For Silvey, writing is a part of growing up. Instead of running away like Jasper or Ruth, or turning to violence, like Eliza, he stays in Corrigan, dealing with his problems more maturely and intelligently by writing about them. In general, then, the book Jasper Jones itself is a key part of Charlie’s coming of age. Instead, Jasper flees Corrigan, and Eliza resorts to arson and attempted murder of her father to enact justice for Laura’s death. Yet neither Jasper nor Eliza uses writing to overcome guilt. Other characters, like Jasper and Eliza, feel similar feelings of guilt and anxiety-indeed, they both blame themselves for Laura’s death. By writing about Laura’s death (in other words, writing the book we’re reading), he eases his burden, passing on some of his feelings to the reader. Forced to keep Laura’s death a secret, Charlie had to deal with anxiety, guilt, and fear. It’s possible to read all of Jasper Jones as a way for Charlie to cope with the events he’s experienced. After he learns that Laura’s father raped her, for instance, he uses writing as a form of therapy, explaining that he needs to “get it out” as quickly as possible. For Charlie, fiction is a way to ease the pain and sorrow he experiences in his life. The most important form that fantasy takes is fiction writing. It is precisely because escape itself is always less than ideal that fantasies of escape are so important to the characters in the novel. Her escape to the city, then, is an admission of weakness and cowardice, proof that she can’t deal with her problems in Corrigan in a mature manner. Silvey portrays Ruth as childish and spoiled. The only character who leaves Corrigan willingly is Ruth Bucktin, who returns to her family after Charlie discovers that his mother is having an affair. ![]() Jasper “escapes” Corrigan at the end of the novel, but only because he’s suspected of murder and arson, so there’s nothing celebratory about the circumstances of his exit. Other characters in the novel have their own fantasies of escape, too: Jasper longs to leave Corrigan and go north Ruth wants to return to her wealthy lifestyle in the city and Eliza dreams of living like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.Īlthough Silvey acknowledges that fantasy and escapism are important tools by which humans cope with sadness, literal escape is never an ideal option for the characters in his book. At many points throughout the novel, he uses literature as a form of fantasy, through which he can momentarily escape from his feelings of guilt and anxiety.Īfter Charlie’s discovery of Laura’s body, he is profoundly traumatized, and it’s only by fantasizing about the day when he can move to New York and be a great writer that Charlie copes with his trauma. One of the first pieces of information we learn about Charlie Bucktin is that he loves reading and writing.
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