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 Jason’s life, outside of his head: the boys’ culture within which he exists. Hangman will censor words starting with “N,” or “S,” or whatever letter it feels like strangling on a given day. The boys of Black Swan Green will censor whatever words they feel are- well, it isn’t very clear. Not cool is, perhaps, the best descriptor. A word might be considered too feminine, in which case its use is stigmatized by the label of “gay.” Alternatively, a word might be left in the dust by the lightspeed nomenclatorial evolution cooking in the hothouse of 3KM- only total space cadets say “epic” these days.
Jason Taylor’s speech is consistently suppressed by his stutter and the culture that surrounds him. He makes it clear throughout the book that this frustrates him. At the same time, he is jealous of those who do not suffer the same afflictions, the most common target of this envy being his older sister, Julia. On many occasions throughout the book, such as the dinner conversations on pages 33 and 49, Julia is shown to be able to quickly shut down someone with a sharp line, and Jason is shown to look on in what approaches awe. He spends much of the book chasing this ability, such as when he attempts to fire off a retort at Ross Wilcox after being pushed off the bus, but ultimately fails- in this particular instance, when he squeaks instead of properly delivering his retort.
Jason isn’t all stutterboy. Maggot and Unborn Twin don’t seem to suffer from a stutter at all. This isn’t very useful, as Jason would rather fight through the stutter than allow either of those selves to identify him. Jason’s stutter is apparently alleviated when he’s with Dean or Mrs. de Roo, but that doesn’t help much either, because he can’t have them by his side at all times.
There is one part of Jason which runs into none of these issues. Eliot Bolivar never stutters. In fact, this is a significant part of why Jason writes poetry. His poetry is explicitly a chase for beauty in how it uses words, as Crommelynck notes- in fact, she believes that he goes too far with it. This isn’t just because he’s trying to hide any lack of substance, but rather because his poetry is the only lasting way of expressing his love of words and eloquence, and the only way which is truly his, Jason Taylor’s, rather than Maggot’s or Unborn Twin’s or Dean’s or de Roo’s. This is also why, despite the fact that our story is being told to us by Jason, we never hear a stutter. The story is told in the framing sequence of Jason recounting his experiences through poetry, which is why, instead of brief lines and stuttering, the prose is full of rich imagery and well-expressed ideas.
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 Jason’s life, outside of his head: the boys’ culture within which he exists. Hangman will censor words starting with “N,” or “S,” or whatever letter it feels like strangling on a given day. The boys of Black Swan Green will censor whatever words they feel are- well, it isn’t very clear. Not cool is, perhaps, the best descriptor. A word might be considered too feminine, in which case its use is stigmatized by the label of “gay.” Alternatively, a word might be left in the dust by the lightspeed nomenclatorial evolution cooking in the hothouse of 3KM- only total space cadets say “epic” these days.
Jason Taylor’s speech is consistently suppressed by his stutter and the culture that surrounds him. He makes it clear throughout the book that this frustrates him. At the same time, he is jealous of those who do not suffer the same afflictions, the most common target of this envy being his older sister, Julia. On many occasions throughout the book, such as the dinner conversations on pages 33 and 49, Julia is shown to be able to quickly shut down someone with a sharp line, and Jason is shown to look on in what approaches awe. He spends much of the book chasing this ability, such as when he attempts to fire off a retort at Ross Wilcox after being pushed off the bus, but ultimately fails- in this particular instance, when he squeaks instead of properly delivering his retort.
Jason isn’t all stutterboy. Maggot and Unborn Twin don’t seem to suffer from a stutter at all. This isn’t very useful, as Jason would rather fight through the stutter than allow either of those selves to identify him. Jason’s stutter is apparently alleviated when he’s with Dean or Mrs. de Roo, but that doesn’t help much either, because he can’t have them by his side at all times.
There is one part of Jason which runs into none of these issues. Eliot Bolivar never stutters. In fact, this is a significant part of why Jason writes poetry. His poetry is explicitly a chase for beauty in how it uses words, as Crommelynck notes- in fact, she believes that he goes too far with it. This isn’t just because he’s trying to hide any lack of substance, but rather because his poetry is the only lasting way of expressing his love of words and eloquence, and the only way which is truly his, Jason Taylor’s, rather than Maggot’s or Unborn Twin’s or Dean’s or de Roo’s. This is also why, despite the fact that our story is being told to us by Jason, we never hear a stutter. The story is told in the framing sequence of Jason recounting his experiences through poetry, which is why, instead of brief lines and stuttering, the prose is full of rich imagery and well-expressed ideas.
