Jasper Jones Essay

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Jasper Jones – Reading Journal Questions CHAPTER 1 (PG 1 – 52) 1) Compare Jasper and Charlie in relation to their home life and personality ( Pg 5-15). Charlie Bucktin is a good boy who has always done the right thing. His mother is a strong disciplinarian and his father loves, if a little withdrawn from his son. Wes Bucktin tries to answer Charlie’s questions. When Charlie asks what a half-caste is, Wes gives him books. Many about times of slavery in America. He is trying to teach Charlie tolerance in a town that is narrow-minded. As a result of these familial relationships, Charlie thinks that his parents would assume he’d been kidnapped when he had in reality snuck out with Jasper Jones because this is “probably (his) only ever transgression”. ( Pg 10) Jasper Jones does not have the protection Charlie has been afforded. His mother died when he was very young and his father is a drunkard and abusive. As a result, Jasper has had to “get brave fast”. He has brought himself up stealing what he needed to survive. 2) Why did Charlie go with Jasper, even though he only knew bad things about him? Charlie idolises Jasper somewhat. As a result, he feels “thrilled in this sense of inclusion” in the mystery Jasper leads him on. He is surprised that Jasper even knows his name. That Jasper singled Charlie out to share his secret makes Charlie feel fluttered. “If it were anyone else, I would... turn away right now”, but his admiration of Jasper’s differences from himself keeps Charlie firmly by Jasper’s side. 3) What is the purpose of the use of short sentences on Page 17? The short, sharp sentences are used by Silvey after Charlie has seen Laura’s body hanging in the glade to give a sense of how Charlie is feeling. “Laura Wishart is dead. Look. Dead. She is right there, hanging from that tree. Right there... Hovering above (Jasper’s) piece of
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