Is Jason Taylor a Hero?

Jason Taylor can be considered a hero in the book "Black Swan Green" for many reasons and interactions he has been apart of. A hero is a selfless, caring, and helpful person who tries to help people when they want help, not when they need it. Throughout the book Jason has shown countless ways of his heroism, such as the point where he breaks neil's calculater just to get the deans attention to "grass" oh him and the other bullies helping all the kids who can't fend for themselves. Another example of Jason's heroism is when he tried helping the gypsies, Jason was on of the only people who would hear them out and try to understand them as he did this he would also fend for them saying they arent as bad as people say they are.

Blog #11 Maggot

Invthe book "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell he has named one of the chapters "Maggot" like the alternate persona of the main character know as Jason Taylor. The reasoning of the word maggot is like the way they use maggot in the army to present you as a lesser person to show you that you're just a mere parasite in the world of giants. These events has made Jason feel succesfully small, uncapable of anything almost helpless in the fact that he cant even save or protect him self from the things that are happening. The more Jason had tried to fit in in the last chapters had hurt him much more that help him, before he wasnt a nobody he he a decent spot where people saw him as average to where he is now, the losers of his school are even making fun of him. These actions have been crumbeling his selfesteme to the point of you being able to ask if it even there anymore. Yet he still learns from these mistakes and comes back from it hopping to achieve the final goal of leaving the small village and never coming back for as long as he could leave for.

Blog#10 souvenirs

In the chapter Souvenirs Jason and his father go on a business trip, during the trip his father had promised him that they would go to the movies together and have sometime to spend with each other. His father had gotten stuck in a meeting with his boss so he sent someone to go out with Jason and do the things they were planning to do, because of this Jason has seen his fathers coworker as a father figure maker that his own dad.  The father figures in Black Swan Green have all been proseved as a bad form of influences, such as dean Moran's dad who is seen as an alchoholic, but it seems that Jason's father is trying hard to spend some time with his son who he doesn't have the best relationship with. His father had came back to the hotel room late and had missed the movie and had promised Jason that at the break of dawn they will go out and fly his kite, but he has his doubts.

Blog #9 Solarium

In the chapter Solarium in Black Swan Green, Jason has meet Madame Crommelynck who speaks of his poetry. She has stated that Jason should be more open in the words of his poetry saying the truth behind the words is what people remember not how big or how fancy the words are especially if it has no meaning. Madame challenges Jason to become more personal to allow people to view his life and his struggles, but is still wanting to have a double life. He wants to be a poet as well as the other kids in his school which makes him almost ashamed of doing the one thing that allows his to be more open and free in fear of being teased as well as becoming the easy target that people can turn to. Jason feels that without Madame he will not learn to be a great poet, at the end of the chapter Jason finds out she has been sent to prison and that he wont be able to make it that he will be the same crappy poet.

Blog #8 Rocks

In the chapter Rocks in "Black Swan Green" we are brought closer to the parents of Jason Taylor. The father figures in the story are all shown as negative influences to the their family's. Jason's father who consistently needs to feel as the superior person in the family, the family has been a victim to this effect of the father figures continually. Jason's father has been setting rules for the family which then includes Helena. Helena wanted to purchase a rockery fop the backyard to their house, but Michael states that he is the money maker of the family and finds the rockery underlay useless and simply just does not buy it. The secrecy that the father had shown to the family in multiple occasions is one of the main reasons that relationship between the mother and father is in the middle of a pitfall, this pitfall is not only effecting the parents, but as well as effecting the children of the family. Jason and Julia have now gotten closer to each other due to their family problems.

Blog #7 Bridle Path

In the chapter Bridle Path we see the changes that has come to Jason, he has changed in maturity from his innocent self to his more curious and eager for experience.  Jason has been left alone in his house and for once his family trusts him to say giving Jason a key to the house. Once he realized he is home alone he does what ever he wants, going into every ones rooms because of his curiosity. Going further into the chapter Jason says he wants to go through the full path of the bridle path to gain a certain popularity that he longs for.  Going through the path he comes along Dawn Madden a girl Jason has feelings for and the part of the story where we seem him lose his innocents showing his sexual feelings towards her. Further into the story he comes across tom and debbie who are having sex, but Jason had stayed to watch for his own reasons to learn from. Now we see how Jason is changing and continues to change.

