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Jasper Jones Essay

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Jasper Jones By: Ciara Mickle 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. Our morals and ethics is …show more content…

Silvey is expressing this theme through the establishment of characters and plot. His message is that the Law and what seems morally right, doesn’t necessarily uphold justice. Jasper Jones has a bad reputation in Corrigan and after his discovery of Laura’s body, Charlie argues that they should go to the police but Jasper knows that the rule of law doesn’t apply to him. He is the town’s scapegoat when an incident occurs and says, “We can’t tell anyone. Especially the Police… they are gonna say it was me.” (page 13). When the disappearance of Laura becomes public, Jasper is locked up and bashed by her father the “Shire President”. Throughout the novel Pete Wishart is always referred to by this title. He is supposed to be a public figure and role model but instead he’s an abusive drunk that impregnated his daughter and manhandled a child. This misconduct shows how power can be misused and the double standards that exist in society. The myth of ‘Mad Jack Lionel’ burdened the town of Corrigan. Rumours were spread concerning his involvement with the death of Rosie Jones and he was Jaspers first suspicion as to what had happened to Laura. “The lies and suppositions were just heaped upon the stack” (page 240). He had been wrongfully accused and blamed for things he did not do and his town turned its back on him. The unjust treatment of Jasper and Jack Lionel shows that people are so quick to judge and make assumptions about others without knowing a thing about them. It

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