Megan asked:

I'm not sure I quite understand the ending, could someone explain to me what happened?

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8 years ago
21 answers

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Shannon

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Rebecca

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Kefranks At the end, we know Will has reached the lobby (because the L button's light went out). We know the spirits of the dead exit the elevator at the lobby (along with the cigarette smoke) and Shawn's spirit asks Will if he's "coming" with them. Now that he's at the Lobby level and the elevator doors are open, Will must decide whether to get off the elevator and continue on his way to seek revenge or change his mind and not seek revenge. That's all that we know. Each reader then interprets this set of facts to decide the outcome of this wonderful cliffhanger.

By asking Will if he is coming, I interpret that to mean Shawn's spirit is asking Will if he is going to move forward with his revenge plot to certain death. The ride down on the elevator has allowed Will to second guess his plan to kill Riggs. This reader hopes Will decides not to. But the author's conclusion is powerful because it doesn't wrap things up neatly and give us the final outcome.

I am going to see Long Way Down as a play at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if the play leaves the audience guessing what Will will do.

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Mara

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Kylie

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Angela This is actually one thing I love about the book. I read it, and then five or so of my students read it. We all had different interpretations of the ending, and with each conversation about it the book became more layered for each reader.

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Jason Gielow At the end of the story we know that Will chooses to stay in the elevator and lives. He's enlightened and changed by this ride down the elevator. In the beginning of the book Will is flashing back to tell us of this event. "I haven't told nobody about the story I'm about to tell you." So it is clear that at the end of the story when all of the smoke and the ghosts exit the elevator, he remains "alone in the empty box." When Shawn speaks his only two words, "You coming?" we know this is the voice of all these dead souls. Will needs to decide if he is going to go with them, to do and act they way they did, to follow them into the valley of the shadow of death. The fact that he is retelling all of this story as a flashback makes it clear that he remains in the elevator to live another day. If he followed them out and down their path, he would kill Riggs, and somebody come and kill Will later following "the rules". And then he truly would be "coming" with Buck, Dani, Uncle Mark, Pop, Frick, and Shawn to the afterlife.
A beautiful story showing how somebody has to stop the violence, and break the rules. MORAL: respect and value human life no matter how difficult that may be for you.

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Avery I think Will died and when they said to him, “are you coming?” It meant he was dead and they were saying basically com on your one of us now. That’s my opinion.

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Julia Guzman He leaves it open ended, so you as a reader have to make the choice about what should be done or what's going to happen.

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Shakera

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Ava what i think is that Will was in the dream about to go kill Riggs. like in the beginning of the book how Will has the gun tucked under his pillow and think he had the dream to decide whether do not to go kill his brother’s killer. i think when Shawn said “you coming?” right after that Will woke up with his decision, but we don’t know for sure.

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Brooke I personally feel the ending was up to you. For instance, In grade school I read 'The Lady or the Tiger'. I don't know if you ever read it, but if you did you understand what I mean.

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Thomas Bell

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yudireads "Are you coming?" Its up to you Will. But i still wonder who killed Shawn, is it Riggs? Whoever but i hope Will could stop the violence cyrcle.

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