The fear theme in Black swan green

Fear. Are there any powers on the planet Earth that could defeat us, break our spirit down, bring us under their will and bind the aspirations and endeavors with the chains of desperation and hopelessness? If you have ever got the thought of your deepest and scariest fear, you should certainly be acquainted with that very slimy feeling that lurks deep inside the soul and rise against your will every time you try to overcome a barrier. It devours you like a swamp full of predatory piranhas which will bite you fatally if you fail to be successful at stretching the limits of your capabilities. All in all, there are only two ways out: whether to give up or to keep trying to reach the aim of yours.

I might not be an expert in such question, but I consider David Mitchell conveyed all the aspects of the fear to a reader in his magnificent book called Black Swan Green. The whole book is saturated with the spooky suspense and reveals what it is like to be captivated by the various fears and terrors. And throughout all the narration Mitchell lets us peek into the keyhole of the door behind which we can observe the kingdom where King Fear rules and his servants - non-embodied dreams - have to restrain their spirit and not to break the law of cowardice.

To start with, there are many “worms” that dwell on the apple of courage in this novel. Firstly, Jayson Taylor, a main character of the novel, is afraid of his stammer; he would fall into pieces if someone got to know about it. He even refused to read in front of his class because he was scared stiff to be bullied and laughed at his flaw. Secondly, Jason dreads to think about sharing with his friends (actually, he doesn’t have many) the passion of his teenage life - poetry. It’s seems obvious and consecutive that he expresses his feelings and worries on paper, because Jason has a speech impediment, but HOW he does it! Although Taylor’s verse is blank and amateurish, he’s trying to ‘do what he does not dare to do in reality’. However, even in HIS own poems Jason is afraid. Afraid to be honest, afraid to be not beautiful, afraid to use ‘ugly’ words, because they may ruin the grace of the verse. Jason covers under the made-up name Eliot Bolivar just in order not to be recognized by his classmates. He is not even hiding from a fame, although Jay’s verse is quite good and he would be acknowledged in certain poetic circles. But what he is scared most of all, is startling revelation of his true nature. Taylor attempts to hide his own personality, to be cool and ace before his mates, to be experienced lover with the girl he likes. It’s better for him to be a ‘hairy barbarian’ than a famous talented poet, because it would be ‘gayish’. Jason has built a mannequin personality that he conceals under. Nevertheless, it’s not Jason’s alter-ego like Hangman, Maggot or Unborn Twin who all are his own creations. It is the rebirth of his fears that sleep deep down his stomach like a wild cat, ready in any time to get his claws into Jason’s determination.

Moreover, that mind and spirit constraint has given birth to another issue - the evasion and keeping secrets. Jason is not the only one who has fears, his parents aren’t perfect either. The Taylors couple is hesitating to tell their son about the tremendous iceberg heading onto the Titanic Marriage ship. What is more, Helena and Michael are not brave enough to admit to themselves that their love is on the rocks. They had tried as hard as they might to cover up the coldness and hostility towards each other but the prospects of being alone and miserable pushed the couple to overcome the fear of loneliness and drab and, eventually, to split up.

One more thing to add is Jason’s fear of telling dad about breaking his granddad’s Omega watch. This does not sound so much important to a reader in keeping with the other substantial issues that book represents. However, it plays a great role in Jason’s personality formation. This hand watch is like “the way in” and “the way out” for his Personality train in the Tunnel of Development. It had started with the watch crash when the secrets and fear of revealing them arose. The whole situation started from a simple scratch on the glass, like the wrinkle on the immaculate face of the toddler who is at the edge of crying. And then it all broke down: a mystery call in dad’s office, a ghost on the lake, a witch-like woman in the frightful night forest, the war and death, etc. All of this was similar to a clock hand motion. When the hand will reach an hour point, bird of prey will get out of the Dutch clock birdhouse and peck Jason with her beak of blame and disappointment. At the same time, with the help of Omega Jason discovered what it is like to admit your guilt. It was none in the least that he had been imagining. Taylor got it off his chest and realized that he felt better, he felt relieved. But, what is more, he felt FREE. And then a brilliant thought came to his mind. All his fear and anxiety were just a trial to ignore and hide the power which lay within him. Jason COULD speak without stammering, COULD say what HE wanted - not the others. He COULD admit that his parents no longer loved each other and he would have to choose between them. But the main thing is that when Jason overcame his fear being bullied and punished, he learned to be a REAL Jason Taylor. The one that didn’t care about getting into trouble with boys or speaking in front of a public. He learned to be truly free and not to run away from the challenge that life poses. Because ‘we must all face our demons one day’.

Undoubtedly, Black Swan Green is one of the greatest books about being courageous and brave enough to face the torture of making a decision and consequences of your deed, whatever they will be. David Mitchell embodied into life a great example of how not to be afraid to get your fingers burnt. What is more, he has shown the readers that everybody deserves to be accepted in a society just as they are. All you need to do is to overstep the fear, face every of the demons inside you and defeat them fatally. Then your heart will be free and brave enough to go even further in his revelations.

Rimma Petrova 4th-year student

Vologda State University

Are Teenagers Looking for the Grail?

If you read modern English literature while studying the history of the French language, you’ll come across some interesting conclusions. Have you ever thought that The Taxi Driver’s Daughter (written by Julia Darling) can be compared to Perceval, the Story of Grail (written by Chretien de Troyes)? No? And yet they are quite similar.

Perceval is a story about a 15-year-old handsome lad who, because of his high moral qualities, is the chosen one to find the Grail. The Taxi Driver’s Daughter is a story about a pretty lassie (also 15-year-old) who, because of her inner and outer brightness, is the chosen one to be spoilt by the main antagonist (George).