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The Unspoken Rules In Long Way Down

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Societies can contain many unspoken rules that people follow. Some of these rules are positive, while others are negative. These negative unspoken rules are seen in the novel Long Way Down as the society depicted in it has three negative rules. These three rules play a big part in the actions of the people in its society. They lead people to kill others to satisfy their revenge, and cause much unrest and remorse. 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 …show more content…

These rules have a negative effect on the society as people end up holding in their feelings, letting crimes get out of hand, and lead to many people killing each other for revenge. Furthermore, these rules also negatively affect Will, since he wants to kill Riggs. He first gets into an elevator to leave his apartment. While in the elevator, Will starts to see ghosts of others who were killed by the rules of their society. Will eventually meets his father who died while Will was very young. Then Will said, “I wiped my face … No crying. Not in front of Pop. … Not in front of none” (Reynolds 209). Revealing that Will is desperately trying to hold in his feelings. This is problematic because holding in one's feelings has a negative effect on one’s health and can even lead them to develop chronic illnesses. Additionally, Will, Shawn, his Pop, his uncle Mark, and many other people do not snitch while following the rules. This is apparent as Will decides to go kill Riggs instead of talking to the police and finding evidence to prove the murder of his brother. Then after Will does or does not kill Riggs, someone would attempt to get revenge on Will. This leads to how their society and rules allow for rampant crime. Since people always have to get revenge, there is a never ending loop of people getting revenge on eachother. With continuous loop, more and more crimes and deaths would follow

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