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Abuse Of Power In Jasper Jones

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“Literature is thought provoking; it allows us to raise questions and gives us a deeper understanding of issues and situations." The novel Jasper Jones allows us to raise questions about today 's contemporary society. It mirrors issues in a certain historical context but also issues which are evident today. The novel not only portrays abuse of power as being one of the most important issues in the 1950’s to the 1960’s but also in the 21st century.

In the 1900’s, there was a hierarchy in the families as well as the town people were living in. The father was considered as the most powerful figure while the women and children were considered to be inferior and did not have a say in any major decisions. Due to Jasper Jones being set in the 1950’s-60’s, the same hierarchical structure is depicted in the Wishart family and the town, Corrigan. Pete Wishart also happened to be …show more content…

Unfortunately, this issue is still evident even after 60 years. Abbey, a 17 year old Australian committed suicide after years of being sexually abused by her dad, by someone who was supposed to care for her and look after her. “My guts screamed ‘no contact’ but I felt so alone. I was pressured into accepting contact orders or told that the outcome would be even worse.”, said Gill, Abbey’s mother. This clearly shows that Abbey’s dad had more power than her mum. The same hierarchical structure that was shown in JJ is portrayed here as well. This issue of sexual abuse is a major concern for Australian society as girls are significantly more likely to be the subject of sexual abuse (15.8%) compared to boys (8.5%). This has major impacts on the child’s physical, psychological, emotional, behavioural and social development through to adulthood. Moreover, parents should not be allowed to bend the laws which are in place just because they have power over their children. They are expected to abide by the law and protect their

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