Justify and/or criticise the motives of a character
Upon seeing the body of Laura Wishart, Jasper Jones immediately assumes that the killer is Mad Jack Lionel, a supposed crazy and violent killer who lives by himself. He assumes this, because judging by the injuries on Laura’s face; she would have been beaten by someone and subsequently hung, but he believes that there would be no one else crazy enough to do that. Additionally, Jasper Jones knows that Mad Jack Lionel knows about Laura, because he often sees Jasper and Laura walking past his house. Judging from the fact that Mad Jack Lionel often shouts out Jasper’s name from inside the house when he sees him on the street, Jasper assumes that Mad Jack Lionel has something against him, more than anyone else in the town. Thus, Mad Jack Lionel would also have something against those close to him, in this case Laura Wishart.
It is only on page 194 that Jasper believes that he has got the evidence to fully prove that Mad Jack Lionel is the killer – ‘Charlie, I know it were him. I can prove it.’ His eyes bulged with feeling.’ He says he is certain, because of the evidence he had found on Mad Jack Lionel’s property. While looking for evidence on Mad Jack Lionel’s house, Jasper came across an old, rusted car. He was about to leave the property when he looked down and saw it; the word ‘sorry’ etched into the side of the passenger door. This is the same word that was carved into the tree that Laura’s body was hanging off. Due to the ‘sorry’ etched on the passenger door looking the same as the ‘sorry’ carved into the tree, it would be quite easy to assume that it would have been the same person writing the word, making Jasper certain from his evidence that Mad Jack Lionel is the killer.
However, despite his evidence, Mad Jack Lionel is not the killer, and I will critique Jasper’s motive of his strong belief which ultimately derived from his narrow mind.
Jack Lionel is only renowned as a crazy and violent man purely because of rumours that suggest he is a killer. These rumours have gone to the point the society has become terribly afraid of him despite anyone having any evidence to prove him as a murderer. Because Jack Lionel is the only known killer in Corrigin, it leaves almost no one else for Jasper to blame. Jasper also does not realise that Jack Lionel only calls out his name because he wants to tell Jasper that he is his grandfather, and he only resorts to shouting because he is incapable of walking outside in time due to disabilities. Rather, Jack’s frightening but eventual annoying reputation has caused Jasper to turn away every time his name is called, rather than approach the misunderstood man. There would be no explanation for the innocent Jack Lionel to murder anyone, and additionally, tree due to his age even if he killed Laura he would not have been physically able to hang the body off the tall tree.
After Jasper finds the word ‘sorry’ etched onto the passenger seat, he is certain that he has caught out Mad Jack Lionel. However, the evidence does not make sense. Why would a murderer write ‘sorry’ after killing someone? It could have been an accident, but that would not explain the injuries on Laura’s face or the fact that she was hung. In this case, etching the words onto the tree do not make sense, yet Jasper continues to stand strong in his accusation, that because the same word was written in the same style in two different places means that the killer is Mad Jack Lionel. This is where Jasper went wrong; he was fuelled by anger over the death of Laura Wishart that he could not see or think clearly. Thus, he was quick at jumping to conclusions to find the answer, and always believing the situation which seemed the most plausible despite holding rational evidence.
It is only near the end of the book that Jasper is told the truth, and realises his mistakes and false accusation.
Write a letter to the author explaining what you liked or disliked about the novel
Upon seeing the body of Laura Wishart, Jasper Jones immediately assumes that the killer is Mad Jack Lionel, a supposed crazy and violent killer who lives by himself. He assumes this, because judging by the injuries on Laura’s face; she would have been beaten by someone and subsequently hung, but he believes that there would be no one else crazy enough to do that. Additionally, Jasper Jones knows that Mad Jack Lionel knows about Laura, because he often sees Jasper and Laura walking past his house. Judging from the fact that Mad Jack Lionel often shouts out Jasper’s name from inside the house when he sees him on the street, Jasper assumes that Mad Jack Lionel has something against him, more than anyone else in the town. Thus, Mad Jack Lionel would also have something against those close to him, in this case Laura Wishart.
