Black Swan Green and speech
The motif of speech is ubiquitous throughout Black Swan Green. Apart from the similarly ubiquitous and respectable member of boys’ society that is violence, wit and sharpness are how one goes about accruing status. In a similar vein, Julia uses her sharp tongue to great effect on many an occasion; and, of course, Jason’s stutter, his inability to speak to the standard expected, is a core part of his character. Jason has a stutter. I don’t really know why I felt the need to put that there, seeing as we all know that, but it felt like a natural way of transitioning. On account of this fact, he evidently cannot speak as he’d like. In near enough to every chapter, Jason is forced by Hangman, the personification of his struggle with his stutter, to change how he talks. It isn’t a nice morning, it’s a pleasant morning.. He can’t say “ninety-nine” without struggling, so 9 times 11 is evidently 101. There is a second Hangman in Jaso...