In Your Own Words
"but if the blood inside you is on the inside of someone else, you never want to see it on the outside of them" (5).
seeing someone you're related to hurt/bleeding/dead
The middle drawer is mentioned on pages:
38, 41, 47-48, 202
Based on the context, what could the middle drawer represent/foreshadow?
It's where the gun is hidden, and it's always mentioned that the gun was to be kept away from Will. Maybe it means Will wasn't supposed to follow the rules.
"Dani said, wiggling one from the box.
You smoke? I asked.
You shoot? She shot back" (146).
What inference can you make about Will's character?
Will is not one who would seek revenge/own a gun
Anagram No. 2
"FEEL= FLEE" (137).
As soon as we feel a sign of emotion, we should shut it down.
What does the gun symbolize?
strength, power, confidence
I ain't seen nothin'.
"Marcus Andrews, the neighborhood know-it-all, said. Even he knew better than to know anything" (18).
Even the guy who never kept his mouth shut knew better than to snitch.
The hand-me-down t-shirt comes up on pages:
27, 66, 127
Based on the context, what could the t-shirt represent?
Possible answers:
A hand-me-down gets passed down and the sibling usually doesn't have a choice-- they have to wear it. Rules get passed down; beefs get passed down.
"Pop dressing up as Michael Jackson for Halloween and, after trick-or-treating, riding us up and down on this elevator, doing his best moonwalk but not enough space to go nowhere, slamming into walls" (201).
What inference can you make about Mikey Holloman?
Mikey was a loving father who tried to make his kids laugh by being goofy.
"How do you small-talk your father when 'dad' is a language so foreign..." (206).
He has had no fatherly figure/relationship.
What does the smoke in the elevator represent?
confusion, inability to think
"I'll tell you one thing, the moon is lucky it's not down here where nothing is ever new" (21).
it's the same old same old in this neighborhood. The cycle of violence keeps repeating.
The fifteen/sixteen bullets are mentioned on pages: 103-104, 228.
Based on the context, what could the bullets represent/foreshadow?
OR-- the bullet could represent the person Shawn killed.
"WHICH BRINGS ME TO CARLSON RIGGS
He was known around here for being as loud as police sirens but as soft as his first name.
PEOPLE SAID RIGGS
talked so much trash because he was short, but I think it was because his mom made him take gymnastics when he was a kid, and when you wear tights and know how to do cartwheels it might be a good idea to also know how to defend yourself.
Or at least talk like you can." (50-51)
Carlson Riggs character inference
Carlson's name and gymnastics set him up to be seen as soft/made fun of by others, so he needed to overcompensate to seem tough by having a big mouth.
"I WON'T PRETEND THAT SHAWN
was the kind of guy who was home by curfew.
...
he wasn't.
Not after eighteen, which was when our mother took her hands off him, pressed them together, and began to pray that he wouldn't go to jail that he wouldn't get Leticia pregnant, that he wouldn't die." (39)
Shawn and Will's mom realized that once Shawn became an adult, she could no longer control him. She knew that he would be up to no good, but she stopped trying to intervene and just prayed that he wouldn't get himself into a bad situation.
coffin, jail cell, being trapped
Did anybody see anything?
"a young officer asked. He looked honest, like he ain't never done this before. You can always tell a newbie. They always ask questions like they really expect answers" (18).
The new officers are still hopeful that they'll actually solve the crime, not realizing that no one will snitch. They're not jaded yet.
The line "had to be" is mentioned on pages:
58, 94, 140, 220
Based on the context, what could this represent/foreshadow?
It's always mentioned in connection with "it had to be someone who killed someone." The fact that Mikey Hollowman (Will's father" killed the wrong guy could suggest that Riggs didn't kill Shawn and that Will will go after the wrong guy.
"BUCK WAS TWO-SIDED.
Two dads, step and real.
Step raised him: a preacher, a real preacher, not scared of no one, praying for anyone, helping everyone.
Real run through him: a bank robber, would steal air from the world if he could get his hands on it.
PEOPLE ALWAYS SAID
he was taught to do good but bad was in his blood." (248-249)
What does this infer about Buck?
Nature vs. Nurture
Even though Buck was raised by a preacher and taught to do well, his true "bad" self was always coming through. His nature was to be bad and no matter how well he was raised, he was always going to be bad.
"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).
The gun gave him more confidence/power.
What does the lighted match symbolize?
Enlightenment
"Another thing about the rules. They weren't meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken to follow" (35).
The cycle of violence is meant for the vulnerable people who don't feel they have other choices to follow so that they'll never escape their situations.
The cigarette smoke is mentioned on pages:
110, 112, 116, 145, 146, 150, 151, 159, 288, 304
Based on context, what do you think the cigarette smoke represents?
The cigarette smoke could represent the afterlife or the unknown action of what Will is about to do or not do. It does not smell like smoke in the elevator, it is more a representation of the visual haze that Will is struggling with and yet to determine his future.
"TONY TALKING
ain't the same as snitching. Snitching is bumping gums to badges, but Tony ain't run to no cops or cry to no cameras, nothing like that.
Tony talking was laying claim, loyalty, an allegiance to the asphalt around here, an attempt to grow taller, get bigger one way or another." (273)
What does this infer about Tony?
Tony didn't have a big mouth to the cops. He did, however, talk in order to get a reputation and respect from the "right" people. He did it to help his own social status by talking to the people who wanted to get in good with.
"Shawn was zipped into a bag and rolled away, his blood added to the pavement galaxy of bubblegum stars. The tape framed it like it was art. And the next day, kids would play mummy with it." (28)
Violence happened so often that the pavement in the neighborhood had blood splattered everywhere. The tape was there for a day reminding people that someone died, but it was so common, that the next day the kids would just play with it because even they weren't shocked by a dead body.
What does Shawn's gold chain symbolize?
Wealth, significance