The L (lobby) button in the elevator symbolizes, much like the elevator itself, the horrendous fate that awaits Will if he chooses to step out of the elevator and into the lobby. Once Will reaches the bottom, he plans to avenge his brother Shawn’s death by shooting his killer, Carlson Riggs. Will explains that as kids, he and Shawn found the L button hilarious—L, to them, stood for “loser,” so everyone who got out at the lobby was, according to their immature sense of humor, a loser too. While the idea that everyone who gets out in the lobby is a loser is clearly childish, this memory begins to take on new meaning for Will as he rides the elevator down to avenge Shawn’s death. While Will may not be a loser in the sense that he and Shawn once meant it, there’s no winning to be had by getting off and following through with his mission. Will inevitably loses if he goes through with killing Riggs—either a gang member will retaliate and kill him in return, or Will will wind up in jail, unable to live his life or achieve anything.
The L Button Quotes in Long Way Down
[...] I thought about this when the man with
the gold chains got on and checked to see if the
L button was already glowing. I wondered if he knew
that in me and Shawn’s world, I’d already chosen to be
a loser.
The L Button Symbol Timeline in Long Way Down
