Characters
Will and Shawn’s uncle and Pop’s brother, who died sometime when Will was a toddler.
Uncle Mark
A backbone built by the bite of his block boys.
Alliteration
An apartment complex, and more specifically inside of an elevator.
What does the elevator represent?
The feeling of being trapped by the expectations to follow the rules
"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 was giving him a feeling of power/more courage. (Will)
Dani
Alive: A Veil
Anagram
Who is the protagonist of the story?
Will Holloman
What does the gun represent?
The gun represents the cycle of violence and how it is passed down from person to person.
“gunshots make everybody / deaf and blind” (p. 19)
Everyone pretends that they don't know who shot people, because of the rule saying not to snitch.
Shawn’s former friend, who Will thinks murdered Shawn. Will believes this because he 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.
Riggs
Cigarette smoke ain't supposed to be no wool blanket, ain't supposed to be a blizzard, no snowy tv.
Metaphor
Who does Will meet on every floor of the elevator and what do they all have in common?
Ghosts from his past that all were the victim of gun violence.
What does the L button represent?
Will's tough decision he needs to make, he'll be a loser no matter what choice he makes.
"My wall had: an anagram I wrote in messed-up scribble with a pencil in case Mom made me erase it:
SCARE= CARES" (36)
When you are afraid, you have something to lose.
Was shot and killed by Shawn in retaliation for killing Buck.
Frick
And my mom moaning low, hanging over my brother's body like a dimmed light post.
Simile
What is the major conflict of the story?
Whether or not Will will go through with the revenge killing on the person he believes killed his brother.
(character vs. self conflict)
What does the nighttime symbolize?
The nighttime represents the darkness inside of people, or the bad decisions that good people can make.
You Coming?
Has a double meaning, is Will going to go through with the killing and is Will going to die and join the other ghosts.
Will's friend who is good at basketball but very short.
Tony
Prayed the boom, followed by the buzz of a bullet, ain't meet us.
Alliteration and onomatopoeia
What is a major theme of the book?
Answers will vary
What do the cigarettes symbolize?
The cigarettes symbolize death and the dead.
“ANOTHER THING ABOUT THE RULES
They weren't meant to be broken.
They were meant for the broken
to follow.”
The rules shouldn't be broken, and the rules are followed through by people that have been broken by gun violence.