Vengeance In Jason Reynolds's 'Long Way Down'

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In the young adult novel Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Jason illustrates a story by using poems to portray a young black boy named William Holloman. William has gone through many difficult challenges, one of which was losing his brother to gun violence. Ever since that day, Will has been grieving the death of his brother, Shawn, and realizes that he can avenge his older brother. Therefore, Will, in his quest for revenge, finds himself trapped and yearning to conform to societal norms. As a result, the author utilizes internal conflict to develop the concept that revenge stems from a sense of hopelessness and anger confined within oneself. Moreover, Jason Reynolds uses the elevator as a symbol in his book to represent how grief can trap someone …show more content…

Acknowledging his brother's death had a profound impact on Will. Will’s struggle becomes evident when he expresses how “it's hard to say Shawn’s dead”. So strange to say that. So sad. But I guess it is not surprising, which is, I guess, even stranger and even sadder.” (pg8) In other words, Will finds it difficult to comprehend that the one with whom he shared his fondest memories has left him all alone. This is significant because it demonstrates how Will’s love for his brother is so immense that it is hard to let go of him. Will lives in a society where he has to follow the rules, and the rules prevent anyone from crying or snitching, which enables him to get revenge on those who hurt his loved ones. This internal conflict introduces the idea that Shawn's death was Will's motive to follow the 3rd rule that says, "NO.3: REVENGE If someone you love gets killed, find the person who killed them and kill them.” (pg. 34), which consequently results in the need for retaliation. This correlates to the central idea of revenge: that revenge will mess with your head because subconsciously, your mind will bring up all the consequences and guilt you may experience if you undergo this plan of

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