Is Will Black in Long Way Down?

Will is a black American teenager, living in a neighbourhood overshadowed by gun crime. When his older brother Shawn is shot dead in front of him, Will is overcome with grief, despair and fury.

What is Will's personality Long Way Down?

Will is sensitive, perceptive, and loves language,—but he also desperately wants to grow up and be a man like his dad, Pop; his Uncle Mark; and his big brother, Shawn, all of whom died because they followed the neighborhood “Rules” of revenge killing.

What is will in the novel Long Way Down?

Will Holloman is the novel's 15-year-old protagonist and narrator. In his short time on earth, he has witnessed a number of untimely deaths, including the recent death of his older brother and role model, Shawn.

What happened to Will in a Long Way Down?

Jason Gielow At the end of the story we know that Will chooses to stay in the elevator and lives. He's enlightened and changed by this ride down the elevator.

What floor is will on Long Way Down?

The story written in verse all takes place within the sixty seconds it should take the elevator to get from Wills apartment on the 7th floor down to the lobby where he is ready to use his brothers gun to kill the man who killed him.

Jason Reynolds discusses the end of A Long Way Down

Who enters floor 7 in Long Way Down?

On the seventh floor, a man who's older than Will (“but not old,” according to Will) gets on. The man checks to see if the L button is lit.

What is floor 7 from Long Way Down about?

Part 7 Analysis

After many years of being taught not to cry or express his grief in a way that doesn't harm others, Shawn openly weeps in front of his brother. It isn't clear why Shawn is crying—it could be for his own life, the lives of all the people he lost, the fate he was dealt, or Will's current predicament.

Who is the killer in Long Way Down?

Frick was the man who had killed Buck. Frick had meant to rob Buck so that he could join the Dark Suns, but he got nervous and ended up shooting Buck.

Why did Will cry in Long Way Down?

Jason Reynolds' “Long Way Down” gives its young readers an alternative to the Rules that Will believes he must follow. During that paranormal elevator ride, Will does cry, not only for Shawn but for his other lost friends and family, too. He is given the time and space to miss these people ripped from his life.

Does will shoot Riggs?

Will believes after he kills Riggs it will end but Uncle Mark tells him "It's never the end, Never." Will's father Mikey Holloman whom he doesn't really remember "was killed for killing the man who killed our uncle" as Shawn has told him.

How old is will in a long way down?

It's a novel that tells the story of an African American teen boy that has a tough life. Determined to avenge his 19-year-old brother's death, Will, age 15, takes his brother's gun out of their shared bedroom to kill the person he's certain is the murderer.

Who was in the elevator with Will?

As Will rides the elevator to the lobby, he is joined by several ghosts: Shawn's friend Buck who was killed by Frick in a gang initiation, Will's childhood friend Dani who was killed when they were eight, Will's Uncle Mark who died in a bad drug situation, Will's father Mikey who tried to kill Mark's killer and died ...

Will and Shawn's relationship?

Will's older brother. Shawn is about 19 or 20 at the time of his death in a gang-related incident the day before the novel begins. Will idolizes Shawn, as he was Will's only brother and his beloved mentor.

What terrible mistake did Will's dad make while he was still alive Long Way Down?

What terrible mistake did Will's dad make while he was still alive? He killed the wrong person when trying to get revenge. What does Will's dad do that terrifies Will? He holds a gun to Will's head.

What does Will confess to Shawn in the elevator?

At the end of the story, the elevator arrives at the second floor and one more person boards. It is Shawn. Will embraces his brother and confesses his plan to kill Riggs. He confides in his brother that he is scared and unsure.

Why did Will's dad put a gun to his head in Long Way Down?

He forces Will to consider the long-term consequences of his actions, and what it would look and feel like to kill another man. Then Will's father enters and puts a gun to Will's head, trying to show his son what it feels like to be the victim of a random murder.

Was Dani killed in Long Way Down?

Dani was Will's childhood best friend until she was accidentally killed at eight years old in a revenge shooting gone wrong. The ghost of Dani gets on the elevator with Will on the sixth floor—her ghost has grown up to be about Will's age but wears an adult version of the dress she was wearing when she died.

How was Will's father killed?

Family. Daniel was Will Treaty's father. He was killed by Wargals in the First Araluen Civil War after saving Halt's life.

Why does Will's father pull the gun on Will?

The most defining coming-of-age moments in Will's life are when he first picks up Shawn's pistol, and when the ghost of the Will's father, Pop, holds the gun to Will's head in the elevator on Will's way to avenge Shawn's death.

How did Will know Riggs killed Shawn?

Shawn's former friend, who Will thinks murdered Shawn. Will believes this because Riggs recently moved and joined a rival gang, the Dark Suns, and Shawn was killed in Dark Suns territory while on an errand to buy his mother special soap for her eczema.

Who dies in the book Long Way Down?

What happened in the book Long Way Down? In Long Way Down, the main character Will has just lost his older brother, Shawn, who was shot and killed.

Who killed pop in Long Way Down?

A man approached Pop at a payphone, asked him if he knew a man named Gee, and shot him. Not having memories of Pop is another way that Will's family is fractured.

Why was Dani killed in long way down?

Answer and Explanation: In Long Way Down, Dani is killed by stray gunfire when she and Will are eight years old. Dani appears as one of the ghosts on the elevator as Will descends, intent on finding and killing the person he believes shot and killed his brother.

What floor is Frick in long way down?

Frick is a heavyset man with light skin and a mop of curly brown hair. Frick's ghost gets on the elevator at the third floor, and he and Buck tell Frick's story together. Frick seems like a generally kind and soft man who wanted to be seen as tough, which is why he got involved with the Dark Suns gang.

What did Buck tell Will in the elevator?

As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that's when Will sees that one bullet is missing.