Healing Anger Through Narrative Poetry: Seneca’s Theory of Anger in Jason Reynolds’s Long Way Down

This study delves into the intricate exploration of amorphous anger within the first-person narrator of Jason Reynolds’s Long Way Down, employing Seneca’s Stoic theories on anger and clemency. Triggered by the tragic death of his brother, William Holloman, the narrator seeks to understand his anger by crafting narrative poetry. Imagined dialogues with six ghosts, each meeting a dismal demise, unveil the fallacy of poetic justice in the local community William once trusted by William. The ritualistic adherence to a deceptive convention known as the Rules merely functions as an emotional release valve, providing temporary relief under the guise of righteous revenge. By distancing himself from the flawed poetic justice, William conveys heartfelt condolences for the violent deaths of those he once considered acquaintances. Finally, exposing the hollowness of the established norms, he embraces an ethical stance, aspiring to reconstruct a new and flexible way of defining justice grounded in empathy, coexistence, and respect for others.