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Jasper Jones Prejudice Quotes

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Good morning distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the 24th annual Queensland Literary Symposium. I’d like to start off by highlighting a prominent book that has captured readers with its engaging and thrilling storyline along with insightfully revealing significant aspects of human society and culture. I refer specifically to the novel, Jasper Jones. Written by the Australian author Craig Silvery, Jasper Jones is set in the scorching summer of 1965 in Western Australia. One night Jasper, the town’s mixed-race outcast, shows Charlie Bucktin a dead body. Told from the perspective of Charlie, he and Jasper embark on a riveting mission to solve the mysterious murder of Laura Wishart. Silvery’s story demonstrates many social and …show more content…

During the sixties, indigenous Australians were deprived of full citizenship until the 1967 referendum, therefore prejudice morals were not reprimanded. The character Jasper Jones experiences continuous discrimination from the people of Corrigan simply because of his race. Jasper is a half Aboriginal boy who is the outcast and scapegoat of the town. Charlie reveals, “Jasper Jones has a terrible reputation in Corrigan. He’s a Thief, a Liar, a Thug, a Truant. He’s lazy and unreliable. He’s feral and an orphan, or as good as. His mother is dead and his father is no good. He’s the rotten model that parents hold aloft as a warning: This is how you’ll end up if you’re disobedient.... In families throughout Corrigan, he’s the first name to be blamed for all manner of trouble.” Here, Silvey employs the harsh term “rotten” to emphasise and increase the severity of Jasper’s poor reputation in the town. Furthermore, Silvey's intentional use of capitals provides the reader the impression that the adjectives of “Thief”, “Liar”, “Thug” and “Truant” are now titles belonging exclusively to Jasper, to indicate who he is or has become. Through the phase “he’s the first name to be blamed for all manner of trouble” communicates that Jasper is subject to immense prejudicial ideologies as he is blamed for all troublesome and criminal matters that occur in Corrigan. Charlie challenges the racist …show more content…

The novel takes place during the Vietnam War, when Australia sent soldiers to fight alongside the South Vietnamese against Communist attacks. As a result, Australia's involvement caused significant and long-lasting controversial effects on Australian society, therefore there was significant racism against the Vietnamese. Thus, the Lu family, who were Vietnamese immigrants, were continually victims of the racist mindset of the townspeople. Although Jeffery is bullied and degraded by the locals because of his heritage, Jeffery is an endlessly determined and optimistic person, who does not get pushed down easily by others. Charlie observes "Someone kicks his ankle and says, F**k off, Cong. Jeffrey stumbles, but keeps going, head high.” By referring to Jeffery Lu as a "Cong", a northern Vietnamese Communist, it is clear that Jeffery deals with extreme racism and discrimination from the townspeople. Jeffery's mother, is further exposed to racism when she is scalded by hot water and verbally abused. Charlie reveals “She slapped her cup up, right into her chest and her chin, staining her thin summer blouse and scalding her skin. The cup smashed... But Sue Findlay hadn’t finished. Jabbing her finger, she screeched the most horrible words, the nastiest things imaginable, her voice uneven with tears, her eyes crazy. It happened so quickly. The surrounding folks just stared.” Mrs Lu was attacked as Sue's son had been killed

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