It is only on page 194 that Jasper believes that he has got the evidence to fully prove that Mad Jack Lionel is the killer – ‘Charlie, I know it were him. I can prove it.’ His eyes bulged with feeling.’ He says he is certain, because of the evidence he had found on Mad Jack Lionel’s property. While looking for evidence on Mad Jack Lionel’s house, Jasper came across an old, rusted car. He was about to leave the property when he looked down and saw it; the word ‘sorry’ etched into the side of the passenger door. This is the same word that was carved into the tree that Laura’s body was hanging off. Due to the ‘sorry’ etched on the passenger door looking the same as the ‘sorry’ carved into the tree, it would be quite easy to assume that it would have been the same person writing the word, making Jasper certain from his evidence that Mad Jack Lionel is the killer.
However, despite his evidence, Mad Jack Lionel is not the killer, and I will critique Jasper’s motive of his strong belief which ultimately derived from his narrow mind.
Jack Lionel is only renowned as a crazy and violent man purely because of rumours that suggest he is a killer. These rumours have gone to the point the society has become terribly afraid of him despite anyone having any evidence to prove him as a murderer. Because Jack Lionel is the only known killer in Corrigin, it leaves almost no one else for Jasper to blame. Jasper also does not realise that Jack Lionel only calls out his name because he wants to tell Jasper that he is his grandfather, and he only resorts to shouting because he is incapable of walking outside in time due to disabilities. Rather, Jack’s frightening but eventual annoying reputation has caused Jasper to turn away every time his name is called, rather than approach the misunderstood man. There would be no explanation for the innocent Jack Lionel to murder anyone, and additionally, tree due to his age even if he killed Laura he would not have been physically able to hang the body off the tall tree.
After Jasper finds the word ‘sorry’ etched onto the passenger seat, he is certain that he has caught out Mad Jack Lionel. However, the evidence does not make sense. Why would a murderer write ‘sorry’ after killing someone? It could have been an accident, but that would not explain the injuries on Laura’s face or the fact that she was hung. In this case, etching the words onto the tree do not make sense, yet Jasper continues to stand strong in his accusation, that because the same word was written in the same style in two different places means that the killer is Mad Jack Lionel. This is where Jasper went wrong; he was fuelled by anger over the death of Laura Wishart that he could not see or think clearly. Thus, he was quick at jumping to conclusions to find the answer, and always believing the situation which seemed the most plausible despite holding rational evidence.
It is only near the end of the book that Jasper is told the truth, and realises his mistakes and false accusation.
Write a letter to the author explaining what you liked or disliked about the novel
To Craig Silvey
Despite being a person who barely finds enjoyment in reading books, I honestly really enjoyed reading your second novel, Jasper Jones. It was a book that I learnt quite a lot from, especially from the protagonist Charlie Bucktin, who despite being only 13, has a much extended view of life and philosophy when compared to me. His ideology, whether it is based off your own or not, really got me thinking about it too; and that’s what I believe makes a good book. It holds the potential to make you think about the themes and morals within, and encourages you to imagine what it would have been like to be in their situation. In saying this, I admire the way that Jasper Jones engages the reader; by blending in a dark story with racist, mysterious, lovely, philosophical and humorous moments. If I hadn’t have read Jasper Jones, I wouldn’t have believed that doing that was possible. I enjoyed all these moments, because you have somehow managed to combine all these ideas to keep the story moving forward. As such, the story never went stale as it was always kept me surprised with new events. For example, I would never have expected a little Vietnamese boy to break the story’s tension by debating about which superhero was the best. Speaking of characters, I really enjoyed interpreting each and every character, because they were all so unique in their own way. No two characters were even remotely the similar. Whether it was the intellectual Charlie Bucktin, the honest Jasper Jones, the quirky Jeffrey Lu or the suspicious Eliza and Laura Wishart, every character brought a new enjoyable feel to the story, and I feel that without some of these morals and traits in these characters, Jasper Jones would have just been a totally different book. Honestly I would give the book a 10/10, as there is virtually nothing about Jasper Jones that I dislike. Take in mind that this is coming from someone who rarely finds enjoyment in reading. The book is a masterpiece that has kept me engaged in a book for the first time in a long time. Combined with all that I have mentioned above, the story is pleasantly paced and has a magnificent ending which startled me and served as a real eye opener. |