The novel, “Jasper Jones”, written by Craig Silvey, uses various literary elements to explore several themes and concepts in the novel. Themes such as fear, escapism, courage, coming of age and maturity are all showcased throughout the novel via the uses of literary elements such as characterisation, connotations, symbolism and a variety of other literary techniques and elements.
A variety of themes are explored throughout the novel with the use of different literary elements. A few of the major themes of the novel, Craig Silvey is conveying, is fear, along with escapism. One of the ways the author, Silvey, conveys the theme of fear and escape is through characterisation, and this can be seen throughout the novel. One example of characterisation
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Another major theme that is linked to fear in the novel is coming of age, courage and maturity. Through the use of different symbolism, Silvey shows the link between fear, courage and coming of age to express his ideas.“...I wonder if I’ll ever be without fear. But then I think of Jeffery Lu, and our discussion about Batman… Maybe it’s not about being without it. Maybe it’s about how well you walk with the weight. It makes sense to me now. That’s what courage is.” Silvey uses symbolism and proceeds to compare the two characters, Batman and Charlie, to show the themes. Whilst Batman doesn’t necessarily symbolize heroism, in Jasper Jones, Batman symbolizes courage and bravery. Like Batman, Charlie doesn’t have any superpowers like superman but both of the characters, Charlie and Batman, still manage to face their problems with courage. After all the fearful events Charlie has been through, Charlie came to the realization that he does not necessarily need to get rid of the fear he has in him but instead, he should keep going on with the fear. The conversation between Charlie and Jeffery about Batman and Superman allowed him to recognise and have a better understanding of what courage is. Another symbolism used in Jasper Jones by Silvey is peaches. Stealing peaches from Mad Jack Lionel is a dare for the children in Corrigan to prove their courage. Peaches in Jasper Jones