Jasper Jones has proven to be an enthralling Australian coming-of-age text which delves into our own backyard to tackle racism, scapegoating, and empathy. Through the use of conventions akin to Southern Gothic classics like To Kill a Mockingbird (see our blog post on this classic here) such as a misunderstood, mysterious character suffering alienation), Silvey manages to invoke a relatable emotional development in his characters that feels personal and genuine to its audience. I personally found this to be a pretty enjoyable read, so hopefully by breaking down its key components, it will make it easier to appreciate.

The book is about Charlie Bucktin, a 13-year-old in the rural Australian town of Corrigan, who, along with Jasper Jones, seeks to debunk the mystery of Laura Wishart’s death.

Context 

We will be looking at the context of Craig Silvey’s childhood, the historical context of the book, and what was going on at the time in Australia. This will be in order to wrap our heads around the ‘purpose’ of this text as the author intended, and understand how it, all came together.

Silvey grew up in a rural town in Western Australia reading American Southern authors like Harper Lee and Truman Capote, which finds significance as Jasper Jones itself finds inspiration from this Gothic style. That style originally also dealt with racism in the Deep South of America.

Jasper Jones was set in the late 1960s in Australia during the thick of the Vietnam War, fighting against the communist Vietcong forces from North Vietnam, which was in keeping with the policies of other nations, especially the conservative US government. Many Australians were conscripted in the war, and many lives were lost as they were allies with the US, and at the time, the US was combatting the spread of Communism to countries like Vietnam, Cuba, and Chile. Partly because of this,
Australia’s significantly burgeoning Asian immigrant population endured harassment and violence from those who resented the war and lives lost to the North Vietnamese forces, reflected in the discrimination that, for example, Jeffrey Lu and his mother face in Jasper Jones.

Jasper Jones was published in 2009 as part of the young adult ‘boom’, and at the time in Australia, Kevin Rudd did his ‘Sorry Speech’. This aimed to address the injustices within the Stolen Generation which were justified by the fact that it was federal policy at the time. The word ‘sorry’ is repeated throughout Jasper Jones, almost as a symbol, as the main character Charlie Bucktin questions if saying ‘sorry’ is for a ‘truly good person that can admit fault and say sorry’, or if ‘sorry’ is just ‘the refuge of the weak?’

Themes

Racism and Scapegoating

Jasper Jones depicts misunderstanding causing ‘othering’ in many ways, not only in racist issues but also in the persecution of other outsiders. This leads to the persecution of multiple characters, such as Jasper Jones, a ‘half-caste’ who is half-Aboriginal and half-white, and Mad Jack Lionel, who has been subject to rumours which have monstrously grown to make him into a mythic monster. The traits of Jasper’s ethnicity unfairly and maliciously imbue Jasper with a multitude of character defects. In Corrigan, ‘Jasper Jones has a terrible reputation…He is a thief, a liar, a thug, a truant.’ In response, Jasper comments, ‘They reckon I am just like half an animal with half a vote’. Here, the simile of Jasper being an animal reveal the commonly-held beliefs of his ethnicity which haunt him, and the hyperbole of his character traits further emphasise the limits the town place upon Jasper.

Silvey highlights how large-scale events such as the Great Depression or the Vietnam War forced communities to close ranks – causing those on the periphery could become scapegoats and victims of this narrow-minded mentality. This is highlighted as Jasper, himself subject to scapegoating for the murder of Laura, unfairly believes that Mad Jack Lionel was instead the murderer. Jasper was blinded by the town prejudice towards Mad Jack, who he regarded as ‘the monster…A madman. A pariah’. In this, an irony is displayed, especially as this is debunked through conversation later in the book when Jack is seen to be a polite, lonely old man.

Fear and Moral Integrity

Silvey confronts the protagonists, like Charlie and Jeffrey, in each work with pervasive and destructive discrimination. In this way, the authors are not inducing a sudden moment of bravery but compel the characters to challenge tradition to attain equality. Charlie, throughout the book, is in a state of fear. He’s scared of his crush Eliza Wishart, he’s scared of bullies like Warwick Trent, and he’s scared when
he discovers Laura Wishart’s dead body. However, as Charlie and Jeffrey compare
the heroic qualities of Batman and Superman, Charlie states that Batman is ‘a
man of unfathomable mental toughness’ and the fact that ‘he is capable of being
flawed’ are the qualities that make him a superhero. Silvey utilises this metaphor to display that true heroism, is to greatly risk safety to express courage for equality. As Charlie grows, he gains understanding that showing that bravery is necessary to uphold your morals.

Characters

Charlie Bucktin

Charlie is the protagonist of the novel, who is 13 years old. Initially, he is quite reserved and anxious. However, Throughout the book, he tackles his fears, angers, and grows immensely in his empathy. His naïve innocence, as he wonders how people could be ‘seduced’ into committing ‘horrible acts’, and ‘who to blame’ for ‘all the horrible things he has seen’, is also the basis of his moral compass. At the core of Charlie’s conflict is his desire to understand people unlike himself, and thus, his instinct is to always try to sympathise with others. In addition, Charlie, despite his struggle to find the courage saying: ‘I think it is harder for me to get brave,’ still challenges the authority of the town in following Jasper, and it is this trustworthiness that was what Jasper Jones had seen in him for the whole text.

Jeffrey Lu

Jeffrey is a Vietnamese boy, and Charlie’s close friend. He is witty, loves cricket, and is enormously optimistic. Despite his talent at cricket, Jeffrey received even more
vilification, and is excluded from playing, with taunts and racial slurs such as “ F… Off, Cong”.  The major irony in this portrayal is that racial prejudice infests even that supposed bastion of fairness, the sporting field. However, it is his inspirational determination which wins him the respect of Corrigan despite some of their racist views. This partly links back to the Vietnamese War which, as we mentioned before, was raging at the time this book was set. 

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