Jasper Jones Themes & Examples

Appearances vs. Reality

Mad Jack Lionel.

Appearance: "Mad", "madman": judgmental tone, pairing of name with his apparently defining characteristic gives it authority.

Reality: Not a madman, a good man in fact (rushing Rosie to the hospital).

Reality: "He just seemed like a decent man that had been beaten" - contrast to town views.

Appearance: "Corrigan was ruthless. Rumors quickly spread regarding the circumstances that saw Mad Jack Lionel speeding away from the town with Rosie Jones" - Personification of Corrigan.

Authority figures being
abusive of their powers.

Appearance: "Shire President".

Reality: "Laura's Father is the worst of the lot of them".

Jasper Jones as the town scapegoat.

Appearance:"He's a Thief, a Liar, a Thug, a Truant" according to the town, the definitiveness of this judgment being shown by the asyndeton and capitalization.

Reality: "Jasper Jones speaks the truth in a whole town of liars" according to Charlie, which directly contrasts to the town's perspective.

Ruth Bucktin's affair.

"I noticed how ugly and old she looks
with her makeup smudged" - Synechdoche
of makeup for all her false appearances.

Ruth & Wes' masking their
discontent with the town.

Wes' masculine response
to threat to the Lu's garden.

Prejudice / Racism

Jasper Jones immediately being seen as the criminal.

Jasper says: "There will be a court date before there is a funeral" (pg. 23) - High modality.

"Because a girl goes missing in this town, and it's Jasper Jones who is held, and threatened, and belted for days" (pg. 276) - anaphora.

Jack, David and Rosie Lionel's relationships with each other.

"He said it wasn't right that David was destroying
the family... he came to adore his mother like a
daughter" (pg. 313-4) - Juxtaposition.

Racism towards the Lu family.

Jeffrey at the cricket nets: "Fuck off Cong"
derogatory language,racial slurs.

After Sue Findlay attacks Mrs. Lu with hot water, Charlie doesn't think Sue's sons being drafted is justification"That doesn't make it right... that's got nothing to do with Mrs Lu! It's not fair!" - confused, petulant tone; narrative voice.

When An Lu's garden is attacked "He's involved! He's a red! fucking! rat! ... He probably killed that young girl" - reference to Vietnam war, Symbolism of red and communism, exclamation marks.

After Jeffrey's cricket win: "Because Jeffrey Lu was a hero today and when he got to the top they dragged him back to the bottom. They showered him with shit." - Charlie's narrative voice, profanity.

Stereotypes of Masculinity/Gender Roles

After describing Mad Jack Lionel's supposed past, he says "A popular test of courage in Corrigan is to steal something from the property of Mad Jack Lionel" - Masculinity of theft + bravery, characterisating (pg. 5).

After Charlie encounters Laura, he comments about Jasper "He looks so skinny now. And slouched. Like a boy" - Lack of Asyndeton, imagery.

Having just jumped from his window,
Charlie puts on "Pansy Sandals" and
comments "It's my first display of
girlishness... so i jog back with as
much masculinity as I can muster,
which even in the moonlight must
resemble something of an arthritic
chicken" (pg. 5) - simile, animal
imagery, alliteration.

Reflecting on the night he called Jasper a half-caste,
He reflects on how Corrigan isn't a town for bookishness.
"I'm lousy at sport, and better than most of them at school
which garners me only ire in the classroom and resentment
when report cards are issued" (pg. 8) - Narrative voice.

Charlie, angry at Jasper for involving him in Laura's death
is told "You've got to get brave" (pg. 29) - repeated pg. 387.

Describing Warwick Trent - "He's had real,
actual sex, more than once" - Tautology.

"Warwick Trent holds the record for most peaches
Stolen from the tree of Mad Jack Lionel" (p. 75) -
Motif of peaches/peach tree.

In An Lu's garden, "He stands up, tall and intimidating. He glares with real anger" - imagery, characterization (pg. 201).

In An Lu's Garden, "Amid it all I'm
shocked to note that he is the stronger
of the two" - proud tone, matter of fact
statement (pg. 267).

Darkness of Humanity

Charlie's Reflection on Sorry, p.263: Some don't say sorry, showing the darkness of humanity. Reflecting on the "monsters" throughout history who never felt remorse.

Considering historical "monsters" and their motivations: Sylvia Likens, Eric Edgar Cooke, Albert Fish (p.109).

After reading about Sylvia Likens "And how was it that Gertrude Baniszewski could seduce so many children into committing these acts? How could they turn up, day after day, to do the unspeakable? And how could they return home of an evening, no words of shame or remorse tumbling out of their mouths?" (pg. 112).

Technique: Repetition/Anaphora of the word "how" emphasises Charlie's confusion and lack of understanding of the darkness of humanity.

Technique: Personification of "shame or remorse tumbling out of their mouth" to emphasise how normal people would feel remorse, and how Baniszewski contrasts to those normal people.

"Shire President" sexually abusing Laura (p.304).

"Because Eliza didn't know, never knew, that her father, the shire president, she never knew that he visited Laura's bedroom as well. But he didn't talk politely. He crept in, drunk. Always drunk. Always discreet." (pg. 331).

Technique: Stream of Conciousness writing shows how hard it is for Charlie to process the darkness Laura's father had in his heart.

Technique: Contrasting Jasper and Laura's father, showing the difference in how much humanity's darkness affects people.

Technique: Use of both titles (Shire president and her father) shows the reasons Charlie had to think him a good man, and teaches us how darkness is often hidden from the surface.

Police brutality against Jasper Jones.

Darkness in Humanity is inexplicable and incomprehensible.

