“Life is like chess.” These words by Ben Franklin articulate that there are certain moves people take in life that can impact their future. There are certain decisions that can change the course of a life, and monumental decisions must be taken with careful consideration and thought, with complete awareness of the consequences. In Jason Reynolds’ famous thought-provoking Long Way Down, a young teen, Will, must decide whether to break the norm of death and violence or stick to it and avenge his brother’s killing. From talking with the ghosts of his relatives and friends, Will is shown the potential consequences of his actions, and Reynolds depicts the nature of disrupting a cycle of killing and responsibility to his loved ones. Will resists the strong rules his community goes by and does not step off the elevator to follow his brother’s ghost and seek revenge, as he comes to his senses figuring out that he isn’t 100% sure if Riggs is the murderer, seeing the ghosts that resulted from violence gives him a strong motivation to end this circle of revenge, and he truly believes that he cannot leave his family to grieve for him too after his brother’s death.
Will realizes that Riggs might not be the person who killed his brother, Shawn. Will, in shock from what his subconscious vision of the ghosts of his Uncle Mark and father, thinks,“Uncle Mark and my father/ looked at me with hollow eyes/ dancing somewhere between/ guilt and grief,/ which I couldn’t make sense of/ until my father admitted/ that he had killed/ the wrong guy” (218). Will is surprised by his Uncle Mark’s and father’s confession, and begins to ponder on whether he could have the wrong guy. With the influence of his uncle and father, Will begins to doubt whether Riggs is the man who killed Shawn. Will admits he should be sure of Shawn’s killer before taking revenge based on what he has seen so far through his relatives either regretting their actions or being dead because of someone else's actions. Seeing his uncle and father stuck in a pile of grief and guilt, Will realizes that he doesn’t want to be trapped in this blackhole simply for killing the wrong guy. Will, being a young, bright teen, considers breaching the surge of continuous death in his community.
Through seeing multiple ghosts from his journey in life, Will realizes what has happened to them and wishes to put a stop to the continuous flood of violence and death in his community. Frustrated at what is happening around him in the elevator, Will says, “But that’s not what Shawn said/ Shawn always said/ our dad was killed/ for killing the man/ who killed our uncle” (203). Will is confused about what he has heard from his family, which contradicts with what Shawn said about the circle of violence in his family. He knows that killing someone would also result in him being killed eventually based on one of the rules to seek revenge. That is, if he kills Riggs, he will be next to be killed in the vicious cycle. From the realization of an existence of a waterfall of death and violence in his community, he comes to an understanding that maybe taking revenge might not be such a bright idea. As the elevator reaches the fourth floor, Uncle Mark reveals to Will, “The end?/ he murmured,/ looking at Buck,/ motioning for a light./ It’s never the end,/ Uncle Mark said,/ all chuckle, chuckle./ He leaned toward Buck./ Never” (192). Will now understands from his Uncle Mark that the repetitive violence in his community will never end. He registers to his brain that he could be the needle in the haystack and break the barrier of the thick ice of death and violence. Seeing that he can make a difference in his community, Will has a gut feeling to lean towards standing out and potentially putting a stop to this nuisance. Will, a loyal and responsible son, has touched the walls of death too much, and deep down in his heart he doesn’t want to create another storm of grief for his family and friends.
Will wishes to not seek revenge and ultimately leave his family in another episode of grief after Shawn’s sudden death. Thinking about the wellbeing of his mother, and seeing how gloomy she is Will considers, “Instead, with the pistol heavy/ on my back, I stepped lightly/ over the creaky parts of the/ floor, trying not to wake her/ and lie about where I was going/ And break her heart even more” (68). Going on his journey to take revenge, he thinks to himself that he doesn't want to bother his mother and drown her further in the ocean of grief evenmore by telling her where he is going. Will may be determined to take revenge in the beginning, but he seems to have a feeling of respect for others and caring about the life of his family in both his mind and heart. He is now disrupted by the thought of ruining and tearing up his family even more that revenge seems to be a far goal that he no longer wishes to reach. By taking revenge, he will immerse his mother in this ocean of grief and he knows that may not be the wisest choice.
Though being binded by his community rules, he doesn’t go in the footsteps of his ghost brother as the elevator comes to a stop, and doesn’t avenge Shawn’s death as he realizes he is not sure who the killer is, he wants to put a stop to this endless trail of loss of life, and he can’t let his mother down by causing her more grief. Will goes through a journey of influence and experience that forces him to consider all his options and consequences. He makes the monumental decision to not seek revenge. Seeing what happened to his friends and relatives, he believes taking revenge would not be the smartest choice in his life. “Life is like chess.” These words by Ben Franklin continue to articulate that life presents everyone with opportunities that must be taken to consideration to the best of one’s ability and know the resulting actions. Often thinking about he/she’s loved ones, making a difference in the community or just being sure of the decisions made. In every community around the world, violence and death will bring people no where but the island of grief, leaving them stranded. Violence and death must be put to a stop and these monumental decisions have the power to stop it.
Reynolds, Jason. Long Way Down. New York: Atheneum, 2017. Print.
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