Blog #6 Relatives

Mitchel portrays self-image and social acceptance between the characters of Jason and Hugo by showing how hard Jason tries around him, as well as doing anything he can to seem cool to Hugo. Jason feels that he does not fit in as well as everyone else and at the same time it is very challenging for him to fit in with the popular people in his school because of his stammer. When Hugo gets in trouble or does something wrong Jason lets it go or he will side with Hugo to seem cool to him. Because of Jason's desperation to fit in with others it has affected his choices greatly and makes him seem less innocent then he already is, Jason tries to hard to fit in and idolizes Hugo because he is his coolest cousin to him.

Blog #5 Relatives

The chapter Relatives gives us a greater image of Jason' character. We are now introduced to Hugo a cousin of Jason who he wants to be like, as well as how he will do almost anything to fit in with the big crowds. In multiple parts of the chapter Jason states how he wants to be like Hugo and wants to hide the things he believes is not cool. At the end of the chapter we see that Hugo gets Jason to smoke showing that popularity among the people around him than anything else. In the chapter Jason begs that his parents do not tell Hugo about his poems so he can seem cool to him as well as when he is coming Jason hides his posters that "Hugo may think babyish" Jason is very desperate to become someone he is not so he can be accepted by the social hierarchy of the world of his school.

Blog #4 Hangman

       A theme that Mitchell has portrayed in Black Swan Green is bullying, for the reasons of bullying is why Jason is trying to change the way he is and studys the dictionary to talk to certain people. If he stammers infront of the popular kids his social life will be destroyed, he would gain the name stammer boy and would be at the bottem of the social hierarchy. As of now he is portrayed as a idiotic person only because he may know the answers to some problems, but will be fearful to say it because of his stammer. Jason had said that it would be better just to say I dont know the answer then to be called stammer boy. The choices that Jason makes is all for the saftey of him not being bullied.

Blog #3 Hangman

       In the chapter of Black Swan Green titled Hangman have brought us much more information towards the life of Jason Tayler. We now have a better understanding of how Hangman is trying to take control of Jason and the things he says. Jason has learned that he has to read for his class, but knows that if he reads he will commet social suicide for the reasons of his stammering issue. Jason meets with his speech therapist who Hangman is fearful of and Jason doesnt stammer around her, but in any other place where his speach therapist is, he will have a stammering problem. His speach therapist saves his life by excusing him from reading in the class so he wont get bullied, Hangman shall remember this and will get back at him.

Blog #2

The events of the first chapter sets up the novel for reader using mystery. The events that carry out threw the novel leaves the reader asking questions and leaving them suspenseful for what will happen next, such as the first chapter when Jason had went to his fathers forbidden room, readers may have wondered why was the room forbidden, may he be hiding something will we ever find out what he may be hiding. As the reader continues the reading he then sees how Jason has answered the ringing phone and the baby crying in the back ground witch could lead him to some educated guesses of the fathers secrets lying in the forbidden office which them may give the reader a drive to continue to read to see what may have truly happen and what may come of it.

Blog #1 January Man

     The chapter "January Man" in the book Black Swan Green by David Mitchell starts off with a rule by the father "Do not set foot in my office" (pg 1. Line 1.) This brings us right into the story and gives us some information on the father, but Jason ignores the rule as someone is calling the phone in his fathers room. Once Jason pics up the phone he hears breathing, a baby crying, and Sesame Street, then the phone hangs up leaving a sign of suspense. this can bring up some thoughts on how the father may be cheating on Jason's mother, as his father confronts him about the call the mother seemed helpless and it looked like the parents new of this affair but refuse to tell the kids of the family, we also catch a glimpse of Jason's we find out the he has a hidden passion for poetry, but put into a secret identity so he wont be made fun of by the people of his school. The men of Jasons school are very strict as well to the point were if they don't call each other by a certain name in their school hierarchy they would get beaten up.