Gun Violence In Long Way Down By Jason Reynolds

With all the recent gun related crimes and tragedies’ that has happened recently, there are strong calls for government to act for stricter gun control laws. Mr. Alan Berlow wrote an Op-ed essay that was published in the New York Times titled “Gun Control That Actually Works”. Berlow makes the argument that there are control measures in place that works for gun control. In 1934 a measure was enacted into law to control the procurement of weapons which is known as the NFA (National Firearms Act). The NFA outlines the standard for procurement of military grade firearms and any weapon, attachment, or modification that will allow a single person to inflict a large amount of fatalities with in a single attack.

The right to kill Patrick Radden Keefe in his article Making Gun Control Happen describes the urgency and the need to regulate gun control. He said that gun control should be an immediate issue for congress and the president because we have lost too many lives. He uses examples such as Sandy Hook ,Virginia Tech shooting and the shooting of an official Gabrielle Giffords,a congresswoman that almost died from a bullet in the head. Patrick Radden Keefe concludes that when there is a tragedy and fear the whole country is focused on action to eradicate the problem but after sometime the public forgets until the next scare. The last grande change to be made for gun control was the demoralizing assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther

This plot is one like no other. It combines the supernatural and the regular world, into an impactful novel in verse, that discusses empowering motifs such as gun violence and community influence on personal identity. In the novel Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds the protagonist, Will Holloman, had a brother, Shawn, who recently died due to gun violence. Will lives in an immensely toxic community, where violence is encouraged, and where brutal murders are normalized. In Will's community, there are three unwritten rules that must be followed by everyone.

This helped Will because “Only five cigarettes. Shawn hadn’t lit one” (Reynolds 303) This evidence shows why Will won't get revenge because people gave him cloudy thoughts while Shawn hadn’t. This leads Will to realize he doesn’t have to kill Carlson Riggs. Shawn passes ‘the rules’ of the neighborhood down to his little brother Will.

Jason Reynolds uses many literary devices in his book Long Way Down to convey various messages and connections to the real world in gun-related violence. For example, America faces massive gun violence issues in large cities like Chicago, and even small-town schools. Chicago has a rate of 29 homicides related to firearm use for every one thousand residents which is leading the US in gun violence-related statistics. Opposing gangs make up a large number of these homicides as they are constantly at each other's throats in search of vengeance for a brother or friend that was killed much like the gun violence cycle displayed in this book. Long Way Down emphasizes the harm and sorrow that follows behind gun violence as well as the never-ending cycle

Throughout the beginning of the story, Will describes the gun ad “ Like a newborn baby. During the story, the gun becomes a representation of a cycle of violence that’s passed down from generation to generation. This ultimately supports Reynold’s claim even though that you are born into a cycle of violence you always have

Specifically, she expresses the use of pathos by using a reference to domestic violence. Although Ivins fails to provide concrete numbers in her argument, she does, in fact, utilize factual information. Specifically, she states, “Anyone who has ever worked in a cop shop knows how many family arguments end in murder because there was a gun in the house” (Ivins). This conveys to the reader that domestic violence situations result in murder directly related to the presence of guns, provoking readers to consider the awful nature of murder with a gun. This evokes feelings of sadness and despair in readers as they may connect a personal life experience to her argument or feel sympathetic towards the mere illustration.

After we dig deeper into the book Will explains that it is one of “the rules” to find who killed the person who was killed and kill them. In the book, it says, “I had never held a gun. Never ever touched one. Heavier than I expected, like holding a newborn except the cry would be much much much louder ” (59). Reynolds used repetition in this to show how much grief he is going through that he doesn't really explain how scary it is to hold a gun but how loud the cries of the person will be. .

Throughout Long Way Down, a common topic mentioned was “The Rules.” These rules were no crying, no snitching, and getting revenge. As a matter of fact, these rules dictated many of Will and his family members’ actions. Reynolds did a great job on showing the pressure and emotional stress Will feels from the expectations of male toughness, especially growing up in a bad neighborhood. Will expresses, “I FELT LIKE CRYING/ which felt like/ another person/ trapped behind my face/ tiny fists punching/ the backs of my eyes/ feet kicking/ my throat at the spot/ where the swallow/ starts./ Stay put, I whispered to him,/ Stay strong, I whispered to me./ Because crying/ is against/

Did you know that there are at least 321 people that deal with gun violence on a daily basis? Out of the 321 people, 111 people have died from being shot. In the novel, Long Way Down, Will, the main character, experiences the death of his older brother, Shawn. A day after his death, Will decides to follow the rules, which are no crying, no snitching, and seeking revenge. He takes the elevator, on his way to kill Riggs, the guy that Will thinks killed his brother in order to avenge Shawn.

We have come to live in a culture where it’s taboo or unacceptable to simply check in with people emotionally and offer some empathy and understanding. I’m not saying this would magically fix all gun violence. I’m just saying that all of these things — the lack of gun laws, the lack of health care, the inability to have basic conversations with friends and neighbors about what’s going on with them, these are all extensions of a callous and self-absorbed culture that lacks any real empathy.” He ends with these points to emphasize what society has become.

Violence can trigger emotions that cannot be undone which can lead to regret. Wes’s father wanted to teach Wes that violence is not tolerated especially a lady. For the other Wes, he never had a father to guide him to make the right decisions or reprimand when he was wrong. This is one of the key factors into why the other Wes got into trouble with violence and drugs. Even though the author did experience trouble with violence and drugs, he realized violence would lead to more violence.

Attention Getter: Between 1993 and 2003 gun ownership increased by 56 percent, and yet gun violence declined by almost 50 percent (Bandler). Criminals know that if people have guns to protect themselves then they might not be successful in a shooting. Gun Regulation is immoral because Guns are not what kill people. It is the people who use the guns to kill people, who kill people. Many of these people who cause these mass shooting and killings have mental health issues.

(NY Daily News) B. (Subpoint 2) Traumatic experiences like physical and sexual abuse will impact young individuals negatively and eventually cause them to lash out with gun violence. 1. (Sub-subpoint 1) Traumatized shooters come from dysfunctional families, in contrast with shooters that are psychopathic. The shooters have all faced some sort of physical/sexual abuse and have had at least one parent with a criminal record.

How to reduce gun violence " In the 1960's, there was one school shooting. In the 1980's, there were 27. In the 1990's, there were 58. In the past decade, there have been over 120" (Hoehn).