Literary Techniques in Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey Essay

Jasper Jones is a novel written by Australian author Craig Silvey that follows Charlie Bucktin on his journey from innocence to experience as he attempts to solve the mystery of what he thinks is a local murder. There are three main factors in the novel that contribute to Charlie’s loss of innocence.

It is not hard for me to forget that this novel is set in 1965, in a rural town known as Corrigan. It is very similar to the one Silvey grew up in, although he denies writing the book purely on his personal experience, wanting to

They were shown talking about family and how relationships formed and betrayed. Innocence were one of the topics as they were continuously trying to find new evidence to prove their innocence and unveil the truth. Fear was constantly showing within both texts as there was always some tension between certain characters, fearing the truth coming out, and destroying the relationships between characters. The use of themes thoughout Jasper Jones and The Dressmaker was used effectivly to create strong links between the two

It is crucial that we study Australian Narratives as it creates insights into events we may have not explored. This is evident in the novel "Crow Country" written by Kate Constable. It teaches us about Aboriginal beliefs and spirituality, Australia's History and respect, as we experience what it feels like to live in rural Australia, creating an understanding about Aboriginal people. Therefore, through a close read and study of "Crow Country", readers are able to learn new and important things about our past and present, showing that it is crucial to study Australian Narratives.

Loss of innocence in ‘Jasper Jones’ helps us understand that everyone is forced to grow up, and not be so naïve. Throughout the novel Charlie experiences a progressive journey, and encounters numerous events in which a 13 year old boy shouldn’t be exposed too, and which change a persons life, and how they look at things. This is first evident when Jasper takes Charlie to Laura Wishart’s hanging body in this moment Charlie is capsulated into adulthood. He states “But I don’t turn back. I stay. I follow Jasper Jones. And I see it. And everything changes, Sudden tears sting my eyes. I really don't want to cry, but I'm angry. And stunned. And I'm very afraid”. Parataxis is used, by having short sharp sentences it conveys the sense of assurance.

In contemporary society, interpretation is an institutional practice with readers consequently sharing assumptions; highlighting the concept of interpretive communities. Audiences often respond to ideas based on dominant contextual norms and ideologies. The biased recount of Australia's sullen and discriminatory past has led to a collective ignorance; with awareness and redemption of the true atrocities committed by British Settlers being a new concept. Kate Grenville's raw and accosting novel the Secret River confronts readers, positioning them to challenge the socio-historical doctrines of the 21st Century society. Analytical readers can respond actively to issues of racism by acknowledging the intertextuality of the text and contemporary actions, and by recognising and contrasting prevailing attitudes. This process evokes an emotive response to uncomfortable notions and influences a remorseful reaction towards the Aboriginal community and their hardship.

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.

Charlie articulates how he “never understood why you would ever feel the need to shoot the fish in the barrel… (if) they’re in a barrel, you’ve already caught them… they can’t escape... why bring guns into it?” Silvey’s use of characterisation and first person point of view portrays Charlie’s realisation of the community’s racial prejudice towards ‘the other’. The “fish” is symbolic of Charlie and how he is different to the people of Corrigan; who are like vultures – constantly seeking the chance to attack those that are considered the ‘minority’. Charlie’s close friend, Jeffrey Lu, is a gifted and committed cricket player who persistently tries to get himself in the local team, however, due to his Vietnamese background, “he’s ruthlessly bullied and belted about by the boys at school.” The emotive imagery and alliteration of “bullied” and “belted” further depict Charlie’s internal conflict in addition to his realisation of the community’s racial prejudice towards the peripheral of society. The use of emotive imagery positions readers to realise the extent to which powerful words can have; causing readers to recognise how crude and harrowing humankind can be towards the marginalised. Thus, Silvey effectively conveys to the reader how the indigenous race were isolated from ‘white Australian’ society; how intelligent individuals were ostracised; and, how groups of people with racially different backgrounds were isolated from mainstream Australian society.

“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.

It is a natural part of human nature to long for the feeling of belonging, even if it means following a corrupt and unjust social regime. Craig Silvey weaves this idea into the novel Jasper Jones, in which the “half-caste” deuteragonist and protagonist Charlie Bucktin discover the death of the shire president’s daughter, Laura Wishart, and work together to find the culprit as to avoid the inevitable scapegoating of Jasper for this crime. Silvey’s implementation of the historical setting of the 1960’s introduces the themes of fear, racism within a social regime and scapegoating; these ideas relate to the racism present in Australia at the time, due to the reign of the White Australia Policy and the effect of the Vietnam War. By integrating these key ideas into the story of Jasper’s experiences with scapegoating, Silvey reflects on real-life examples of racism present in Australia during the 1960’s, as well as other developing nations, and how the need to impress others is the major drive for the wider

Introduction Prejudice refers to the judgements towards a person because of their race, social class, age, disability or sexual orientation. (Cherry, “What is Prejudice?”) Prejudice was, and still is, to a large extent experienced by people all over the world. It is a theme that is presented in so many works of literature in a plethora of different ways. One of the most prominent ways in which prejudice is explored is through the use of characters that perhaps are a different nationality or have a different orientation to the majority of the other characters in the works. Two texts, in which the theme is presented in an admirable way , are ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, and ‘Jasper Jones’ by Craig Silvey. Through the use of the

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 was my favourite character while I was reading Jasper Jones because he is a strong character. He doesn’t have much family or friends in the book but seams to have a steady life. He had to grow up fast because his father isn’t around much and his mum died. He has to steal to get food and clothes so people think that he is no good and that the children of the town shouldn’t be around him, “He’s the rotten model that parents hold aloft as a warning: This is how you’ll end up if you’re disobedient.”