Prince JackerJack and Personal Truth
Jack's obsession with and connection to storybooks has been a favorite part of class discussions for me. I am struck by the way he uses stories to motivate himself to be brave (or, scave) and that he brings them up all the time in order to understand his world. The stories are an important part of the way he communicates (as we see him do in the police car with Officer Oh) and the way he processes fear and trauma (when he compares Old Nick to the Big Bad Wolf). We see Ma encourage Jack by giving him heroes, quite deliberately, in his own image (like when she replaces the names in the nursery rhymes with Jack and tells him stories caked in the metaphor of their situation.) Importantly, Jack sees himself in these stories - they are the framework of who he is. Jack the Giant Killer and Prince JackerJack are two such heroes that he points to when he encounters challenges.
Jack's connection to stories and narratives mirror typical human behavior (we all have heroes and see ourselves in well-written protagonists) but his is heightened because of his situation, which might present a challenge. It has already proven to be a powerful tool for him to adjust, but also might be the most deadly part about entering Outside for him. The media and the "perfect victim" story are traps - he is narrativized by the rest of Outside as a hero, but as one who is stunted. In particular, he puzzles over the newspaper that calls him a monkey. He seems to be hesitant about not being a monkey, and uses the fact that he's using stairs to justify to himself that he isn't one. This solidifies to me the idea that Jack is extremely susceptible to another person narrating his life. This makes sense since he's only ever had one influence, only ever had one store of information. He doesn't hear factual disagreements and he's never had to use his own judgment about conflicting information. In short, he's never had to trust himself.
That challenge is Jack's hero's journey in my eyes. In a sense, at 5, he is working on what most of us don't truly confront until high school - who he's truly going to be. With so many others telling him what to do and who he is, he is going to have to learn to trust his own narrative. This task becomes even more difficult when you consider the idea that Jack has to know how everything ends. He freaks out when he doesn't know what happens to the baby in the Mermaid story, he hates it when Ma forgets something, and he even dislikes surprises. To have to forge his own narrative of his life, to not know the ending of his own story, is a daunting task for any of us - let alone a five year old discovering individuality for the first time.
We'll have to see where the book goes with this. What do you guys think? Am I overestimating the importance of Jack's individuality? Am I underestimating it?
I think this is a really interesting idea about Jack. You're right in that he's not really an individual -- without anyone to really compare to, he's never had to define himself. He's never gone to preschool and had to identify people by who they are and subsequently define himself for others. Sure, he has a relation to Ma, but it's not truly a comparison because their world is just their world. I think part of Jack's susceptibility to other people narrating his life comes from the fact that he is still five and doesn't have the best grasp on fiction vs real life, but I also think you're right in that the way he's been growing up has heavily affected that.
ReplyDeleteJack's connection with stories is very strong and I think the way in which he uses them to comprehend the unfamiliar world around him is super interesting. Learning how to interact with people who don't know everything about him and may not have the best intentions is definitely going to be a challenge for Jack- the notion that people would exaggerate, or even lie (such as in the monkey story) is totally foreign to him. While I think that's true of a lot of kids to some degree, Jack has it in a major way, not only being socially stunted but being the focus of so much attention so quickly. As you say, he'll have to learn to trust himself, which is a hard thing for anyone at any age.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I never really deeply thought about Jack using stories to repossess his feelings and how that would impact his journey of self. You're right, though; he is going to learn to be himself now that his entire world and self is thrown off. Furthermore, he will need to realize that his life, despite how he's been led, is not a story which has an ending, but one which needs to be written himself. Great post, Xanthe!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree with you about Jack struggling to find his individuality – the moment that made me realize this was when the doctor asked Jack who he belonged to, and then basically told Jack that he belonged to nobody, but in his mind, Jack thought something like “but I belong to Ma”. He has always thought of himself as an extension of Ma – an extension of her body, her consciousness, and her existence. Now, in the outside world, he is being forced to realize that he has complete autonomy over himself, and I think book heroes are the closest example of autonomy he has.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Jack's relationship and understanding of stories is promising of his capability to adjust and grow in the environment of the outside world, become a "normal boy" so to speak. I also think that his capability to see himself in the stories, even when Ma doesn't explicitly put him in them, shows his intelligence, and ability to read between the lines. Luckily, he hasn't seemed to take to heart what the media is saying so far, mostly is just confused about it, but it could very easily affect him subliminally. However, I wonder if the combination of different stories that he uses to see himself in allows him to make his own individual story - a medley of sorts. I would argue that that still gives him a sense of individuality.
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