51 pages • 1 hour read
Jason ReynoldsLong Way Down
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
Long Way Down is a novel written in verse. How does Reynolds use poetic form for emphasis?
How does Will judge The Rules? Why does he enact them but refuse to claim them as something he and his male family members helped create and perpetuate?
What does Will’s mother’s eczema symbolize in the novel? Why is it significant?
What do the gun and its history reveal about Will’s idea of masculinity and how to behave as a man?
What does Will’s meeting with Dani reveal about his pre-adolescent reaction to grief? How does it differ from his present reaction?
How are victims portrayed in Long Way Down? Which characters are portrayed as victims, and which are portrayed as perpetrators? Where on that spectrum does Will fall?
What does Uncle Mark mean when he says, “It’s never the end” (192)?
Why does Pop put a gun to Will’s head? What is he trying to teach his son?
Why is it important that Will sees Shawn cry? What does this mean about the validity of The Rules?
What do the novel’s final words indicate about Will’s plans? Will he follow The Rules? Support your argument with quotes and context clues.
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By Jason Reynolds
