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Shawn’s pistol broadly represents the cycle of violence prevalent in his and Will’s community, and the ways in which that cycle of violence corrupts young men and deprives them of their innocence. The most defining coming-of-age moments in Will’s life are when he first picks up Shawn’s pistol, and when the ghost of the Will’s father, Pop, holds the gun to Will’s head in the elevator on Will’s way to avenge Shawn’s death. Both incidents cause Will to come face to face with how young, inexperienced, and scared he is—and how shooting someone (or being shot himself) will either force him to grow up before he’s ready or cut his life short before he matures. When Will first picks up the gun, he describes it as weighing about as much as an infant, a moment that subtly alludes to fatherhood and Will’s burgeoning maturity. This is contrasted by Will wetting himself when Pop puts the gun to Will’s head in the elevator, a reaction that Will himself characterizes as childish.
Despite the gun’s ability to elicit these reactions that drive home Will’s youth and innocence, the fact remains that as the gun has passed from person to person over the last decade, it has also brought about both Will and Shawn’s inductions into the adult world of violence. The gun originally belonged to Buck, who began teaching Shawn how to handle and use it after Pop’s death; Shawn received it when Buck died and later used it to kill Frick. Should Will go through with killing Carlson Riggs (who he believes is Shawn’s killer), the gun will once again make a young man into an adult within the parameters of “the Rules” of conduct in Will’s neighborhood, and perpetuate the cycle of violence that governs life in his community.
The Gun Quotes in Long Way Down
The Long Way Down quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Gun. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Prologue
Quotes
I WRAPPED MY FINGERS
around the grip, placing
them over Shawn’s
prints like little
brother holding big
brother’s hand again,
walking me to the store,
teaching me how to
do a Penny Drop.
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Six
Quotes
Then
the bus-stop
lean back
to get a glimpse
of the world.
But the metal barrel
dug into my back,
making me wince,
making me obvious
and wack.
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Five
Quotes
it was like the word
came out and at the same time
time went in.
Went down
into me and
chewed on everything
inside as if
I had somehow
swallowed
my own teeth
and they were
sharper than
I’d ever known.
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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.
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Two
Quotes
I TOLD HIM
about the
drawer,
the gun,
that I did
like he told me,
like Buck told him,
like our grandfather told
our uncle, like our uncle
told our dad.
I followed The Rules.
At least the first two.
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Get the entire Long Way Down LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Gun Symbol Timeline in Long Way Down
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Gun appears in Long Way Down. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...dresser, which sits like a jagged tooth in an otherwise perfect mouth. Shawn kept his gun in the middle drawer, and Will suspects Shawn messed it up on purpose to keep...
(full context)
...inch and he can touch the cold steel inside. There are many nicknames for a gun: a piece, a biscuit, a hammer. Will says it’s a tool for Rule No. 3.
(full context)
Will has never held or touched a gun. When he picks up Shawn’s pistol from the drawer, it’s heavier than Will expected—it seems...
(full context)
Will puts his fingers over Shawn’s prints on the gun and feels like he’s holding Shawn’s hand again. He remembers Shawn teaching him to do...
(full context)
...used to catch in jars. They’d watch their captives until their lights went out. The gun digs into Will’s back, rubbing it raw. Time seems to stand still as he calls...
(full context)
Seven
...say he faked his death—or that Will will wake up from a dream, with the gun under his pillow and his mother asleep at the kitchen table. Buck seems to notice...
(full context)
...he (Will) is dead too. Buck says casually that he came to check on his gun.
(full context)
...whispers that Will’s “tail” is showing. Will puts his hand behind him to feel the gun. It feels like an extra vertebra or additional backbone. He considers moving it to the...
(full context)
Will says he’s glad he got the gun—he needs it now that Shawn is dead. Will reasons that he doesn’t need to tiptoe...
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...had it in him, but Will doesn’t. Buck asks if Will even checked if the gun was loaded. Will didn’t, and now almost shoots himself trying to figure out how to...
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Will reaches for the gun, but Buck won’t let go. Will tries to yank the gun out of Buck’s hands,...
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Six
Will has just an instant to put the gun back in his waistband, turn around, and try to look normal before a girl steps...
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...smoke, and points at Buck while fanning her face. The girl says she didn’t know guns were allowed on elevators, either, which makes Will panic. Will doesn’t know how the girl...
(full context)
...Will needs “it.” Will tries to act confused, but she clarifies that she means the gun. Will says coolly that that’s not something to ask a stranger, and the girl agrees.
(full context)
...to see Will too, but he still hasn’t answered her: why does he need a gun? Will’s face hardens as he tells her Shawn was killed. When Dani asks who did...
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...questions how he knows he won’t miss. She asks if Will has ever shot a gun. Will says it doesn’t matter, and repeats that it doesn’t matter to himself. Dani is...
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Five
Will yelps and puts one hand on the gun. The newcomer asks Will what he’s reaching for and why. He calls Will “nephew.” Will...
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...he means. Will wants to avoid talking about the coldness in his heart and the gun in his pants. Uncle Mark stands up and repeats Will’s question. He cracks his knuckles...
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...Will stands over Shawn’s bloody body. He takes his mother inside, and then finds Shawn’s gun. Will thinks about the Rules, and the next day, he decides to find Rigg—the guy...
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...Will finished while Dani whimpers and Buck laughs. Will says again that he pulls the gun out, but he can’t say what happens next. His mouth dries out and it almost...
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Four
Pop raced the long way home and got rid of his gun. Back at home, Pop says he took a hot shower. He couldn’t kiss Will’s mother,...
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...himself in this feeling of being embraced by his father. But suddenly, Pop pulls the gun from Will’s waistband and puts it to Will’s head.
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...doesn’t really count as crying). Will’s chest seems to crush him as Pop cocks the gun. To Will, this sounds like a door closing. Will calls for help, but he can’t...
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...version of Pop in the elevator isn’t real. But their hugs were real, and the gun is real—there’s a bullet in the gun for every year of Will’s life. Will’s stomach...
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Three
...wonders if badness is the “nighttime” his mother talks about. The nighttime will put a gun in one’s hand and sharpen one’s teeth.
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...himself in his room, and the next day, Will caught him putting bullets into the gun clip.
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...plan was to steal from Buck at the basketball court, but when he pulled his gun on Buck, Buck laughed. Buck told Frick he couldn’t deal with a dude who seemed...
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...continues his story and says that Buck swung at him like Frick wasn’t holding a gun. Frick got scared and pulled the trigger. At this, Buck makes a gun with his...
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Two
...Shawn why he won’t say anything, and then tells him about the drawer and the gun. Will tells Shawn that he’s doing what Shawn always told him to do, which is...
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...off. Will stands alone, dried tears on his face and his pants still wet. The gun is still in his waistband. Shawn turns back to Will, tears still in his eyes,...
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