"And the folks who trouble me, the ones who, through some break in their circuits, through some hole in their heart, can't feel it [i.e. sorry], or say it, or scratch it into trees" (p. 263).

Technique: Metaphor of "break in circuitry" and "Through some hole in their heart", shows that the darkness is a flaw, a problem in the fabric of what makes us human.

Technique: repetition of the third person 'it"
shows how foreign the concept of "sorry" is to some.

Nature of Bravery/Courage/Bravado

Charlie's Bravado in stealing
Mad Jack Lionel's Peaches.
Jeffrey Lu's Bravery in volunteering
to go to, even though he thinks it's suicide.

"He's as transfixed by the myth of Jack Lionel as anyone in this town, yet he's willing to put aside that to see me through safely" (pg. 382) - diction of "myth" shows he doesn't think it's brave.

Charlie's Bravery in getting past
the bees under Lionel's Tree.

"requires more courage for me to tentatively bend and snatch up that rotten fruit from amid that sea of bees" (pg. 387) - hyperbole of "sea" and assuredness in diction of "snatch up" and "tentatively" shows his fear.

Jasper Jones' Initial Viewpoint
from Charlie's Perspective (Ch. 1).

Charlie standing up to his Mum,
confronting her about her affair.

"No, you dug this hole, you fill it in." -
motif of holes from his physically digging one.
Italicism and commanding tone
shows resolve and bravery.

Jeffrey Lu courage in persisting to try
to bowl and facing sledging/racism.

"He's smiling lazily and pressing on with infinite optimism" (pg. 74) - Jeffery's demeanour is contrasted with the racism of the cricketers.

Charlie deciding to continue
learning in face of bullying.

When discussing bullying, Charlie says Warwick repeats words he thinks makes Charlie too smart, "each time punching me on either shoulder" descriptiveness, and ritualism shows courage of Charlie in standing up to it (pg. 75).

Wes Bucktin standing up to
An Lu's attackers.

""Go home!" my father explodes.He stands
up tall and intimidating." (pg. 270)
Use of exclaimation mark, emphatic
diction of "explodes".

Mob Mentality and effect on
Bravery - Jenny Likens & Lu's Garden.

Ch. 1 Charlie's bravery to
leave his home.

"Something invisible tugs at my legs. This is the first time I've ever dared to sneak away from home" (pg. 2) - Metaphor of tugging at legs for sense of leaving safety.
awed tone of "dar[ing] to sneak away" showing how much courage sneaking away requires.

Ch. 1 Charlie's bravado with
cigarettes etc.

Charlie declines a cigarette in such a manner
"as if to suggest that I've smoked so many times
this evening that I'm simply too full" (pg. 4) -
Audience understands the absurdity of this claim,
showing it's all bravado.

Batman vs. Superman -
Metaphor about what bravery is.

"My point is this: The more you have to lose, the braver you are for standing up" - Matter of fact statement, Parallel Construction.

Transition from childhood to adulthood

Jasper having to grow up quickly.

"I bin looking after myself since I can remember" -
Colloquial language (pg. 183).

Charlie leaving his room for the first time
to meet Jasper.

"My exit from the room is a little like a foal being born".

Charlie not hugging his mother
because he considers it childish.
Abandoning childish comforts.

"I want to tell him everything, I want him to wrap me in his arms and reassure me. - anaphora of "I want" (pg. 57).

Charlie seeing his mother's affair. (p.324).

After discovering her affair: "this means
I don't have to do what you say anymore"
- Italicism, High Modality.

Motif of "bubbles".

After Eliza has watched Laura kill herself, Charlie says
"But she still didn't leave her bubble".

"How could things be so messy and complex outside
this quiet bubble of land?".

Evolution of Charlie's perception of
sex.

"You need to be advised by an expert" -
Irony that he is not an expert.

"I like your, you know, dress" (pg. 228) -
Awkward tone shows his inexperience.

"I was wrong to ever declare that
there was nothing softer than a
girls lips" - high modality shows his
experience.

Rebellion against Charlie's mother.

"she hisses in my ear "you are a very rude boy!"" -
italicism, harsh diction of "hisses" (pg. 134).

"you dug this hole, you fill it in" -
Italicism, motif of holes (pg. 324).

Parochial Worldview

Corrigan's obsession with sport,
and valuation of worth based on it.

"Corrigan is a town whose social currency is sport" (pg. 8, last paragraph) - Charlie's use of metaphor ("social currency").

Sue Findlay's attack on Mrs. Lu.

When Mrs. Lu is attacked by Sue Findlay "Nobody talked about what happened. No one cared" (pg. 168-9) - repetition of "no one"/"nobody" emphasizes the shared parochial views the entire town has.

Sue Findlay not being able to see that Mrs. Lu is not to blame for her sons being drafted to serve in Vietnam (pg. 168-9).

Jasper being detained by the police
and being beaten up.

"They don't need a reason, mate... they reckon I got
something to do with Laura being missing." (pg. 177-8) -
Jasper's resigned tone.

Mick Blaming An Lu for his firing,
which he isn't at all responsible for.

Wes defends An, saying "It's not his fault you pissed away your job, you worthless bastard" - The use of colloquial and vulgar language.

Escapism

Jasper's Grove symbolic of a sanctuary,
as for Laura and (later) Charlie.

Alcohol - Jasper, Charlie (links to Bildungsroman)
Alcoholism - Jasper's father, Laura's father.

Charlie & Eliza's daydreams of escape from Corrigan
Jasper & Laura also wish to escape.
Charlie's Mum (Ruth) wants to escape her marriage and
small town life through her affair, and excursions to the city.

Often escapism is seen as a solution to human problems.

Charlie's Reading and Writing (along with his father).