Jason's Development throughout the book
In Black Swan Green, Jason starts out as a boy who just wants to fit in and is influenced in this way by his peers. His home life is difficult which aids in his desire to fit in at school. At his house, his sister seems to get the better treatment and is able to stand up in ways that Jason can't because of his stammer. He feels like he is getting picked on by his sister and even calls his sister, his "abortion of a sister". The dynamic at home is similar to how his life is at school. Throughout the book his life starts to change as the dynamics change.
At school, Jason just wants to fit in and be liked by the other kids. He wants to be in the social hierarchy at school and does this so to the extreme by calling things gay and not being able to hangout around certain people. We see Jason getting so into it that he joins the Spooks to get in with the more so popular kids. We see this in current life with kids in public schools as there are like social ranking systems. Jason's desire to fit in is a common thing that kids want to have. In the book, it says "Wooly hats're gay but I could stuff it in my pocket later." (pg. 5) This quote shows how he was so into the social ranks at school that he wouldn't even wear a hat to protect his head and ears from the cold because he was worried about what others thought of him.
Eventually in the book his attitude changes. He ends up disobeying the Spooks rules to save his friend Dean and is then bullied by other kids at his school. He then is faced with the option of continuing to get bullied by the peers and suffer a home life where his parents are barely there together because of marriage trouble or standing up to his peers and talking to his parents. In the end of the book, Jason's character truly develops by him standing up to one of the students who is extorting the other students which leads to him standing up his bullies. He also then stands up to his dad by telling him about how he broke his grandfathers watch and about his behavior at school (breaking the calculator). Jason then develops out of his social ranking ideology and actually becomes himself and is able to be free from the power the other students had over him. It actually becomes better for him in the end. In the book it says, "Blank out the consequences. I gave the rod-handle-thing a strong turn. Tiny pleas snapped in the calculators casing." (pg 259) This quote shows how his attitude is changed and he doesn't even consider the consequences for breaking the calculator. This shows how he now doesn't even care about the social ranks at school because if he did he wouldn't break a "popular" kids calculator.
In conclusion, Jason really develops in the book to become a character that is no longer afraid and scared of doing something out of the social ranks at school. He is free to be himself and be friends with Moran. Even with his home life he is able to come clean about things to his dad and his sister. He is no longer feeling worse than Julia at the end because he is able to talk to her about his life. Jason really changes his whole mindset in the year the book takes place.
Quotes from Black Swan Green By: David Mitchell
You said that he "stands up" to his dad, but I feel its more like he opens up to him. For a long time he's been afraid to do that as he is used to being shut down by his dad, never setting foot in his office or talking back at the dinner table, and expecting criticism in his endeavors. But after his dad starts to treat him differently, Jason realizes that his dad loves him and wouldn't "literally kill him" over an accident.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that Jason's entire mindset changes by the end of the book, giving him the confidence to stand up to others. I also think he gains more perspective on what other people are going through, like he starts to pick up more details about his parents' divorce and Wilcox's home life. Maybe this new understanding of others breaks down the hierarchy and gives him the confidence to stand up to them. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'd describe Jason's late interactions with his father as "standing up to him," in a defiant way, but he does say the thing that has been weighing on him since the first chapter--the guilt about the broken watch. It is sort of a "defiant" move, in so far as he is SURE he's going to get in big trouble, and he's really scared to broach the subject. There's definitely a dynamic whereby Michael becomes less of an abstract force, a punisher and rule-enforcer who makes Jason stammer with anxiety, and more of a complex and sympathetic but flawed human being in his own right. And he constantly surprises Jason, in the final chapters, with all the ways he's NOT a strict, punitive figure. He's sympathetic about the watch, compassionate about how Jason (indeed) has "already beaten himself up over it." And he wants some sympathy himself, once we realize that his "affair" is not exactly as clear-cut as we might have assumed. Both of Jason's parents become more "human" in all their complexity over the course of the novel, and this too seems like an aspect of coming-of-age.
ReplyDeleteYes! I think Jason's character development is integral to the story, especially showing how he can come-of-age in just a years time. I found it interesting how you viewed Jason telling his father about breaking the watch as "standing up to him" because I saw it as Jason facing his fears, almost standing up to the voice in his head that tells him he would be in major trouble.
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