Masculinity In Jasper Jones

After having a thorough read of the novel ‘Jasper Jones’ by Craig Silvey, I have come to understand the powerful effects of using written codes and conventions in novels. Silvey’s impressive piece of literature was carefully constructed through techniques such as characterization, socio-cultural context, themes and intertexuality. By doing this, Silvey was accredited for convincing the readers, appealing to their emotions and manipulating their beliefs and values to accept or agree with his opinions on the issue covered in the novel.

In the novel Jasper Jones, Authored by Craig Silvey, Charlie's views and understanding of masculinity is challenged multiple times, to the extent of changing from thinking masculinity is physical, to deducing that masculinity can come in multiple forms, such as emotional, physical and within a persons actions. His views of masculinity can first be seen at the start of the novel, when Jasper Jones is sneaking Charlie out of his room, he says "Jasper is tall. his shape and his muscles have already sorted themselves out". Charlie finds that Jasper's physical features are what makes him masculine in a way. An example of when Charlie's understanding of masculinity changes is when he sees Jasper hiding his emotions, holding a "poker face" and "projecting

Charlie Bucktin learns a great deal about himself, others, Corrigan and important lessons that will help him live a better life in Jasper Jones. In the novel, Charlie goes through some experiences that teach him some of life’s great lessons. In particular he comes to learn a great deal about trust, love, facing and overcoming fear, role models and racial prejudice.

Texts effectively explore the human condition and ideas that revolve around it through the use of raw, real emotion, offering depth and perspective to how different people think, feel and react to certain situations, evoking empathy, helping us explore our utmost values and beliefs. Silvey represents the human condition in his bildungsroman novel, Jasper Jones, which narrates the perspective of a young Australian boy in the 1960s, who meets fate with a peculiar adventure that changes his impression of the town he thought he had figured out. Silvey effectively acknowledges the impact of racial prejudice and ideas of morality to exhibit the human condition of why we do, what we do and how we do it. Racial prejudice weighs into conformity, exposing the human desire to assume stereotypes as a shortcut to make sense of their limited understanding.

In the novel Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey provides us the audience an insight into the characters’ pursuit of truth by exploring overarching ideas such as Fear, Racism and Scapegoating and linking them with character dialogue as well as narrator descriptions. The main truth presented by Craig Silvey is the investigation of Laura Wishart’s death, by pursuing this truth Charlie uncovers truths about his family and town. I believe that by using these overarching ideas, silver is able to offer us a deep insight into the characters’ pursuit of truth.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey is a coming of age story that filled with suspense and mystery keeping us captivated till the end. Set in the 1960’s in an old mining town if Corrigan, where everyone knows one another. I certainly agree with weartholdcoat’s opinions on the novel, it’s a great thrilling read that keeps you completely hooked. Silvey uses various techniques like narrative and language conventions, theme and Australian context to achieve such a captivating finish.

The Novel Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey revolves around a young boy named Charlie Bucktin living in the small Australian town of Corrigan in the 1960’s. Charlie is exposed to the confronting issues of racial prejudice, injustice and moral duality. He is challenged to question right from wrong, has to come to the realization that law doesn’t always uphold justice and we as readers are positioned to understand that people are capable of holding two conflicting values and remain in confortable harmony. The ideas are portrayed through Silvey’s use of narrative conventions that are used to either challenge or reinforce our values, attitudes and beliefs on the issues explored.

In A Walk in the Woods, Bryson writes about his experiences on the trail. Without intention, some of the instances that Bryson writes are a demonstration of hyper-masculinity. For example in this quote, “This wouldn’t be so bad, I told myself. But secretly, I knew that I was quite wrong.” Bryson is assuring himself that he isn’t anxious instead of coming to terms with his anxiousness. This parallels to hyper-masculinity because, culturally, boys are to always show a tough image and hide their sensitivity despite what they really want to be able to show. In another quote, “When guys in camouflage pants and hunting hats sat around...talking about fearsome things done out-of-doors, I would no longer have to feel like such a cupcake.” The use of

Although fictional texts are simply narratives, the characters and ideas presented within them have the ability to reflect a particular period in time and the attitudes and beliefs associated with it. The coming of age novel Jasper Jones, written by Craig Silvey, follows the journey of Charlie Bucktin, the thirteen-year-old protagonist, who is forced to rethink his traditional notions of right and wrong, after a tragedy opens his eyes to the world around him. Throughout the novel Silvey brings to light issues concerning morality, justice, and humility, by discussing them from the perspectives of certain individuals including Charlie, Jasper and Jeffrey. Overall it is these representations that provoke audiences to question their own morality, and to question the prejudices present in society during that era.

We often hear the phrase nowadays of “toxic masculinity”. Many use it but often without explanation. What exactly is toxic masculinity? Why is masculinity and the history of hypermasculinity in American culture so toxic? In American culture, there is a history of a “survival of the fittest” mentality. The strongest men are domineering and powerful, and take no nonsense from women, or progressives, or gay people. These traits are hypermasculine, an extremeness of generic masculinity, both of which should be handled with care, as masculinity itself is a fragile construct. American masculinity can be extremely toxic and dangerous to both the men themselves and the people around them. Masculinity can often be a cage to men, whom society

Throughout Jasper Jones the boys use the word “queer” to playfully insult each other and the narrative is constrained by heteronormative ideas and discourses. Discuss how masculinity is constructed throughout the novel. In particular, how does Charlie relate to the conventional masculine values of Corrigan?

Although seemingly innocent, the small town of Corrigan, where the novel, Jasper Jones, is set, is home to a vast number of lies and secrets, and holds an immense amount of deception and manipulation within its walls. Secrets are a pivotal part of life and the human experience, and Jasper Jones reflects this in a relevant and thought-provoking manner, presenting the ways in which secrets and deceits can alter a person’s life for the worse, and cause emotional damage and trauma to those involved with the dishonesty.

In the novel, Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey provides us the audience an insight into the characters’ pursuit of truth by exploring overarching ideas such as Fear, Racism and Scapegoating and linking them with character dialogue as well as narrator descriptions. The main truth presented by Craig Silvey is the investigation of Laura Wishart’s death, by pursuing this truth Charlie uncovers truths about his family and town. I believe that by using these overarching ideas, silver is able to offer us a deep insight into the characters’ pursuit of truth.

Masculinity, a seemingly simple concept. Yet, when examined more closely, it is clear that masculinity is constantly changing in its definition as well as in its most basic essence. Throughout the years, one can see this evolution firsthand by looking back at the men who have been portrayed in popular media in the United States of America. From the suave Don Draper types of the 1950s to the more casual, educated, and easygoing men- with perfectly chiseled abs, of course- that are portrayed in media today, the difference is clear. This drastic, yet unsurprising, shift in ideals, as well as the exponential increase of media consumed every day, has led to a change in how “masculinity” is perceived, as well as how it is enforced by society in the modern day. Alarmingly, this trend has led to the birth of so-called “toxic masculinity”, a bastardization of the original ideas behind masculinity which has created an enormous, detrimental effect on society as a whole. As defined in the article The Difference Between Toxic Masculinity and Being a Man, toxic masculinity is “manhood as defined by violence, sex, status, and aggression. It’s the cultural ideal of manliness, where strength is everything… where sex and brutality are yardsticks by which men are measured,” (O’Malley) This is a clearly displayed truth, and it’s astounding to see how even from a young age boys are taught not to show emotions other than anger, conditioned to believe that being “like a girl” is the worst possible

Men that carry out the “machismo way of life” feel that they have to constantly prove their manhood to the world. This is generally achieved