Masked

“Often I think boys don’t become men. Boys just get papier-mâchéd inside a man’s mask. Sometimes you can tell the boy is still in there” (p. 127).

This quote embodies the context of Black Swan Green. During the thirteen months the reader follows Jason Taylor though his life, there is a main concern over Jason growing up. One could argue that Jason started the text as a young naive boy, and that throughout his journey, he grew up and passed over into manhood.

I would care to disagree.

Jason did indeed start his journey as a young naive boy, and I would argue for the fact that he finished the book in the same fashion. Comparing where the book started to where the book ended, Jason did begin to more adult decisions, but it was clear that he still had some childish motives and ways of dealing with issues, such as destroying the calculator at the end of the book. Jason was faced with multiple adult situation in this book, including Tom Yew’s death, his parent’s divorce, and consistent bullying, and these shaped him into a man, but did not replace the boy inside of him.