47 pages • 1 hour read
Nick HornbyA Long Way Down
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Contemporary Existentialism and Suicide
The underwriting throughout the book is the question of whether or not to kill one’s self. The characters ponder their individual existences and what that means within the frame of the world they know—modern-day London. While the characters are aware of their sources of unhappiness, they turn to the idea of suicide as a coping mechanism instead of taking direct action to address their issues. There are frequent hints in the narrative that no one who lives has a life so happy that they never contemplate suicide. This is highlighted in JJ’s quote: “People who get by aren’t so far away from being suicidal. Maybe I shouldn’t find that as comforting as I do” (324). He also says near the beginning of the book that wanting to die might simply be part of life.
At times, they frame their unique situations against one another’s. While JJ diminishes his grievances with his own life in comparison to his new comrades, Jess is slightly mocked for wanting to die after her breakup. When the four witness a man kill himself on Valentine’s day, their perspectives shift as they both realize and reconcile how their intent to die was not as extreme as they wanted to believe. Their angst is a commentary of the time period, in which the majority of people feel dissatisfied and unfilled with their lives. In the end, Jess meets a man she refers to as “Nodog.” He imparts the philosophy that Jess should just take life as it is, and not make anything more or less out of it.
The Correlation Between Regret and Depression
Each of the characters believes themselves to be depressed, but the author takes no clear stance on whether the reader is meant to interpret this as diagnosable depression or simply as the perspective of the characters. Their depression stems from their life choices and subsequent regrets. Martin regrets sleeping with the 15-year old, leaving his family, being mean to Penny, and many other things that led him to Toppers’ House. Maureen regrets having sex with Frank, betraying her faith, and conceiving Matty. JJ regrets breaking up his band and losing Lizzie. Jess’s issues are not overtly expressed as regret, but rather, as voids that she can’t understand for which she feels she is owed an explanation. She seems more upset that Chas didn’t explain why he left than that he left. She did not drive Jen away, but while she misses her terribly, she reflects more often on the fact that Jen did not give a reason for why she left.
Regret eats at the characters because their pasts cannot be changed and their pasts inform what they see as very limited, undesirable futures. At the beginning of the novel, the characters cannot see how any worthwhile changes could enter their lives. They decide to move forward with their lives at the novel’s conclusion because they have managed to start using their regrets as tools and warnings, rather than as something that is debilitating. As a result, their respective depressions slowly change into optimism. They become less selfish and self-pitying.
The Power of Purpose
During the discussion of the three wishes, Martin reveals that he wishes he had not cheated on Cindy, that he had not been an “arsehole” (259), and that he could have managed his life better. Now he is an object of public ridicule and has lost his show and family, the things he claims gave his life purpose. But it becomes clear he was not a devoted father, and his show was not fulfilling as much as it was financially enriching. Martin forges a new purpose for himself when he decides to tutor an 8-year-old boy.
JJ sees his purpose as being a musician in a band, especially given how people treated him after his shows. When the band splits up, he thinks music will no longer be a part of his future. As a result, he does not see any point in living. When his ex-girlfriend reveals that she broke up with him because she knew he would be miserable without music, JJ realizes is responsible for his actions and, in turn, his life. He no longer blames Eddie or Lizzie for his circumstances. He recognizes that making music is more than a band, fame, or money—music is a part of him, and his true purpose is to just play, even if his audience is only passers-by on the streets.
Maureen did not have any grand plans that were interrupted by Matty’s birth and disability, but her faith had given her purpose, and she feels that she has betrayed her Church and her God. while a child often instills a sense of purpose in its parents, Matty does not show any signs of needing her any more than he needs the orderlies who take care of him. When she gets the job as the newsagent, she immediately looks forward to having somewhere to be where she is needed. This new position gives her purpose outside of being a mother.
Until Jess meets Martin, Maureen, and JJ, she feels as though she pushes people out of her life because her emotional and mental whims drive her actions. After her sister disappeared, Jess felt as though her sister abandoned her and her parents preferred her less. She often has tumultuous relationships and romances, many which result in unnecessary drama. Her mental state—and her youth—factor into her reckless behavior, such as frequently abusing drugs and sleeping with strangers. Constant extremes divide her life, and this division leaves her floating through life. However, her new friendships afford her a stability she hasn’t known since before her sister left. Then, after meeting Nodog, she gets an idea of what finding one’s own balance might mean for herself. She starts to believe she may be able to think clearly enough to plan her own future and find her own purpose.
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By Nick Hornby
