Reading Black Swan Green and Jason's interactions with Julia, I'm always reminded of my own interactions with my own older sister Claire.
We're about the same distance apart age-wise as Jason and Julia. I always thought of my sister as flawlessly capable the same way Jason does. Claire would always win every argument against me because of her ability to choose her side wisely and in general just picking her battles.
I envied her ability to think critically. She was always able to pick apart things about me, like my opinions or my writing. She always just seemed to be a bit better than me at everything I tried to do. She left for college when I was Jason's age in the novel, so that aspect of it resonated with me in particular.
It was a huge moment for me when I finally won an argument against her, something of a right of passage.
Because of things like sibling interactions, Black Swan Green has really resonated with me and it's without a doubt my favorite book we've read so far.
I love how Mitchell is able to portray Julia's character in a way that shows how she can assert her domance over Jason, but not in a way that makes her seem snobby. She comes across as a loving sister who is able to pick and fight her battles in the Taylor family conflicts.
ReplyDeleteBlack Swan Green resonated with me quite a bit as well. Instead of being the younger sibling, I identified very strongly with Julia. My sister and I have a similar relationship to that of Julia and Jason, so I saw quite a few relatable moments. But I often wondered how my sister views me, and I would incredibly touched if she looks up to and admires me the way Jason admires Julia.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that resonated with me in the sibling dynamic was the ability of Julia, the older sibling, to pick up on things in a situation that Jason really didn't notice. I feel like in my own life my brother when we were younger was always catching on to things faster, but then he would help me adjust much like Julia does with Jason.
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