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Carlson Riggs
Dani was Will’s childhood best friend until she was accidentally killed at eight years old in a revenge shooting gone wrong. The ghost of Dani gets on the elevator with Will on the sixth floor—her ghost has grown up to be about Will’s age but wears an adult version of the dress she was wearing when she died. Will describes her as beautiful and considers flirting with her until he realizes who she is. Dani is a sharp, no-nonsense rule-follower, so she scolds Buck for smoking and Will for having a gun when she first gets on. She pushes Will to think about the possible unintended consequences of killing Carlson Riggs. In particular, she’s interested to know what Will will do if he misses, prompting him to think about the possibility that he could accidentally kill another child like Dani. As the elevator gets to the fifth floor, Dani accepts Buck’s proffered cigarette and starts to smoke, something that Will suggests would’ve been out of character for the Dani he knew. Dani says little else for the rest of the ride and gets out at the lobby with everyone else.
Dani Quotes in Long Way Down
The Long Way Down quotes below are all either spoken by Dani or refer to Dani. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Six Quotes
Then
the bus-stop
lean back
to get a glimpse
of the world.
But the metal barrel
dug into my back,
making me wince,
making me obvious
and wack.
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Explanation and Analysis:
When Dani first gets on the elevator, Will doesn’t know who she is or that she’s really a ghost. He tries to look up her skirt but fails to do so sneakily because the gun in his waistband digs into his back. It’s worth considering that if Will follows through and kills Carlson Riggs to avenge Shawn’s death, the gun has the potential to prevent him from ever having a successful romantic relationship, since he will likely either go to prison or die himself. Will doesn’t make his connection himself, but the reader can infer that if this happens, not Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati.
SHE BRUSHED HER HAND AGAINST MINE
to get my attention,
which on any other
occasion would’ve
been the perfect
open for me to flirt
or at least try to do
my best impression of Shawn,
which was
his best impression of Buck.
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Dani touches Will to refocus his attention, and Will tells the reader that he’d normally try to flirt with her. This continues to make the case that even in light of Will’s plans to kill Carlson Riggs, he’s still a normal teenage boy who desires normal teenage and adult experiences—such as flirting with cute girls. Will doesn’t yet seem to realize that if he kills Riggs, the opportunity for a fulfilling romantic relationship may disappear forever. Though killing Riggs might make Will an adult in the eyes of his violent community, he will also lose out on the chance to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. El
WHEN THEY SAID
you were gone,
I cried all night,
I confessed.
And the next morning,
over hard-boiled eggs
and sugar cereal,
Shawn taught me
Rule Number One—
no crying.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Once Will figures out that the young woman in the elevator is the ghost of his childhood friend Dani (who was shot and killed when they were eight years old), Will confesses that Dani’s death led to him learning the first “Rule” of the neighborhood: “no crying.” Trauma seems to be the primary experiences that forces children grow up in Will’s neighborhood. Dani’s death was extremely traumatic for Will, forcing him to take a step toward adulthood in order to deal with the pain. However, that step toward adulthood is also a step away from dealing with his emotions in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qu
I stood in the shower
the next morning
after Shawn taught me
the first rule,
no crying,
feeling like
I wanted to scratch
my skin off scratch
my eyes out punch
through something,
a wall,
a face,
anything,
so something else
could have
a hole.
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Will tells the reader that after Dani’s death, he struggled to follow the first “Rule” of his neighborhood (no crying), and felt as though he wanted to act out violently as a result. The third Rule (which states that individuals must seek revenge for their slain loved ones) directly justifies violence, but the first Rule also does a lot to create a culture of repression and violence. At this point, Will is young and can’t fully process his grief, so it’s telling that when he’s cut off from the one outlet he has, he wants to scratch or punch something. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi nec
So I explained them to
her so she wouldn’t think
less of me for following
them
[...]
So that she knew I had
purpose
and that this was about
family
and had I known
The Rules when we
were kids I would’ve
done the same thing
for her.
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Since Dani died before she learned “the Rules” of the neighborhood, Will explains them to Dani when he meets her ghost on the elevator. Will does so in hopes that his explanation will make Dani see that Will’s plan to kill Carlson Riggs isn’t just senseless violence. Will clearly puts a lot of stock in the Rules—he wholeheartedly believes that they’re the only way to deal with grief and properly demonstrate one’s loyalty to a deceased loved one. This suggests, in turn, that Will doesn’t put a lot of faith in other grieving traditions that honor or remember the dead. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perfe
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Dani Character Timeline in Long Way Down
The timeline below shows where the character Dani appears in Long Way Down. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Six
...people in movies do to show off their kids. The photo is of Will and Dani at eight years old: Will is wearing Shawn’s hand-me-downs: Dani is wearing a flower dress...
(full context)
Will’s eyes go wide and he asks, “Dani?” He realizes this girl is Dani, in the same flower dress from the photo. Her...
(full context)
...see the kids, God just puts his pictures away. Will confesses that when he learned Dani was dead, he cried all night. The next morning, Shawn taught him the first Rule:...
(full context)
Will awkwardly tells Dani that it’s good to see her, which he means wholeheartedly. He thinks that she would’ve...
(full context)
Dani died before she learned the Rules. Will explains them to her now so that she...
(full context)
...something that will help. Instead, Buck merely pulls out his cigarettes and offers one to Dani. She takes one and thanks Buck. Will asks if Dani smokes; in response, Dani asks...
(full context)
Five
The elevator feels like a box of smoke. Buck and Dani puff and puff on their cigarettes, but Will expects the smoke to rush out when...
(full context)
...water that drowning isn’t funny. When the hands release Will, he looks to Buck and Dani for help. They move to the corner, laughing and smoking.
(full context)
...well—the last part is just tripping him up. Uncle Mark demands that Will finished while Dani whimpers and Buck laughs. Will says again that he pulls the gun out, but he...
(full context)
Four
...Pop everything about Shawn, his mother, and the Rules, but he holds back because Buck, Dani, and Uncle Mark have warm, odd looks on their faces.
(full context)
...his face so he doesn’t cry. Will vows to never cry in front of Pop, Dani, or anyone else. Pop asks Will what he thinks he should do. Will says he...
(full context)
...guy. He was sure that Gee killed Mark—he had to be. Will leans next to Dani, thinking that Pop isn’t the patient, precise father he imagined; the Pop in his mind...
(full context)
Three
...how he knows that Riggs got Shawn. Will says it makes sense—Riggs avenged Frick’s death. Dani pipes up and asks Frick if he knows Riggs. Will gives a quick description of...
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Two
Everyone is thrilled to see Shawn. He slaps hands with Buck, spins Dani around, and embraces Uncle Mark. Beaming, Shawn approaches Pop. They hug and then shake hands...
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