The Rules are the law in Will’s neighborhood and in his life. They are simple: no crying, no snitching, revenge. The Rules are referenced throughout novel as Will attempts to follow them, seeking revenge for Shawn’s death. The Rules symbolize both masculinity and survival: They are the product of toxic masculinity, which encourages men to manage grief with violence, but they also arose from decades of trying to survive in a world of random and accidental violence. Since standard law is rarely enforced and the police cannot be trusted, The Rules become a kind of vigilante justice. As Will says, “They weren’t meant to be broken / they were meant for the broken / to follow” (35). The Rules are a “broken” man’s only prescription for grief. Despite being a symbol of survival, The Rules only lead to more violence, such as guaranteed early death or imprisonment.

The gun is a symbol of unstoppable violence capable of setting off a chain of events that will never end. The gun’s power to take life at random is emphasized early on, when Will picks it up for the first time and remarks, “Heavier than / I expected / Like holding / a newborn” (59).