Bullying in Black Swan Green
Jason is bullied pretty ruthlessly in this book. It's so intense that it sort of defined the whole book for me even though the Chapter "Maggot" about the bullying was the 9th chapter of only 13. I think that it works this way not just because of the intensity of what Jason experienced, but also because of the way that it is built up through all of his social interactions in all 8 chapters that come before "Maggot". In the first chapters especially, Jason is constantly talking about his fear of judgment from his peers, and how it is inevitable if he does certain things. On just page 6 he says if people knew about his poetry they would "gouge [him] to death behind the tennis courts with blunt woodwork tools and spray the Sex Pistols logo oh [his] gravestone." He's constantly censoring himself, concealing the things that he is interested in, concealing his poetry, even trying to conceal his friendship with Dean Moran even though Dean is basically the only person he really has fun with.
When Jason talks about the way that popularity works among the kids of Black Swan Green he seems so sure of exactly how everything he is, and because we don't know any better I at least just accepted what he said as true. I mean how am I to know whether or not they will really gouge his eyes out with blunt woodwork tools, everything I know about Jason, the people that he is afraid of, and the threat that they pose to him comes through Jason. They might use sharp woodwork tools for all I know. Or maybe Jason is really just overstating the stakes of basically everything for most of the book.
The place where this was first clear to me was Jason's interaction with Rosamund, the woman who runs the antique shop in the chapter "Souvenirs." He says his parents would kill him for having broken the watch from his grandfather and she responds with, "Kill their own offspring? For breaking a freakin' watch? How did they dispose of your siblings when they broke things? Flush them down the john, joint by joint? Doesn't the plumber find their bones when he unblocks the pipes?" (190). Obviously, she is making fun of Jason's fear of his parents here but I think that her point is definitely true. Later in the book Jason achieves many of the things that he wants, standing up to bullies, getting a girl to like him, and stuff like that because he doesn't go with his gut feelings about how any sort of social risk will result in his immediate death.
Jason may not be bullied until a ways into the book, but his attitude towards his social standing makes the bullying worse once it does start, and just generally makes him really unhappy. He isn't able to do what he wants and be who he wants until he realizes that some of what he views as hard and fast rules just aren't that. It takes a really long time for Jason to realize that being himself won't actually kill him, but once he does that seems like the turning point for his development.
I totally agree with your points! Jason's life really turns around once he learns that all the social 'rules' and all the things he hears from other people aren't necessarily true. I think a really key symbolization of this was when a swan appeared at the lake on the final chapter. Everyone in Black Swan Green claimed there were no swans in town, but Jason sees one on his final day in town which goes against what people have told him, following the theme of Jason learning to not trust everything he hears.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned Rosamund's quip about how afraid Jason is of his parents. At first I thought Jason's constant fear that he would be killed for being himself was hyperbole, but as he continued to gravitate towards that fear, it started to make me think that he genuinely believed he was in danger of death. Honestly, seeing how nasty some of his bullies are to him, I can see why he thought that. It is worth mentioning that for the most part, those bullies-- children, really-- are the only ones giving him that fear, and Rosamund, the adult, is the one to tell him that's a stupid thing to be afraid of.
ReplyDeleteYou make a lot of good points and I think that you are absolutely right that Jason kind of locks himself in a bad place. Through the book his gold standard for social standing is the very people who bully him so he cant escape. You are right that once he gets those ideas out of his head he becomes a different person and is able to find his place.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your analysis too! The bullying section of this book really stood out to me as well. I thought that your point about the bullying being worse once it started because of Jason's attitude towards the social dynamics in the novel was really interesting. I agree, and I think it may also work both ways too. Jason felt even worse once the other kids did start bullying him, perhaps because he dreaded it so much before, but in a way, his attitude may also have made him more vulnerable and a more easy/"satisfying" target for the bullies as well. I think that, as you say, these scenes play a huge role in his development. He sees that being himself won't hurt him, he learns that the bullies shouldn't define his character or life, and he also learns (maybe from Dean?) that not caring could make you stronger and less vulnerable in the end. In these ways, he develops so much by the end of the novel!
ReplyDeleteThanks! This was really interesting to read.
I think you make so many great points! Jason really is being controlled by these unspoken "rules" and his fear for most of the book, making the decisions for him. Everything he says and does is because of his slightly exaggerated fears. Although to be fair, I do think that while he exaggerates the physical side of consequences, he's not always that far off about the social consequences of some of his actions. I think what he was really lacking at one point was the will to just commit. Either follow the rules and remain in this middle-ground, or completely ignore them and do what you want. When he was kind of breaking the rules but also kind of trying to abide by them, he was the most targeted at school. His turning point is once he really just said "screw it" and threw the rules away completely, and I think that commitment (that "I don't care" attitude) is what won a lot of people over.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! When you're reading from the perspective of a 13-year-old boy, it's hard to filter out the "objective truth." Even if they wouldn't actually gouge his eyes out, Jason definitely feels like they would, so in that sense, we're getting HIS truth-- even if it isn't actually what would happen. I guess when you're 13 and trapped into this social hierarchy obsession, things really do seem like the end of the world even if they feel minor from an outsider's point of view. It sucks that kids are made to feel this way, but in Jason's world, there doesn't seem to be many other viable options.
ReplyDeleteBullying is definitely a huge theme throughout the book, as it is with a good amount of "coming of age" content probably because it provides a good basis for a character arc and is unfortunately something many young people relate to. While it can be pretty easy to get caught up on the school bullying and ignore his home situation, I'm really glad you mentioned both. The section with Rosamund was a great one to bring up because she's directly calling out a pattern eluded to in other places. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYea, Jason's bullying was ruthless as soon as it started up. The things he believed in and talked about relating to popularity in the previous chapters definitely added to that. I also think the quote you added about the watch is funny in a certain sense, exposing the hyperbole of what was said. I'm glad that Jason was able to change his perspective on social status by the end of the book though.
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