawn’s footsteps could have negative implications. The object that Will uses as a reminder of his brother shows Shawn’s flaws, “I wrapped my fingers [around the gun] / placing them over Shawn’s / little brother holding big brother’s hand” (Reynold 64). The relationship between the gun with both brothers and the brothers’ relationship to one another is made evident with Will’s actions. Will covering Shawn’s fingerprints with his own symbolizes his lack of preparedness to carry out the plan. Due to the fact that the gun brings back dreadful memories of an imperfect Shawn; Will decides not to follow his brother's path in an effort to end the cycle of violence that has perpetuated in his family.

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Even though his brother was too deep into drug and gang culture to escape, “[he] wanted Wes to be nothing like him” (72). Yet, Wes was consumed by the, “… same game that had consumed [his brother] and put a bullet or two in him,” and had never known anything in his family outside of drugs and gang violence, so drugs and gangs were the only expectation Wes had, the only place he saw himself fitting into (58). Ultimately, the expectations of those

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Throughout different chapters of the novel, Reynolds provides readers with Will’s background and how his family’s influence has taught him how to combat encounters of violence in order to overcome them. Within the first pages of the novel, Reynolds introduces Will and soon after the incident of Shawn’s death. In Will’s neighborhood gang violence is everywhere. He grew up with it and knows, “if the blood/inside you is on the inside/of someone else,/you never want to/see it on the outside of /them” (Reynolds 5).

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and it’s clear that the theme is the cycle of violence. For example, Will was taught “the rules” by and the rules are no crying, no snitching, and always get revenge. The rules keep generations in a cycle of violence. During the story Will sees how the riles and the cycle of violence have the ghosts in the elevator. In Jason Reynold’s, fictional novel entitled Long Way Down, he argues that the cycle of violence can be stopped by doing the right way instead of getting revenge on someone.

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For example, Will and his family have been affected by the rules as Will’s brother, Shawn, and father, Pop, have killed and been killed. Now it is Will’s turn, as he sets out to satisfy his revenge by killing his brother’s supposed killer, Riggs. Though Will has some doubt if he is doing the right thing and if he even has the right

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He wishes he looked like Paul Newman, and wishes he had someone to talk to as he walks home. As the story goes on he and one of his friends, Johnny Cade, find themselves in a bit of trouble. They were charged with murder and now are on the run. With nowhere to go and nothing to do. Over the course of the novel, Hinton’s The Outsiders teaches us violence shouldn’t be the only solution because it doesn't always end well.

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Then when someone breaks them.” (Golding 33) All the boys in the beginning wanted rules like in their boarding school and that represents following British societal etiquette. In Lord of the Flies, Jack and his followers became savage, “They hate you, Ralph. They are going to do you.”

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For example, Will’s father was meant to follow The Rules and avenge Uncle Mark by killing his killer. He ended up killing the wrong person, and later dying at a payphone. His story shows Will that he may also not know the right person who actually killed Shawn and end up going through what his father did. The Rules caused him to be angry and violent, and how this cycle of violence won’t end as long as The Rules are still in place. Dani, who was Will’s childhood friend, also was in the elevator.

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Teenagers have become much more focused on what he or she looks like. This is because, they are searching their identity, and trying to be someone that the media expects them to be. With social media, comes the stereotypical version of what a man or woman should be like. For example, women are expected to dress sexy, and have the perfect barbie doll body. Whereas men, are expected to be muscular and tall.

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