#but turn around and compare will unfavorably to Jonathan to make will feel bad

[heavencasteel420]

One thought I have about the Will gun debate is that, while Will is a gentle and nonviolent soul who does not need to prove anything by wielding a firearm, I don’t think he necessarily has the same kind of trauma around guns as Jonathan. This is how I see it playing out:

The rabbit incident happens when Jonathan is ten. Joyce finds out and puts her foot down: no more hunting trips.

Lonnie, already cold towards Will because he’s not “manly” enough (and also because he’s a younger child who requires more attention and Lonnie is selfish and lazy), takes out his resentment at Joyce’s ultimatum on Will by ignoring him even more.

However, Lonnie does want to make some effort to make Will “normal” and play the good dad to bolster his own ego, so he does teach him how to shoot when he’s 8-11 years old (around or shortly after the divorce), just with cans/bottles instead of animals.

Will isn’t particularly interested, but he goes along with it to please his dad. Maybe he’s actually good at it; maybe he’s pretty bad; maybe he’s something in between (good at assembling the gun but can’t aim or bring himself to pull the trigger, for example). It doesn’t end up mattering, because Lonnie is basically indifferent no matter how he does.

Will is further hurt by Lonnie’s rejection and internalizes it, in large part because it’s clear that there’s nothing he can do to make his father care about him.

Which may result in him feeling a lot of different ways about taking up a gun. Maybe he’d be mostly fine with it but feel weird about maybe kind of seeking his father’s approval on some level. Maybe the idea of even picking one up makes him feel sick. Or something in between.