Analysis Of David Mitchell's Black Swan Green

Sibling relationships are often ambiguous, multi-dimensional, and overall complicated. The relationship between Jason and his older sister, Julia, in David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green is no different. Throughout the first four chapters, the reader is presented with a few interactions between the two characters from the perspective of the younger brother. Being the oldest sibling in my family (with three younger brothers and a youngest sister), I can relate to what Mitchell describes but from the opposite perspective. In the novel, some of their interactions occur around mealtime conversations and seem to be quite bitter; another encounter in Jason’s room is not exactly positive. However, I find their relationship to be very normal for siblings

My brothers and I are constantly arguing about anything and everything, whether it be who gets to do this first, who gets a turn at that, who won that game, etc. We push each other’s buttons at every chance we get and don’t let each other get away with anything. The same is true for the relationship between Jason and Julia. During the lunch scene, Julia refers to Jason as “thing” and tells the family that, “Thing has ruined my appetite” (Mitchell 13). Jason continues the bickering by countering with, “Pigging on Cadbury Roses with Kate Alfrick… is what ruined your appetite” (13). This arguing continues a little later in the novel when Julia comes into Jason’s room and sees that he took her L.P, proclaiming “Who said you could borrow Abbey Road?” (36). Although it may seem that Jason and Julia detest each other, to me this is a normal part of a sibling relationship. As I previously eluded to, these types of interactions were common in my house. All of us, including myself, have had a nickname that was used in a sarcastic, derogatory manner; all of us have complained about the other taking our personal belongings. The scenes written by Mitchell are reflective of how siblings actually act. However, if a reader does not analyze the relationship further, he would gather a false conclusion that it was purely predicated on

The first occurrence of this is when Julia sticks up for her brother after he goes into their father’s office. She let their dad know that the same thing happened to her and that she “had no choice” but to go into his office (14). This sibling support against their parents is the culmination of that type of relationship. Even though my brother’s and I may be mean to each other, we always stick up for one another in front of our parents because we understood where the others were coming from. In addition, Julia stands up for Jason in front of their cousin. She counters Alex’s remarks towards Jason by saying, “Couldn’t see you getting much out of it, Alex… Jason’s work lacks the subtlety and maturity of the Scorpions” (49). When I stick up for my youngest brother especially, I can see the gratitude on his face. I truly feel that Jason appreciates this as well, especially since he mentally comments that, “I could’ve kissed Julia out of sheer gratitude. Almost” (49). Like most sibling relationships, Jason and Julia share an important connection that could easily be missed with a marginal glance but is ever present. This is the way I feel that my brothers and I show our care for each