Will’s Mother Character Analysis

Will and Shawn’s mother, and Pop’s widow. She isn’t a particularly prevalent character in the novel—when Will talks about his mother, he focuses mainly on her grief over losing Shawn, which is all-consuming. He also talks about how his mother never had much say in what Pop, Shawn, and Will did, and instead must simply suffer the consequences of their choices. She suffers from eczema, an autoimmune skin condition that results in red, flaky skin, and (in her severe case) blisters. It’s itchy and painful, and Will suggests that his mom scratches in part as an outlet for her grief. Will’s mom and Pop met when they were young and had a dramatic and wildly romantic start to their relationship. However, Will’s mom was left on her own with three-year-old Will and seven-year-old Shawn when Pop was shot and killed. Will’s mother doesn’t seem to focus much on the particulars of the drama that Will suggests existed in Pop and Shawn’s life; she claims she can’t even remember the name of the man who shot Will’s and Shawn’s Uncle Mark. When it came to Shawn, Will’s mother knew she couldn’t control him. Following his 18th birthday, she stopped trying, and instead started praying that he’d live and wouldn’t get his girlfriend, Leticia, pregnant. She also formulated the idea of the “nighttime,” which she never fully explains to Will but which he interprets as the violence and danger that exists within men like Pop, Shawn, and Buck. Will and Shawn both seem to genuinely care for their mother—prior to his death, Shawn took dangerous trips into the Dark Suns gang’s territory to get her special soap. It pains Will to know that by going after Carlson Riggs (who he believes killed Shawn), he’ll break his mother’s heart. In Will’s understanding, however, it’s not okay to prioritize his mom’s pain or emotions over following their community’s “Rules” of revenge.