Throughout Black Swan Green we see Jason want to be like the cool kids. He wants to join the Spooks, he wants to be liked by the older kids, and he idolizes Hugo.
During the later chapters we see Jason start to care less and less about what the "cool kids" think, and more about how he feels. He tells us that the people in the Spooks haven't been harassing him, they've just been ignoring him, which he is okay with. This is another big step for Jason. Although he decided to be friends with Dean rather than being in the Spooks, he now no longer regrets giving up the chance to be with the "in" crowd.
For me the biggest, and final turning point in Jason's mindset is when his dad asks him how Christmas was, and he mentions that "Hugo's smarmy as ever" (Mitchell 283). This made me realize how different Jason had become over the year. He finally saw through Hugo's smoothness to see that he really is, in lack of better words, "smarmy."
This was a really great book and I thought it had many good lessons that we can all still learn from.
One of the things that I found so cool about this novel that I think you touched on is that we get to see how much one person can actually change in a year, and Jason comes out a definitely more mature and confident individual. I enjoyed seeing how Jason overcame his struggles (stammer, bullies) to become that guy that isn't afraid of answer back in a sassy fashion, which he wouldn't have done with his father before.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jason's acceptance of himself and not trying to change himself for others is definitely a great life lesson, which many people learn as they come of age. Jason is no longer afraid of what others think and he just accepts himself how he is as he leaves Black Swan Green
ReplyDelete