Nice Post! I agree that Jason that speech and words plat a big role throughout this book and Jason's stutter is a big limiting factor in allowing Jason to say what he want. I find it interesting how this being afraid of being made fun of or thought of as less causes Jason to stutter, and how this stutter allows others to make fun of him kind of creates an unfortunate cycle. I'm glad that towards the end of the book Jasons seems to realize this, and realize how he may break the cycle.
ReplyDeleteThe culture of the boys in Black Swan Green definitely seems like a verbal minefield. Jason's deliberate use of certain slang words and nicknames are very telling of this. I also like your mention the narration of the book, and how written literature allows for Jason to story tell without fear of stuttering.
ReplyDeleteNice insights! I definitely agree the role of speech is really important for Jason's confidence and self expression. I love that you brought up his poetry and the significance of that in his development and just being able to say what he actually feels
ReplyDeleteSpeech definitely plays a big role throughout the story. I like how you frame the boys at his school as another hangman for Jason. Definitely they censor how he speaks and acts, and both of them add stress and frustration to his life. I also like your focus on how Jason thinks about people who can use words strongly, like Julia.
ReplyDeleteJason would interject early on in this blog post and remind us that he struggles with a "stammer," not a "stutter" (regardless of the fact that they'll all call him "stutterboy" anyway), and he goes into detail about the differences between them. In some ways a stammer is harder to perceive, and as he puts it, it renders him awkwardly gulping for air while trying to produce the rest of a word, once he's started it. He's fully aware that this pause offers his tormentors a wide-open window to start mocking him.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting effect of this book is that its narration gives us a clear sense of how Jason WOULD speak if he weren't inhibited by the stammer. He is probably our *wordiest* narrator, and he often goes into a lot more detail than is strictly necessary to advance the plot. He comes across as a narrator who enjoys his job even more than Holden (and Holden, whatever he says, LOVES the fact that we are listening to him and hanging on his every word). It's hard for us to remember at times just how *different* Jason seems within the action-frame of the book itself: he's quiet most of the time, and when he does speak, it tends to be in short, clipped sentences. This all reflects the importance of *writing* for Jason--he takes his time, indulges himself, goes into detail, does others' voices. He even shares with us the killer lines he *can't* say. It's like his ideal version of himself, speaking with confidence and clarity and steering the story.
I found your analysis of Hangman, both the personification of Jason's stutter and the boys' culture in which he exists, to be particularly insightful. It is fascinating to see how Jason's stutter and the boys' culture work together to suppress his speech, and how this frustration drives his pursuit of eloquence in his poetry. Overall, your commentary provides a great perspective on an important aspect of the novel.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I feel like a cruel irony in Black Swan Green is that Jason is so thoughtful and has such a vibrant expressive writing style, but he's not able to express it through his speech. It's interesting to see how little Jason actually talks in the novel when you take away his inner monologues-- he's close to silent. It makes you wonder what the mental worlds of his peers were like, and if they had the same complexity as Jason's. Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteAs a character from Mr. Leff's U.S. History once said, "the only thing [Jason Taylor has] to fear is fear itself."
ReplyDeleteThe most important element in Jason's inhibited talking is fear, whether it be of saying something 'gay' and getting laughed or getting cut off mid-word by Hangman. Although the fear is generally sort of rational, it also prevents Jason from doing things that end up helping him in the long run. Often, even if Jason does speak, his anxiety still triggers Hangman. We see that usually, whenever he stutters, part of his mind focuses on Hangman's machinations. It also helps to explain why the unrelated Eliot Bolivar is so much better at expressing words than Jason - because nobody is watching him when he writes these killer lines.
The people that Jason look up, namely Julia and Hugo, are appealing role models because they are in their element when they talk. Which Jason may never achieve at age 13, but will achieve after he grows into an adult, changes his name to David Mitchell, becomes a seasoned writer, and composes a novel called "Black Swan Green."
Anyways, epic post!