This one is going to be a bit of a rant, and while I may be a little harsh on Jason it is something in the book that is starting to annoy me a bit. We've all been his age at some point, and had the time in our lives where we felt the need to fit in or impress everyone. But man has he let this vision in his head absolutely consume him. I genuinely feel like he's not even living his life, he's surviving, going through the motions. And it made me equally frustrated and sad when he was about to tell his mom what was going on but then didn't. Despite my annoyance with the idea of fitting in consuming his brain, I do still feel bad for the kid.
Throughout multiple scenes we see that he doesn't even really feel at home in his own house. He still has to preform for his dad when it comes to his stutter. And in the more recent chapters, seeing how brutally he got bullied definitely infuriated me. I think I'm just gonna go ahead and say I really don't like this book. It's not that it's a bad book but it's not the most fun book to read. And it feels like as we read on it progressively keeps getting worse for Jason which honestly kind of sucks and the book is getting a little depressing to read now.
Though it may be annoying to hear about Jason's need to impress people, I think it is a very honest representation of how social pressure affects people. From the reader's perspective, not being impacted by Jason's social standing every day, we can more easily see the faults in Jason's thought process. However, it's clear to see that Jason's social standings have a major impact of his mental and physical well being at school. I think, for Jason, the stress caused by worrying about what people think is, at times, a better option than the physical and public embarrassment he faces from the bullying he encounters.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Jason is far more motivated by and self-aware of his social status at school than any other narrator we have read so far. However, I feel as though his struggle with the need to conform and even simply gain status to avoid getting beat-up and verbally-abused all the time is very real. In many ways, most of his time spent at school is a constant reminder of him not being the "cool" kid. He has a speech impediment that most of the teacher's at school are not sympathetic towards, and already puts him in the spotlight to get made fun of. Before he has a realization of who his real friends are, it appears that all of his decisions surrounding who to talk to, who to associate with, etc. feel like conscious choices on whether or not he is going to improve or lower his social status (ex. talking to Dean too much might drag down his status).
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are mentioning this opposing side to the narrative. I think its important to see that yes, Jason might not be fully enjoying his early teenage years because he is so hyper focused on his standing in the social hierarchy. He has reason to be concerned. Because of his stammer he is more susceptible to attacks from his horrible classmates. In short terms, his life at school is not easy, and writing seems to be his escape from all the troubles he faces.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you highlight that the views of feeling bad for Jason yet recognizing that he is obsessed with social standing are compatible. Even though Jason makes mistakes by hyperfixating on his standing in this middle school hierarchy, the bullying he undergoes is still unfair and unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in "Hangman," where Jason pauses before leaving for school and wants to tell his mom how terrified he is, but can't because he can't explain it and there are too many stammer words, just makes me feel sad and forlorn on his behalf, not necessarily angry or frustrated with him. We see him grappling with the fact that his parents have NO IDEA what's going on with him in pretty much any area of his life throughout the book, but this moment where a young kid wants to tell his mom he's scared but can't just hits me--I wish he COULD tell his mother (as a parent, I would want my kids to tell me), but at the same time, he's right that she can't really do anything, and she'd likely tell him to buck up and go to school anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a fact of thirteen-year-old existence, in this book, that your parents are completely out of the loop, hence unable to help you. Later, in "Souvenirs," Jasons sees that his mom can be "bulletproof" in the way she handles the shoplifting girls--but then he gets mocked at school for going to the movies with her, so it's not clear that her bulletproof nature protects him at school. Jason also believes that the faculty and administration at school can't help him either. In this book's social context, kids are on their own. BUT, remember that the heroic Mrs. De Roo (Jason's speech therapist) DOES come through with a well-timed phone call to get Jason off the hook. One of many moments in the book where Jason is saved (or potentially saved) by a woman or girl's intervention.
I think that we are meant to feel uncomfortable with this book. Even as recent graduates of the stereotypical coming-of-age years, seeing the mistreatment and misguided feelings of somebody still in that shifting world is very disconcerting. Jason is going through a lot, and it makes us uncomfortable because we don't really want to see or be reminded of our own unfortunate experiences. Granted, we are all very different, but something about Jason's path resonates with all of us, because we've all had those awkward years.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your frustration with Jason's character and the way he lets his need to fit in consume him. It's tough to watch someone go through that, especially when they seem to be losing themselves in the process. However, I think that's what makes the book so compelling - it's a realistic portrayal of how the pressure to fit in can affect a person.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see how it can be frustrating to see Jason consumed and so heavily affected by the seemingly childish events happening at school, however, I think it does really well to show his character development and his coming of age journey. After reading the ending, I think readers can really see how he learns both to stand up for himself but also that it doesn't really matter in the end. When he leaves Black Swan Green, he is leaving all these school events behind, and there is a very obvious change to him that is extremely satisfying to readers after being so annoyed for so long about the bullying.
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