Purpose
Craig Silvey has not just written Jasper Jones for the hell of it, he has purpose of to why he wrote this award winning novel. The 2 main reasons are to entertain his readers and to also raise ideas about the issue of teenage suicide. He has achieved this through an engaging plot and through the use of conventions such as characterisation and story line.
Part of the purpose of Craig Silvey writing the novel Jasper Jones in to entertain readers, he has achieved this through an engaging plot that keeps readers on their toes. An example of this is on page 1 where the novel starts out strait away to the action. "Jasper Jones has come to my window. I don't know why he has. Maybe he's in trouble. Maybe he doesn't have anywhere else to go". This opening line from the first page of the novel gets readers engaged from the very start and gets them to keep reading. Silvey has also used the characterisation of Jasper. Jasper is known as the town 'bad boy' who gets blamed for all the crime that goes on in Corrigan. Charlie even falls to this idea that Jasper has no good in him, he is just pure scum. However this is challenged in the novel through the characterisation of Jasper. Jasper treats charlie- nicely. This shown on page 9 when Jasper says "... I can trust you Charlie, I reckon I can trust you mate...". This trust that Jasper is a bond between the 2 boys that has been established early on in the novel. There are many tense moments in the novel that keep readers engaged, but not just in the main story line. Jeffery, Charlie's best mate has been constructed as an outsider. So when he goes to try for the cricket team which is his passion, he is bullied about his race and his family. However when he finally gets a game against the best team in the league he gets his shot. Corrigan are chasing a huge total and their batsmen are dropping like flys. Jeffery has been placed as last batsmen and it is down to him to win the game. He is hitting 4's and 6's everywhere and it is down to the last ball to win the game. The moments building to this create a lot of tension even I was nervous for him. "The last ball was coming in everyone was poised and nervous... It came flying in and, shit, he's out" Jeffery was out however the umpire declared that it was a no ball. The bowler bowls again and this time Jeffery smacks it over the boundary for 6. Corrigan win. In this scene, Jeffery, for the first time, is really accepted. The whole team gets around him and he couldn't be happier. This scene really engages viewers in a different way and is a break from the normal story line. Through the way that Silvey has constructed the plot and characterised characters, the viewers are engaged.
A second part of Craig Silvey's purpose for writing Japer Jones is to raise ideas about the issue of teen suicide. This is an issue brought up in this novel because it is the main plot- Laura Wishart's suicide. There are many instances of the idea being raised throughout the novel, one of them being in chapter 1 when Charlie and Jasper and Charlie find the dead body of Laura Wishart. There are no direct abrasions to her body, just many bruises that look reasonably old, as if she'd been beaten. At first Jasper thinks it is the notorious 'Mad Jack Lionel' has raped and murder Laura. He is dead set on this and what has happened. This is linked to latter on in the novel when Charlie finds out what really happened to her. Laura Wishart committed suicide as a result of continuous beatings and abuse from her father. Charlie finds this out in chapter 6 when Charlie finds a letter that Laura wrote and was meant for Jasper. The letter talks about the events that lead up to her suicide and why it happened. The letter This is such a shock to readers and ties into the first point (above) because Mr Wishart is the town mayor and at a previous town meeting had said "If someone doesn't find my daughter soon it might be to late" (p96). Even Charlie's parents felt bad for him when in reality it was all his fault. While including all of this in the plot, Silvey has raised ideas about the issue of teen suicide. Teen suicide is a growing problem in todays society and has been toughed on in this novel. The letter that Charlie finds does not hold back on the detail about what happened. At one point Laura writes, "Some nights I just wanted to end it all, I didn't want to be in the same house as my father" (p156). The issue of teen suicide is again raised when Eliza Wishart is talking to Charlie about what happened to Laura. Eliza keeps saying that it was her fault, and she is in tears. This shows that not just teen suicide, but suicide in general effects not just the person who has died, but also the family members of the family. Through the way that Craig Silvey creates the plot, he raises the ideas about teen suicide.
Part of the purpose of Craig Silvey writing the novel Jasper Jones in to entertain readers, he has achieved this through an engaging plot that keeps readers on their toes. An example of this is on page 1 where the novel starts out strait away to the action. "Jasper Jones has come to my window. I don't know why he has. Maybe he's in trouble. Maybe he doesn't have anywhere else to go". This opening line from the first page of the novel gets readers engaged from the very start and gets them to keep reading. Silvey has also used the characterisation of Jasper. Jasper is known as the town 'bad boy' who gets blamed for all the crime that goes on in Corrigan. Charlie even falls to this idea that Jasper has no good in him, he is just pure scum. However this is challenged in the novel through the characterisation of Jasper. Jasper treats charlie- nicely. This shown on page 9 when Jasper says "... I can trust you Charlie, I reckon I can trust you mate...". This trust that Jasper is a bond between the 2 boys that has been established early on in the novel. There are many tense moments in the novel that keep readers engaged, but not just in the main story line. Jeffery, Charlie's best mate has been constructed as an outsider. So when he goes to try for the cricket team which is his passion, he is bullied about his race and his family. However when he finally gets a game against the best team in the league he gets his shot. Corrigan are chasing a huge total and their batsmen are dropping like flys. Jeffery has been placed as last batsmen and it is down to him to win the game. He is hitting 4's and 6's everywhere and it is down to the last ball to win the game. The moments building to this create a lot of tension even I was nervous for him. "The last ball was coming in everyone was poised and nervous... It came flying in and, shit, he's out" Jeffery was out however the umpire declared that it was a no ball. The bowler bowls again and this time Jeffery smacks it over the boundary for 6. Corrigan win. In this scene, Jeffery, for the first time, is really accepted. The whole team gets around him and he couldn't be happier. This scene really engages viewers in a different way and is a break from the normal story line. Through the way that Silvey has constructed the plot and characterised characters, the viewers are engaged.
A second part of Craig Silvey's purpose for writing Japer Jones is to raise ideas about the issue of teen suicide. This is an issue brought up in this novel because it is the main plot- Laura Wishart's suicide. There are many instances of the idea being raised throughout the novel, one of them being in chapter 1 when Charlie and Jasper and Charlie find the dead body of Laura Wishart. There are no direct abrasions to her body, just many bruises that look reasonably old, as if she'd been beaten. At first Jasper thinks it is the notorious 'Mad Jack Lionel' has raped and murder Laura. He is dead set on this and what has happened. This is linked to latter on in the novel when Charlie finds out what really happened to her. Laura Wishart committed suicide as a result of continuous beatings and abuse from her father. Charlie finds this out in chapter 6 when Charlie finds a letter that Laura wrote and was meant for Jasper. The letter talks about the events that lead up to her suicide and why it happened. The letter This is such a shock to readers and ties into the first point (above) because Mr Wishart is the town mayor and at a previous town meeting had said "If someone doesn't find my daughter soon it might be to late" (p96). Even Charlie's parents felt bad for him when in reality it was all his fault. While including all of this in the plot, Silvey has raised ideas about the issue of teen suicide. Teen suicide is a growing problem in todays society and has been toughed on in this novel. The letter that Charlie finds does not hold back on the detail about what happened. At one point Laura writes, "Some nights I just wanted to end it all, I didn't want to be in the same house as my father" (p156). The issue of teen suicide is again raised when Eliza Wishart is talking to Charlie about what happened to Laura. Eliza keeps saying that it was her fault, and she is in tears. This shows that not just teen suicide, but suicide in general effects not just the person who has died, but also the family members of the family. Through the way that Craig Silvey creates the plot, he raises the ideas about teen suicide.