Julia and Jason
One of my favorite parts
from Black Swan Green was the bond between Jason and Julia. They have
one of those sibling relationships where on the surface it seems like they
aren’t close, but they actually have a deep bond. As Jason, and arguably Julia
too, come of age you see the subtle changes in the way they treat each other. I
think the developments in their relationship show how special the understanding
is between siblings.
When Julia was first
introduced I wasn’t her biggest fan, she just seemed like a big bully. Jason
has to suffer from bullying at school and doesn’t need his sister referring to
him as “thing” at home too. She likes to call him out and torture him when he
borrows her things or listens in on her conversations. They both seem to try
and stay out of each other’s way whenever possible, until the Lambs come to
visit. At dinner, when the Lambs poke fun at Jason’s poetry Julia comes to his
defense immediately. Afterwards, Jason states, “I could’ve kissed Julia out of
sheer gratitude,” which shows how relieved and comforted he was by his sister’s
words (49). From here you can feel a shift in their relationship. Jason is
caught off guard by how much he misses Julia when she leaves for college, and I
think that shows how much they care about each other under the surface. When
Julia left she also gave Jason one of their favorite records to take care of,
one that she once yelled at him about borrowing. I think the record represents
a lot of unspoken love between them. It’s not until they’re both growing up and
leaving that it hits Jason and Julia how important they are to each other.
My favorite scene between them was at the very end of the
novel, when they are reunited after the divorce of their parents. When Julia
tells Jason, “It’ll be alright…In the end Jace,” you can feel the warmth behind
those words. She calls him Jace, a very intimate and affectionate nickname, the
opposite of his nickname “thing”. Julia also mentions how she wants Jason to
keep writing poetry and pursuing what he loves without directly exposing his
pen name. Jason appreciates how considerate she is and warms at her
supportiveness. Jason and Julia have both gone through a lot and realized at
the end how close they are and how special their relationship is. The
heart-warming moments between them were some of my favorite parts of the story
and I’m happy that Jason was able to find support in someone like Julia.
I found this interesting because it partially describes the bond I have with my older brother. He's in college and we've never been that close, but recently in a visit I realized I could confide in him. Maybe one day we'll reach a bond similar to that of Jason and Julia.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I think what you're describing is very relateable to a lot of us with siblings. I once saw a tiktok that was like "having siblings is waking up one day at 15 and realizing this b*tch ain't that bad." I think this shift in relationships is from the growth in maturity and finding camaraderie in shared experiences. In this case, the family dynamics and Julia's move would be great examples of this!
ReplyDeleteJason and Julia's relationship was probably the family connection I had the most fun following throughout the novel. My favorite example of their semi-hidden closeness was when Julia leaped to Jason's rescue when their extended family interrogated his passion for poetry so unexpectedly and so quickly that she single handedly warded off Jason's troubles, and I think your post does a good job of unpacking this scene. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really enjoyed following Julia and Jason's relationship progression in the novel. This goes along with what a lot of people experience of not getting along with their siblings as children until their relationship shifts as they mature. Even though I don't think I'm at the same stage in my relationships with my younger sisters, I've noticed that we fight a lot less and have learned to confide in each other more.
ReplyDeleteLike you hinted at the end (Jason and Julia have gone through a lot and that helped bring them closer together), the internal maturation of Jason and Julia seems to also have contributed to their growing closeness. For example, one complaint that Jason had against Julia at the beginning of the novel is how his parents seem to give Julia more freedom and trust than himself. However, as he becomes more psychologically independent (ex. solving his own problems with his bullies) and in turn starts to get treated more like Julia by his parents (ex. his dad telling him that he knows he can become a forester), he learns that his own level of maturity (not his parents' special favor towards Julia) was the cause of the perceived discrimination between him and his sister.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked how Jason and Julia's relationship progressed. I totally relate to the sibling dynamic they have in the book, like unexpectedly missing your older siblings when they go off to college. I also think Julia supporting Jason's poetry at the end was a really nice moment that made me like Julia a lot. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis post did a great job breaking down the realness of Julia and Jason's relationship. I think your absolutely right that there is a very substantial and emotional relationship that exists between the two characters, and that it is a significant contributor to Jason's overall well being. I also think that the way Julia's character acts and the confidence she has becomes a sort of role model for Jason towards the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI did a post on Julia and Jason too and I think you captured the essence of their relationship really well. Julia fills in a role that I think their father fails to, which is really important in Jason's coming-of-age. You brought up a bunch of great examples to illustrate their relationship. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read about how Julia called Jason "thing", I really chuckled to myself because of how palpable their relationship seemed.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, what I think an alternative take on this relationship between Julia and Jason could be the perception of Julia from Jason's perspective... perhaps Julia had changed very little and Jason's personal growth caused his view of Julia's actions to be reflected differently. I think that this would be another interesting take due to the fact that we aren't necessarily informed of significant growth on Julia's part ultimately, when one perspective changes, the constant will undoubtedly seem different.
I definitely agree that Jason and Julia have a really great bond to read about. I think David Mitchell did an exceptional job showing the intricacy of a sibling relationship. As both a younger and older sibling, I can definitely say there is a balance between fiercely loving your siblings and also relentlessly bullying them. This is, I think, the thing that most authors get wrong when writing a sibling relationship, and I love that he showed it so well. Very relatable.
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