The bullying that Jason goes through, especially in the chapter Maggot, is much more extreme than anything I've seen at any of the five different schools I've attended. Kids gang up on him, and the attacks are completely unprovoked.
Jason jumps on a one-way train to loserville when he leaves the Spooks to be a loyal friend and go back to help Dean. However, I don't think this justifies the kind of bullying he goes through. Jason shows them that he isn't really Spook material, but it seems as though they are punishing him for it. Wouldn't it be better to just let it go? They made a mistake choosing him, but just leaving him out of the group would have been enough. Jason didn't do anything to them, so the cruel bullying they put him through makes no sense to me.
Maggot opens up with a few boys ganging up on Jason for going to see a movie with his mother. What Jason does with his summer vacation has NOTHING to do with them, yet they think they get to punish him for doing something that they don't like. He wasn't conforming. Jason did something that wasn't cool by going to the movies with his mom. When he ditched the Spooks, he also wasn't conforming.
In the first few chapters of the book, Jason didn't experience nearly as much harassment. Some kids occasionally bullied him but, for the most part, left him alone. He was fairly low on the social hierarchy, but people didn't go out of their way to bully him. During this part of the book, he was trying desperately to fit in with his peers.
Jason's school has such a huge climate problem that it makes Uni seem like paradise. The biggest fight I've seen at Uni was over the video games in the lounge. That really pales in comparison to the bullying Jason endures.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Material love
Jason's parents are fighting over him as their marriage falls apart, trying to buy his affection through pocket money and gifts. They're in a competition over their unsuspecting son. This reminds me of my cousin, Amy, and her ex-husband, Joel (names have been changed).
Amy is a schoolteacher and Joel makes more money than her. Their three kids, Ellen, Jack, and Hailey, live with their mother most of the time. Since the divorce, Joel has been buying a constant stream of expensive gifts for the kids. The most recent present? Ipads. Amy doesn't have the money to buy her kids expensive presents, but she's their main caretaker. Joel tries to get his kids to like him better by buying them the expensive gifts their mother can't afford, even though they spend much more time with their mother.
The sad thing is that this method of buying a child's "love" through material things is very effective, especially for young, naive kids. I saw Jack, who is 9 years old, over spring break. One of his favorite conversational topics was his new iPad and how much fun he has playing with it.
His happiness was evident whenever he talked about his precious iPad. "My dad gave it to me!" he proudly proclaimed. It seemed that his father had successfully won his son's affection with a gift that Amy couldn't match. All Amy can give to her kids is her love and care. That seems like it's better than what Joel gives them, but the kids are young enough that they don't appreciate it. They just like the gifts from their father.
Helena and Michael Taylor are embroiled in a battle similar to the one-sided one that Joel is waging with Amy. Michael gives Jason extra spending money and then, on top of that, buys him a fossil. Helena tries to one-up Michael by giving Jason double the money that Michael gave him. Both scenes are relatively happy ones, and Jason has a bonding moment with each of his parents.
Neither parent won that battle, but maybe neither of them deserved to. They shouldn't have to fight over their son, especially through money and material gifts. What makes Jason happier is spending time having fun with his parents. not just spending their money.
Amy is a schoolteacher and Joel makes more money than her. Their three kids, Ellen, Jack, and Hailey, live with their mother most of the time. Since the divorce, Joel has been buying a constant stream of expensive gifts for the kids. The most recent present? Ipads. Amy doesn't have the money to buy her kids expensive presents, but she's their main caretaker. Joel tries to get his kids to like him better by buying them the expensive gifts their mother can't afford, even though they spend much more time with their mother.
The sad thing is that this method of buying a child's "love" through material things is very effective, especially for young, naive kids. I saw Jack, who is 9 years old, over spring break. One of his favorite conversational topics was his new iPad and how much fun he has playing with it.
His happiness was evident whenever he talked about his precious iPad. "My dad gave it to me!" he proudly proclaimed. It seemed that his father had successfully won his son's affection with a gift that Amy couldn't match. All Amy can give to her kids is her love and care. That seems like it's better than what Joel gives them, but the kids are young enough that they don't appreciate it. They just like the gifts from their father.
Helena and Michael Taylor are embroiled in a battle similar to the one-sided one that Joel is waging with Amy. Michael gives Jason extra spending money and then, on top of that, buys him a fossil. Helena tries to one-up Michael by giving Jason double the money that Michael gave him. Both scenes are relatively happy ones, and Jason has a bonding moment with each of his parents.
Neither parent won that battle, but maybe neither of them deserved to. They shouldn't have to fight over their son, especially through money and material gifts. What makes Jason happier is spending time having fun with his parents. not just spending their money.
Friday, April 12, 2013
My own coming of age
Taking this class has prompted me to think about my own coming of age a lot. The various novels we've read so far have given me a lot of new perspectives on what coming of age really is.
Independence.
Freedom.
Success.
These seem like the main points of coming of age, but they really only scratch the surface. There's so much more to coming of age than just moving out of your parent's house, going to college, getting a job.
It's a mindset.
Even if you're living independently, not living with your parents, you can still be fundamentally childlike. To come of age, you have to be able to think critically and make good decisions. You have to think about the long-term and realize the consequences your actions will have a month, a year, 5 years down the road. Thinking just about the present, the next few days, is more how a child thinks.
For children, there's always that big, scary, sometimes exciting "future" in the distance. Growing up, leaving your parents, getting a job, perhaps going to college or getting married. But the thing about that future, is it's in the future! Kids don't think about how their actions in the present will affect the way the future plays out. They don't plan their actions and make decisions based on what is good for the future. They just want to have fun!
A lot of college students are that way, too. Just because they're not living at home anymore doesn't mean they're adults. They may not have necessarily come of age yet. Coming of age can't just happen at a certain milestone age or life event. It has to happen when the mind matures, and that happens at a different time for each person.
Independence.
Freedom.
Success.
These seem like the main points of coming of age, but they really only scratch the surface. There's so much more to coming of age than just moving out of your parent's house, going to college, getting a job.
It's a mindset.
Even if you're living independently, not living with your parents, you can still be fundamentally childlike. To come of age, you have to be able to think critically and make good decisions. You have to think about the long-term and realize the consequences your actions will have a month, a year, 5 years down the road. Thinking just about the present, the next few days, is more how a child thinks.
For children, there's always that big, scary, sometimes exciting "future" in the distance. Growing up, leaving your parents, getting a job, perhaps going to college or getting married. But the thing about that future, is it's in the future! Kids don't think about how their actions in the present will affect the way the future plays out. They don't plan their actions and make decisions based on what is good for the future. They just want to have fun!
A lot of college students are that way, too. Just because they're not living at home anymore doesn't mean they're adults. They may not have necessarily come of age yet. Coming of age can't just happen at a certain milestone age or life event. It has to happen when the mind matures, and that happens at a different time for each person.
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