51 pages • 1 hour read
Long Way Down
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Part 5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 5: “4”
Part 5, Pages 195-215 Summary
On the next floor, the man Will has waited to meet all his life gets on. It is his father, Mikey Holloman. Mikey hugs Will, makes him feel safe and loved. In front of his father, Will can finally admit his real pain: “I don’t know, / I don’t know, / I don’t know / what to do” (208). Will describes the experience of being fatherless; unlike Shawn, he has no memories of his father, who died when he was three. Shawn always said Mikey was killed for killing the man who killed Mark, at a payphone on the street. Buck saw the whole thing, and because of that took it upon himself to keep an eye on Shawn. But Mikey and Mark start telling the whole story—the one no one knows but them. Mikey describes the pain he felt after Mark’s death and his inability to move on. He says, “I couldn’t just come home / and be a daddy and a husband / when I couldn’t be a brother / no more” (212). He describes shooting the drug dealer he thought killed Mark, as well as the anger that consumed him. He was uncontrollable.
Part 5, Pages 216-234 Summary
Mikey could barely function when he got home that night. Will is impressed with his father, until he and Mark look at Will “with hollow eyes / dancing somewhere between / guilt and grief” (218). Mikey admits he shot the wrong man. The man he killed was just a kid, acting as a flunky for the real killer. Will is devastated and embarrassed by his father’s random act of violence. They size each other up, father and son. Suddenly, they come together in a hug, an embrace built on years of pain. Before Will can understand what is happening, his father takes gun out of Will’s waistband and holds it to Will’s head. Will panics and shouts, confused. He has never been this close to death. He pees his pants, smelling the piss mingle with cigarette tar. Finally, Mikey releases his son, putting the gun back in his belt. Mark hands his brother a cigarette while Will screams at his father, demanding an explanation. No one says anything. The elevator stops.
Part 5 Analysis
Will meets his father in this section, which is perhaps the most heartfelt and disturbing reunion. Will has never heard the story of his father’s death, and the revelation of that narrative shows just how similar Will is to his father—and how his fate might parallel his father’s, if he isn’t careful.
Mikey Holloman explains his grief and how it impacts him as a father and husband. His revelation is remarkable because it demonstrates how men are taught to respond to emotional pain. The loss of his brother made Mikey want to commit violence; the sensation of feeling pain made him want to cause pain, to level the playing field, to get revenge. This is the impetus behind The Rules, as Mikey explains in this quote: “I couldn’t just come home / and be a daddy and a husband / when I couldn’t be a brother / no more” (212). Something must be done, but there is nothing to do; The Rules become a path to action, a way to alleviate pain when there is no other outlet.
Mikey’s actions at the end of the chapter are a horrifying parenting strategy that shocks and terrifies Will. His father puts a gun to his head and cocks it. Will pees his pants in fear, wondering if this is the end of his life. This scene, which makes Mikey seem like a violent or unfit father, is indicative of a larger and more painful reality for parents raising children in violent environments. Mikey is trying to prepare his son for what might be ahead of him. Because he knows that pain is in his son’s future, he wants to prepare him, to help Will recognize what it feels like to fight for your life.
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