Long Way Down is a fictional story that gives an inside look into the thoughts and experiences of the main character, Will. After he lost his brother Shawn to a bullet, Will is met with heavy decisions to make and a growing inner pain. Will becomes lost in what is right and what's wrong with his previous motives being tested. Jason Reynolds portrays the inner conflict of this young teen and the weight of his decisions through those he loves, thus changing and developing the conflict and character itself.

Shawn's death was the starting point from where Will began to seek revenge out of solidarity to his brother. The faith and love that was attached to the idea of Shawn and their relationship greatly influenced Will’s actions. Will was left with an empty spot in his life and heart, turning himself cold. He continued to hang on to the idea of their brotherhood, really yearning for that feeling again. With Shawn constantly in his thought it only furthered his motivation & frustration for who he lost.  Killing another for the sake of Shawn seemed like the only option. Will continues to feed into this desire hastily without realizing the inevitable consequences. Any sense of morality was no longer apart of Will’s character, and in this headspace, these reckless thoughts did not seem cruel. The conflict began as what Will could do and how quickly he could get it done. He entered a one-sided mindset that only enabled him to harm, and there was never a question to whether it was right or wrong. It was what had to happen, because the rules said so.

Past generations in relation to Will knew of the rules and what they entailed, Will is now obligated to follow them and avenge his brother. Everything else around him becomes irrelevant and his mind goes numb. His only driving force is taking the life of whoever he suspects took Shawn's. The rules are the premise of the majority of Wills actions. Without them, likely the conflict’s progression would be drastically different. The behavior and thoughts Will has revolve around this central idea. Since Will is entirely engrossed in the want to fulfill the rules, everything he does is based around them, with no questions or thorough plan. He does not even come to doubt whether or not his agenda will prove successful. Not until the moment he encounters those who had followed through with the rules in the past or know how it feels to be killed.

The main impact on the progression of Wills previous approach was his interaction with those in relation to him. It became a confrontation with his original idea and turned around his previous character adaptation. By meeting with these significant people and hearing their stories it gave a new perspective to Will to what the weight of a bullet really means. It was a huge reflection on himself from earlier in the book, that he is becoming the very thing that hurt those he loved. Now these outside characters are becoming the questioning point for his actions and rapidly developing both inner and outer conflicts. These individuals represented the doubt and reasoning he seemed to lack when formulating this plan. By facing them Will had to internally decide whether this truly was the right decision to make. He began to recognize the value of a life by being presented with those he lost, this inevitably came back around to Will and what he was going to do. The characters almost seemed to insinuate shame and disappointment onto Will. All of these emotions notably got to him and began the set up for what his final decision would be. His actions would determine how the entire basis of the conflict would shift into the ending. The last words of the book are a steady reinforcement for this, “You coming?” (Reynolds p.306) Shawn says to Will, almost provoking him. This was a way of asking if Will was ready to share the same fate as him and everyone he lost.

Reynolds established a defined inner conflict built from pain and irrationality that later is affected by outside entities. Throughout the books progression the interior and exterior conflicts adjust. Enlaced within the story’s construction, the conflict is continuously enveloped and reinvented as the main character encounters differing notions and views.