How does Silvey explore what it means to be a hero?
In the bildungsroman novel Jasper Jones, set in 1960s Australia, Craig silvey demonstrates what it means to be a hero by showing that courage is resistance to fear. This idea is conveyed through the characters of Jasper Jones Charlie Bucktin and Jeffrey Lu. Jasper Jones breaks down the stereotype of what it means to be a traditional hero as shown through his indigenous heritage. Similarly, Jeffrey Lu demonstrates the act of being a hero by standing up to racially motivated bullying, which manifests in physical and verbal abuse. Alternatively, Charlie shows how he is a hero by going out of his comfort zone, as observed through the motif of the bubble bursting.
Firstly, the ideology of Jasper
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‘Bubble bursting’ in his case, refers to the fact that Charlie has now lost some of his innocence as he has recently become aware of the crueller aspects of his life he had been sheltered from, and he now has a different view on the world. Charlie first experienced this when he realised “[Laura] had died,” which was the first time he was exposed to death. This is reinforced when Charlie “had to get brave,” and quickly grow up and mature mentally to deal with the serious issue of Laura’s death that Jasper had gotten him into. Moreover, Charlie goes out of his comfort zone and displays the traits of a hero when he faces two of his fears by stealing peaches from Mad Jack’s Garden, which were rotten and infested with insects and bees, his biggest fear. This is illustrated when Jasper is reluctant but still “gets [the peaches], all five of them,” which proves that courage is resistance to fear, and that he learnt that he doesn’t need to be afraid anymore. This is reinforced when Charlie faces another fear of admitting his love for Eliza when ‘[She] kisses him,” and he finally tells her how he feels towards her. As a result, Silvey successfully used Charlie’s character to determine what it means to be a hero by using the motif of his bubble