The Gun Symbol Analysis

Shawn’s pistol broadly represents the cycle of violence prevalent in his and Will’s community, and the ways in which that cycle of violence corrupts young men and deprives them of their innocence. The most defining coming-of-age moments in Will’s life are when he first picks up Shawn’s pistol, and when the ghost of the Will’s father, Pop, holds the gun to Will’s head in the elevator on Will’s way to avenge Shawn’s death. Both incidents cause Will to come face to face with how young, inexperienced, and scared he is—and how shooting someone (or being shot himself) will either force him to grow up before he’s ready or cut his life short before he matures. When Will first picks up the gun, he describes it as weighing about as much as an infant, a moment that subtly alludes to fatherhood and Will’s burgeoning maturity. This is contrasted by Will wetting himself when Pop puts the gun to Will’s head in the elevator, a reaction that Will himself characterizes as childish.

Despite the gun’s ability to elicit these reactions that drive home Will’s youth and innocence, the fact remains that as the gun has passed from person to person over the last decade, it has also brought about both Will and Shawn’s inductions into the adult world of violence. The gun originally belonged to Buck, who began teaching Shawn how to handle and use it after Pop’s death; Shawn received it when Buck died and later used it to kill Frick. Should Will go through with killing Carlson Riggs (who he believes is Shawn’s killer), the gun will once again make a young man into an adult within the parameters of “the Rules” of conduct in Will’s neighborhood, and perpetuate the cycle of violence that governs life in his community.