The Unattainability of Complete Self-Awareness
Time exists as a spiral through which people cycle through in their lifetime. Naturally, as people age, they experience repeating events in a larger, albeit inevitable discovery of their true identity. In Black Swan Green, David Mitchell uses Jason Taylor as a tool to reveal to readers that everyone must endure a cyclical pattern of external and internal revelations to ultimately find, accept, and embrace one true identity.
Early on, Mitchell establishes the cyclical nature of time to expose Jason’s weak grasp of and comfort with a true identity. Heavily affected by others’ opinions, Jason both literally and metaphorically falls whenever he loses comfort in his genuine identity. During an ice …show more content…
Mitchell uses the duality between Eliot Bolivar and fake, popularity driven Jason Taylor to prove that an individual must come to peace with one identity. Anything less is a burden to growth and a distraction from attaining self-awareness. Mitchell uses contrastive language such as “easy and painful...barbarians and literary world” to expose Jason’s gap between Inner self (Elliot bolivar) and uter self (fake Jason). Madame C serves as a tool for harsh love in Jason’s life to teach him how a lack of truth complicates any expression of passion. Jason’s ambiguous poetry is constantly blurred by his identity crisis. Later in the novel, Jason reads a few profound statements that expose the danger of an identity crisis. It says, “Respect earned by integrity cannot be lost without your consent.” (213). There exists a cyclical nature of cause and effect, in which mistakes lead to failures and corrections lead to successes. If Jason were to express himself truthfully and show society his Inner identity, he would gain respect through integrity. Mitchell uses the words “cannot by lost without consent” because with integrity comes self-awareness and mindfulness. It is revealed that integrity is essential for achieving respect, from oneself as well as from peers, because it represents the joining of Inner and Outer You. Jason also reads, “The brutal have been molded by a brutality you cannot exceed” (212). Jason reflects on the cyclical nature of events as he ponders who’s to blame for Ross Wilcox’s violent injury. In a spiral where random events in time are connected, there are infinite sources of blame on any one event. Ross Wilcox has been molded by his father’s abuse, which has shaped his vulgar identity. Jason suffers this same cycle of brutality as his stammer and insecurity lead him to make poor decisions. Ultimately, because “everything’s always turning into something
Time exists as a spiral through which people cycle through in their lifetime. Naturally, as people age, they experience repeating events in a larger, albeit inevitable discovery of their true identity. In Black Swan Green, David Mitchell uses Jason Taylor as a tool to reveal to readers that everyone must endure a cyclical pattern of external and internal revelations to ultimately find, accept, and embrace one true identity.
Early on, Mitchell establishes the cyclical nature of time to expose Jason’s weak grasp of and comfort with a true identity. Heavily affected by others’ opinions, Jason both literally and metaphorically falls whenever he loses comfort in his genuine identity. During an ice …show more content…
Mitchell uses the duality between Eliot Bolivar and fake, popularity driven Jason Taylor to prove that an individual must come to peace with one identity. Anything less is a burden to growth and a distraction from attaining self-awareness. Mitchell uses contrastive language such as “easy and painful...barbarians and literary world” to expose Jason’s gap between Inner self (Elliot bolivar) and uter self (fake Jason). Madame C serves as a tool for harsh love in Jason’s life to teach him how a lack of truth complicates any expression of passion. Jason’s ambiguous poetry is constantly blurred by his identity crisis. Later in the novel, Jason reads a few profound statements that expose the danger of an identity crisis. It says, “Respect earned by integrity cannot be lost without your consent.” (213). There exists a cyclical nature of cause and effect, in which mistakes lead to failures and corrections lead to successes. If Jason were to express himself truthfully and show society his Inner identity, he would gain respect through integrity. Mitchell uses the words “cannot by lost without consent” because with integrity comes self-awareness and mindfulness. It is revealed that integrity is essential for achieving respect, from oneself as well as from peers, because it represents the joining of Inner and Outer You. Jason also reads, “The brutal have been molded by a brutality you cannot exceed” (212). Jason reflects on the cyclical nature of events as he ponders who’s to blame for Ross Wilcox’s violent injury. In a spiral where random events in time are connected, there are infinite sources of blame on any one event. Ross Wilcox has been molded by his father’s abuse, which has shaped his vulgar identity. Jason suffers this same cycle of brutality as his stammer and insecurity lead him to make poor decisions. Ultimately, because “everything’s always turning into something