Who is it?
He was Will and Shawn’s uncle and Pop’s brother, who died sometime when Will was a toddler. As Pop’s older brother, he was the one to pass on “the Rules” of the neighborhood to Pop.
Who Is... Uncle Mark
"And my mom, moaning low... hanging over my brother's body like a dimmed light post" (16).
*Double Points for Explanation
What is... simile
*Reynolds uses this simile to emphasize Will's mom's stance over her son's dead body. This adds to the visual of a grieving mother.
Buck gets on the elevator.
What is... Floor 7
"I put my hand behind my back, felt the imprint of the piece, like another piece of me, an extra vertebra, some more backbone" (91).
*Double Points for Explanation
Who is... Will
*The gun was giving him a feeling of power/more courage.
She was Will’s childhood best friend until she was accidentally killed at eight years old in a revenge shooting gone wrong. Her ghost gets on the elevator with Will on the sixth floor
Who is... Dani
"Had to be" (94).
*Double Points for Explanation
What is... repetition
*Will repeats these words each time he is claiming Riggs killed Shawn. Reynolds repeats this to emphasize how convinced Will is, but to also emphasize that Will is sure/unsure.
Will gets on the elevator.
What is... Floor 8
"If you let go too early, you'll land on your face. If you let go too late, you'll land on your back. To land on your feet, you gotta time it just right" (64).
*Double Points for Explanation
Who is... Shawn
*Shawn is teaching Will how to do a PennyDrop. The double-meaning of this quote can also apply to how we handle things in life.
Shawn’s former friend, who Will thinks murdered Shawn. Will believes this because this guy recently moved and joined a rival gang, the Dark Suns, and Shawn was killed in Dark Suns territory while on an errand to buy his mother special soap for her eczema.
*Double Points for First & Last Name
Who is... Carlson Riggs
"FEEL = FLEE" (137).
*Double Points for Explanation
What is... anagram
*Will uses this anagram to describe how he felt when Dani was killed. It emphasizes that he did not deal with his emotions from that, he simply avoided them.
Frick gets on the elevator.
What is... Floor 3
"What if you miss?" (142).
*Double Points for Explanation
Who is... Dani
*Dani was killed by a stray bullet, and she is challenging Will to consider what happens if he misses the right target. He could kill someone the same way Dani was killed.
He was shot and killed by Shawn in retaliation for killing Buck.
Who is... Frick
"My mother used to say, I know you're young, gotta get it out, but just remember, when you're walking in the nighttime, make sure the nighttime ain't walking into you" (40).
*Double Points for Explanation
What is... personification
*Reynolds personifies "nighttime" - the nighttime can't physically walk into anyone. This emphasize the way the nighttime can affect people in Will's environment.
Pop gets on the elevator.
What is... Floor 4
"It's never the end. Never" (192).
*Double Points for Explanation
Who is... Uncle Mark
*Uncle Mark says this to Will when Will says shooting Riggs is the end of the story. This is to remind him that the cycle of violence is never-ending, and that someone else will follow The Rules after Will.
She is grieving the loss of her oldest son, Shawn.
*Double Points for First Name
Who is... Shari (mom)
"It's a long way down" (97).
*Double Points for Explanation
What is... metaphor
*The elevator ride to the ground floor is a metaphor for Will's path down this road he is taking. The "long way down" represents how far down you can go by continuing the cycle of violence.
Dani gets on the elevator.
What is... Floor 6
"Your brother's fingerprints are in there somewhere" (271).
*Double Points for Explanation
Who is... Frick
*Frick is showing Will the bullet hole in his chest, and telling him that Shawn's bullet is the one that killed him.