Kylie’s answer to “I'm not sure I quite understand the ending, could someone explain to me what happened?” > Likes and Comments
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Okay, your interpretation makes a lot more sense for the ending, thanks!
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I didn't take it this way at all! I really like this idea though! It makes it even more thought provoking in my opinion.
That's what I initially thought, too! I actually went back to try to read everything again before he got on the elevator to see if I could pinpoint when he died and if there was any prose that alluded to it. After reading a few more opinions on here, I also see how he could be asking Will if he would join them in death or go back upstairs and break the cycle of revenge after knowing what he knows (what if he misses and kills an innocent child? what if he kills the wrong guy? etc). That's what I love about this ending though---how it leads to discussion and reading varying opinions!
I though at first that Will was dead, too. But...after thinking about it I can see how Shawn was asking Will if he was willing to die or would he make a different choice. Will has a choice; he doesn't have the continue to follow the "rules."
I had that thought as well. But Will is the narrator, daring us to believe him when he tells the tale of his elevator ride, so I'm choosing to believe that he is not dead, but made a choice NOT to join the dead, by breaking the cycle of revenge. Shawn cried, showing Will that it was okay to break the rules, and that he wished he had as well.
Wow, I hadn't thought that at all. I thought he was alive & going to seek revenge and met all the dead people in the elevator & was left to consider if he should continue the cycle of violence & join them in the land of the dead. What a good book.
I finished the book a little while ago, and honestly, the whole time I thought Will was probably dead. If he was seeing all these people who had already passed, it just made me think maybe he had too. The question “you coming?” solidified this thought for me. But reading other interpretations makes me wonder. Such a powerful, thought provoking book!!
Sadly I thought the same as you although it is possible it was the moment of decision for Will
The elevator is likened to a coffin at one point … and not to be too literal there is all the smoke as well
I also thought it meant he was dead.. but on second thought I wasn’t actually sure what the heck it meant
I think it's deliberately ambiguous and depends on the reader - the more optimistic think he will be alright
i thought it meant it jumped to the future and that will was already dead as well but now i see i might be proven wrong by these other theories
I thought this too, didn't he say something about accidentally shooting himself with the gun, since he'd never handled one before? I thought maybe he'd accidentally shot himself and was a ghost the whole time.
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Megan
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Nov 25, 2017 10:50AM
Okay, your interpretation makes a lot more sense for the ending, thanks!
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I didn't take it this way at all! I really like this idea though! It makes it even more thought provoking in my opinion.
That's what I initially thought, too! I actually went back to try to read everything again before he got on the elevator to see if I could pinpoint when he died and if there was any prose that alluded to it. After reading a few more opinions on here, I also see how he could be asking Will if he would join them in death or go back upstairs and break the cycle of revenge after knowing what he knows (what if he misses and kills an innocent child? what if he kills the wrong guy? etc). That's what I love about this ending though---how it leads to discussion and reading varying opinions!
I though at first that Will was dead, too. But...after thinking about it I can see how Shawn was asking Will if he was willing to die or would he make a different choice. Will has a choice; he doesn't have the continue to follow the "rules."
I had that thought as well. But Will is the narrator, daring us to believe him when he tells the tale of his elevator ride, so I'm choosing to believe that he is not dead, but made a choice NOT to join the dead, by breaking the cycle of revenge. Shawn cried, showing Will that it was okay to break the rules, and that he wished he had as well.
Wow, I hadn't thought that at all. I thought he was alive & going to seek revenge and met all the dead people in the elevator & was left to consider if he should continue the cycle of violence & join them in the land of the dead. What a good book.
Same, because he can see all these dead people and I don't think Jason Reynolds meant for the book to be fictional. At least not the 'impossible things' fictional.
I finished the book a little while ago, and honestly, the whole time I thought Will was probably dead. If he was seeing all these people who had already passed, it just made me think maybe he had too. The question “you coming?” solidified this thought for me. But reading other interpretations makes me wonder. Such a powerful, thought provoking book!!
Sadly I thought the same as you although it is possible it was the moment of decision for Will
The elevator is likened to a coffin at one point … and not to be too literal there is all the smoke as well
I also thought it meant he was dead.. but on second thought I wasn’t actually sure what the heck it meant
I think it's deliberately ambiguous and depends on the reader - the more optimistic think he will be alright
i thought it meant it jumped to the future and that will was already dead as well but now i see i might be proven wrong by these other theories
I thought this too, didn't he say something about accidentally shooting himself with the gun, since he'd never handled one before? I thought maybe he'd accidentally shot himself and was a ghost the whole time.
