ENGLISH LITERATURE SEMESTER 1: JASPER JONES ESSAY TASK
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey follows the story of Charlie Bucktin, a young 13-year-old boy intrigued by the promise of adventure who is caught in the midst of a crime. Through this experience, he is forced to revaluate his perspectives of right and wrong through his friendship with the town’s outcast, Jasper Jones. Through the exploration of challenging themes such as racism, discrimination, escapism and the fear of the unknown, Silvery provides a new insight on how the world is not plain black and white, but embedded with injustice and cruelty.
Through the novel, Jasper Jones, Silvery challenges the universal themes of racism and discrimination and explores their nature through links…show more content… Silvey acknowledges that escapism is an important tool for one to cope with sad and traumatising events; however, the fantasies about escape are more idealistic than literal escape. Coping with one’s sorrow is a significant aspect of coming of age and maturity. In the novel, a frequent method of escapism takes form in literature whether it be writing or reading. Charlie, the protagonist of the novel, uses writing as a form of therapy for momentarily releasing the heavy burden of guilt and sorrow. After the traumatizing event of discovering Laura’s dead body hanging on the tree, he imagines “leaving Corrigan to be a writer, maybe one day even getting [his] story published.” Charlie escapes into his fantasy of becoming “the famous writer who fled from his hometown and shunned the limelight” Throughout the novel, Charlie is gradually exposed to the true nature of Corrigan and frequently experiences feelings of anxiety, guilt and fear. Through writing, even if it is “aimless and desultory, [Charlie explains that] it feels good, [writing eases the heavy burden he bears]”. Silvey explains that fleeing, ignoring or disregarding one’s problems are not constructive methods of dealing with such issues. Ruth Bucktin is a significant character who flees after Charlie uncovers the knowledge of her secret affair. Her escape is depicted as a sign of immaturity and cowardice as she chooses to run
