Personal Narrative: Black Swan Green By Jason Taylor

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As I walked into class on my opening day of 1st grade in a new school, I knew something was different about me. I looked around to see all my peers who were quite normal and polite, but there was just something off. I soon realized this was my height when I overheard the nicknames “Tree,” “Giraffe,” and my personal favorite “The Statue of Liberty.” As though my first day of school was not tough enough, my teacher pulled me to the side and began to talk to me about advanced education. Word spread like wildfire, as fast as it can in a rural elementary school, and now I was not only the girl who towered over her class but also the nerd. How lucky I was. Entering the jungle of a cafeteria was my next task. Kindergarteners screamed and ran around …show more content…

This disability sets him apart from his linguistic classmates, which results in Jason’s fear of horrendous teasing and bullying that may occur from his voice. As Jason imagines a nightmare of having his stammer exposed in front of his whole class during the chapter “Hangman”, he says, “I’m going to stammer worse than I’ve ever stammered in my life. By nine-fifteen my secret’ll be spreading round the school like a poison-gas attack. By the end of first break my life won’t be worth living” (Mitchell 27). Jason believes that if even one classmate hears him stammer, his life is over. To Jason, the bullying would cause so much of a status drop that he is even too terrified to speak in a class. His fear of rejection may have stemmed from Jason’s eavesdropping habits. During the chapter “Hangman”, Jason overhears his Aunt Alice saying to his mother, “‘Honestly, Helena, when are you going to do something about his stutter? It’s social suicide!” (29). Now, Jason knows that his precautions before were necessary. He understands that in the society of Black Swan Green, he would be made fun of. Thirteen year olds already have the enormous stress of puberty and coming of age, but Jason Taylor must also learn to overcome his fear of being judged by something he cannot …show more content…

Schoolyard mocking may seem like the end of the world to an adolescent, but the positive will always be present somewhere; therefore, when life is hard, one must search to find the good in any situation. Life will always work itself out with a sufficient ending. If life seems unbearable and simply seems like it is impossible to move forward, we should remember, as Julia Taylor says on the final page of Black Swan Green, “it’s not the end ”

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