A Long Way to Violence

by Jake Graham

A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a novel written in free verse. A recurring situation that calls for the genre to exist is violence. The violence represented in the text is recurring and is the basis for survival for the characters in the novel. The main character Will is visited by victims of the violence he is closely associated with: the ghost of Buck (Will’s brother Shawn’s dead friend), the ghost of Dani (Will’s friend who died in a shooting), Uncle Mark (who was also killed by a gang), and Mikey Holloway (Will’s father who died when he was three from gang violence). Each character within the text is not only associated with violence, but also died from the result of being involved in violent acts. A recurring situation in the text is Will being visited from members of his past. Although the story takes place in 60 seconds, the novel involves members of Will’s past to influence his decision.

‘Long Way Down,’ By Jason Reynolds.

                   The stylistic features of the genre surrounds gun and gang violence. Switching from each visitor from beyond the grave. Buck when visiting Will examines the gun, making sure that it is loaded and prepared. Buck’s examination and interaction with the gun displays that he encourages the violent behavior of their society. 

                   He Asked Me: if I had even checked to see if the gun was loaded. I hadn’t. And now    almost shot myself trying to figure out how to. Give it To Me: before you hurt yourself.  Buck clicked something. The clip slid from the grip like a metal candy bar. Fourteen  slugs. One in the hole. Fifteen total, he said, slamming the clip back in. How many  should there be? I asked. (102)

The quote not only supports the violent genre, but also displays a character that supports the behavior and Will’s decision to commit a shooting that may leave him killed like his relatives and friends. Dani sheds light on what it feels like to be shot when visiting Will and Buck in the elevator. She recalls: “Gunshots: like firecrackers coming from everywhere. Dani said her body burned and all she wanted to do was jump outside of herself, swing to somewhere else like we pretended to on monkey bars” (131). Will’s Uncle Mark then visits him, since Will knows very little of his Uncle Mark (besides two stories his mother told him), the exchange is from someone who is a stranger to Will. Uncle Mark tells Will, “Uncle Mark Pulled Me In: for a hug, but how you hug what’s haunting you” (163). The exchange between Uncle Mark and Will displays an even further relationship to violence. Uncle Mark is nearly a stranger to Will, and his phrase “what’s haunting you?” alludes that Will is being haunted by his fate of violent. Will’s father then displays an act of violence towards Will, “Pop Stood Over Me: the gun pressed against the side of my face. Was the first time I had ever had one to my head. First time I had been that close to death. To the End.”

  Violence is the genre of the novel. The recurring situation is ghosts from Will’s past influencing his decision to avenge his brother Shawn’s death in the elevator. Different influences are set in the form of characters to push or sway Will’s decision. Buck is society’s encouragement to commit violent acts. Dani symbolizes the death of innocence at the hands of violence. Uncle Mark displays the loss of future surrounding pre-mature deaths, and finally Will’s father symbolizes the absence felt in families from violence. 

Reynolds’ novel is not only a free-verse call to end gun violence, but also a call for one to control their own fate. We have the hand’s essentially to determine our lives, there are ways out. The past not only influences our decisions but can hinder our future. Reynolds wants us to break the cycle of our own genre’s in life and believes that the only way to is to face what is binding you head on and conquer it. The novel is not only a triumph but a call to action for those who wish to break the chains of life.