Picked-on kids act invisible to reduce the chances of being noticed and picked on. Stammerers act invisible to reduce the chances of being made to say something we can't. Kids whose parents argue act invisible in case we trigger another skirmish. The Triple Invisible Boy, that's Jason Taylor. Even I don't see the real Jason Taylor much these days, 'cept when we're writing a poem, or occasionally in a mirror, or just before sleep. But he comes out in the woods. (233-234)This is the most directly that Jason ever talks about the way he acts differently from his true stuff because of those around him. He seems to think of this as an undesirable thing, but doesn't seem about to do anything about it. However, facing the problem himself instead of just being told it is a problem by Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck. Jason certainly recognizes that he has a true self that he hides from the outside world: the Jason Taylor who writes poems and speaks in long poetic phrases. This acknowledgement of the problem is the first step towards its solution.
Also in this passage, Jason mentions that his true self comes out in the woods, and in that situation it is more than just a fleeting glimpse of the true Jason Taylor. I think this can be seen in a slight shift in the narrative voice following this passage. In some cases, his phrases even rhyme, "First every kid labels me as a tragic case, now half the teachers'll think I'm a waste of space" (235). He also gets much more philosophical, as can be seen when he encounters a bird.
A bird so near it might have perched on the curl of my ear musicked a flute in a jar. I quivered to own such an unownable thing. If I could've climbed into that moment, that jar, and never ever left, I would've done. But my squatting calves were aching, so I moved. The unownable bird took fright and vanished down its tunnel of twigs and nows. (234)First of all, this passage starts with another lyrical, rhyming (near, ear) sentence. Then, the real Jason Taylor, alone in the woods, contemplates the fleetingness of time and wishes to preserve the purity of his moment with the bird forever. Although he is talking to the narrator, not friend or family member, I think that this shows how much more at peace the true Jason is, the Jason who doesn't have to worry about what other people think.
It does seem that at this point although Jason isn't happy at all with his external situation he seems at peace with his internal self -- even with the disconnect. This is vastly different from after Ross Wilcox's incident where Jason doesn't really care what other people think anymore but is very worried about his part in the incident and whether he can accept his flawed internal self.
ReplyDeleteWe even see this tendency to head toward the woods to avoid the pressures of boy-culture early in the novel, in the first "January Man": he heads off for a "waz" (brushing off that comment about "shaking his dong") and then decides that trees are better than people, and heads deeper into the woods rather than return to the frozen lake. This leads to his mysterious encounter at the House in the Woods, and his return trip to the lake later, when no one else is there, reveals more of a "true" Jason--the one who hallucinates a ghost-boy skater and gets into that weird, half-real situation in the house with the old "witchy" woman.
ReplyDeleteThis same impulse is reflected in "Bridle Path," when his solitary travels are interrupted by the need to act "hard" around the boys (and Dawn), but where he really wants to be "out for a walk" alone (only he can't admit it, because apparently "walks are gay"!).
I think there are a lot of comparisons here with what he learns in the Hall of Mirrors, especially about his outer self reflecting is inner self, and one of the effects is that Jason seems to be happier, or at least more at peace at this point in the novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. I think the culmination of his walk through the forest, talks with the gypsies, and the Hall of Mirrors led Jason to a good place where he's been able to think about himself outside of the school social structure he's really concerned with.
DeleteWhat I take from this, is that Jason isnt even really safe in his own head. He can't just think these thoughts, the "real" Jason Taylor only comes out in the woods. And what else is significant is that these woods are barely even woods at all. I remember reading these lines and finding them powerful. Jason has to be a special kind of person to think in these ways. Awesome post
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! Not to mention often times going into the forest, doing some specific thing, then coming out triumphant is a symbol of a boy turning into a man. Instead of fighting a bear or something, he reflects upon himself, and that acts as his starting point for coming-of-age.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The woods, though often inhabited by other boys, provide a place of solitude where Jason can be himself without normal societal pressure. In reality, those things still exist, but in a different setting Jason doesn't have to think about him and is more comfortable being himself. He goes into the woods in search of something, but instead of a secret tunnel, he finds a better sense of his identity.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are a few moments in later chapters of the book where I definitely noticed lyricism and rhyme coming into Jason's prose, so I'm glad you noticed that too. In terms of his acknowledgement, I think it's interesting that it's completely obvious to the reader (and I think Jason too), but he just never really addresses the way that he performs for other people until he's really, really alone in the woods. That goes for a lot of us, I think -- we might be aware of stuff but it takes a special circumstance to prompt acknowledgment, and I really love that honesty and realistic part of Jason. Dope post!
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