The novel Jasper Jones written by Craig Silvey has many connections and similarities to the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. The novel Jasper Jones leaves the reader wondering whether Silvey intentionally wrote his novel to have so many connections to the classic, and if so what was the purpose? The novels share connections between characters, key ideas/themes and orientation of the novel.
Another way of getting this message across, are the allusions used quite frequently in Jasper Jones, including directly naming To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, many reviewers have coined it as 'an Australian To Kill a Mockingbird'. It is essentially a book about books. The author allows the reader to understand this difficult concept by relating it to an already familiar story.
After having a thorough read of the novel ‘Jasper Jones’ by Craig Silvey, I have come to understand the powerful effects of using written codes and conventions in novels. Silvey’s impressive piece of literature was carefully constructed through techniques such as characterization, socio-cultural context, themes and intertexuality. By doing this, Silvey was accredited for convincing the readers, appealing to their emotions and manipulating their beliefs and values to accept or agree with his opinions on the issue covered in the novel.
The Novel Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey revolves around a young boy named Charlie Bucktin living in the small Australian town of Corrigan in the 1960’s. Charlie is exposed to the confronting issues of racial prejudice, injustice and moral duality. He is challenged to question right from wrong, has to come to the realization that law doesn’t always uphold justice and we as readers are positioned to understand that people are capable of holding two conflicting values and remain in confortable harmony. The ideas are portrayed through Silvey’s use of narrative conventions that are used to either challenge or reinforce our values, attitudes and beliefs on the issues explored.
Charlie Bucktin learns a great deal about himself, others, Corrigan and important lessons that will help him live a better life in Jasper Jones. In the novel, Charlie goes through some experiences that teach him some of life’s great lessons. In particular he comes to learn a great deal about trust, love, facing and overcoming fear, role models and racial prejudice.
Jasper Jones is a 2009 novel aimed at young adults, which focuses on the death of Laura Wishart, and the journey protagonist Charlie Bucktin and his friend Jasper Jones undergo in order to discover to truth of her death. Throughout the novel, the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which was aimed at adult women is mentioned, in an interesting use of intertextuality by author Craig Silvey. Eliza Wishart, younger sister of Laura, dreams of a life in New York as Holly Golightly of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Silvey uses this as a way to explore escapism. The two texts also deal with themes such as isolation and the search for identity using a range of literary devices and stylistic features, in particular, imagery, literary allusion and
Jasper Jones (2017) by Kate Mulvany has certainly influenced my understanding of 1960s Australian society. There have been many societal changes since that era, and this text helps me realise just how many there have been. The main changes I have noticed from the text include the text’s main themes of family, sexism, and racism.
“The more you have to lose, the braver you are for standing up”, so say Charlie in Jasper Jones. This quote reflects both novels, as the both discuss the morally wrong actions due to racism or discrimination. To kill a mockingbird is so similar to Jasper Jones through its historical, ethical and social settings that critics are referring to Jasper Jones as an Australian version of To Kill a Mockingbird. These similarities are identified as we compare Jack Lionel and Boo Radley, Laura Wishart and Mayella Ewell and the small town life of both novels. The characters of both novels ma be very similar but the plot is much different.
* ‘This late, the architecture is desolate and reached of colour’’ symbolic, suggests of life having been washed out in the town-devoid of colour.
It is a natural part of human nature to long for the feeling of belonging and fitting into what people consider “normal.” Craig Silvey brings this idea into the novel Jasper Jones through the use of the historical setting of the 1960s as a platform to demonstrate realistic examples of racial discrimination and its consequences; the historical context also plays an important role in the setting of Corrigan, Western Australia, as the small fictitious town represents how the whole of Australia was following a corrupt social regime obsessed with appearances. The use of setting, first person narration and characters in the novel educates the reader of the reality of the “White Australia” movement and the impact it had on those of Australian Aboriginal
In the novel Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey provides us the audience an insight into the characters’ pursuit of truth by exploring overarching ideas such as Fear, Racism and Scapegoating and linking them with character dialogue as well as narrator descriptions. The main truth presented by Craig Silvey is the investigation of Laura Wishart’s death, by pursuing this truth Charlie uncovers truths about his family and town. I believe that by using these overarching ideas, silver is able to offer us a deep insight into the characters’ pursuit of truth.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey is a coming of age story that filled with suspense and mystery keeping us captivated till the end. Set in the 1960’s in an old mining town if Corrigan, where everyone knows one another. I certainly agree with weartholdcoat’s opinions on the novel, it’s a great thrilling read that keeps you completely hooked. Silvey uses various techniques like narrative and language conventions, theme and Australian context to achieve such a captivating finish.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a multi-faceted novel which explores the principles and morals of people in the South during the 1930s. Mockingbirds are symbolic of the people that society abuse. Lee narrates the events of the novel using Scout’s voice and uses this technique to add emotional context and develop themes. Themes of racial and classist prejudice are developed by Lee to challenge the reader. These techniques are all powerful ways to alter the views of the reader.
I think that Harper Lee was inspired by the events of the Scottsboro Boys to write To Kill a Mockingbird based of the following evidence. Several of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are very similar to people that were involved in the Scottsboro Boys trials. The setting in a small Alabama town are similar and that both of the accoused rapes are both under similar circumstances that a black man was accused by a white women. This essay will be comparing characters from the book to real people from the Scottsboro Boys trials. Including Haywood Patterson, Tom Robinson, Victoria Price, Mayella Ewell, Samuel Leibowitz, and Atticus Finch.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses unforgettable characters to explore civil rights and racism in the segregated southern United States in the 1930s. Atticus Finch, who is an attorney tries to prove that Tom Robinson, a black man, is innocent of a crime. Boo Radley is a neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem’s lives. The values the book promotes, the traits its characters demonstrate and the relevant themes it portrays, and the feelings it evokes in readers prove that To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the book worth saving. There are many morals promoted in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, such as empathy.
I have always liked Laura. She has a bright future. She’s by far the smartest in our year and has the most beautiful hair I have ever seen. Pretty yet smart. She is the only girl in the year who pretends I don’t exist and it kills me. The most popular boys should get the prettiest girls. I’m the best at cricket in town and the second best at footy behind that prick Jasper Jones.