-
Essay / A Theme of Fear in Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey, is a 2009 Australian novel about the life of Charlie Bucktin, a bookish 14-year-old, and how that changes after Jasper. Jones, a half-white native, shows him Laura Wishart's corpse. Jasper Jones is a novel about the injustice, racism and social exclusion that exists in Australian society in 1965. Fear is explored extensively in Jasper Jones and is the basis of ignorance and racism. Jack Lionel, Jasper Jones, and the Lus are victims due to the town's ignorance and prejudicial behavior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Jack Lionel is a victim of the town's ignorance, which Charlie and Jasper are led to believe. It began when Jasper's mother Rosie was killed in a car accident and Jack was blamed for the accident, leading to rumors that he was "crazy". The lack of information about Jack throughout the novel until the end raises questions in readers about who he really is and creates a sense of fear over the name "crazy" Jack. Charlie and Jasper give in to the rumors and speculation surrounding Jack, with Jasper even drawing his own conclusions that he was the one who killed Laura. When they finally learn the truth, they realize that the locals "simply feared the myth." These rumors have gotten to the point that Corrigan society is terribly afraid of him. Over the course of the story, readers learn that Jack should not be feared at all, because why would a "murderer" allow children to steal from him? This discovery reveals the valuable lesson that fear is often the byproduct of ignorance and sheer folly. Readers, along with Charlie and Jasper, begin to understand that everything the town believed about Jack was just fear and ignorance clouding their judgment. This is a very important issue because they feared a man who had done nothing wrong in imagining their own minds. Silvey uses racism and prejudice as the basis for the underlying fear he explores through the character of Jasper. Jasper represents the small-town prejudices that earn him the reputation of "thief, liar, thug, truant." The capitalization of these labels demonstrates the dominance of assumptions in the community, supporting Jasper's vulnerability to being a scapegoat and the accumulation of these derogatory descriptions highlight the known negative connotations of being an Australian Aboriginal in the 1960s. He is blamed for all crimes, regardless of his guilt or culpability, foreshadowing the upcoming incident that will occur in Chapter 5. It is clear to Charlie that Jasper's mixed race has a lot to do with his reputation , which is why he agrees not to do it. go to the police. Jasper fears he will be blamed for Laura's death, telling Charlie that if they go to the police they will blame him for the murder. They will see that it is Jasper's sanctuary, will see Laura's beaten body, will see his rope and will lock him up without hesitation, without worrying about his innocence because he is "only half an animal with half a vote” (p. 30). This use of anthropomorphism shows that Jasper is not even counted in the population census with the other citizens. His fear of being blamed is proven in Chapter 5 when the police bring him in for questioning. They unfairly locked him in a cell and brutally beat him to get answers about Laura. This reveals the irony that an institution created to serve justice is capable of being so unjust and multifaceted, using.