34 pages • 1 hour read
David MitchellBlack Swan Green
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaSymbols & Motifs
Names
Names are a dominant motif throughout the novel. Early on, Jason reflects that there is a sort of hierarchy of names—first names, nicknames, last names, insults—that mimic one’s place in the social world. Moran, for no apparent reason other than proximity in spelling, is called Moron. Jason has several names for aspects of himself: Hangman, who causes his stammer; Maggot, who represents Jason when he feels worthless; Unborn Twin, who is essentially an imaginary sidekick; and Eliot Bolivar, his poetry-writing alter ego.
Masculinity
The search for true masculinity is another recurring motif in the book. Jason spends a good deal of time worrying whether his actions will be perceived as “gay” or a “poof” or a “ponce”—the ultimate in social suicide. Masculinity denotes roughness in this book; it means breaking someone’s wrist in a fight, or committing a three-on-one tackle, or speeding away on a motorcycle. Masculinity is fighting (and dying) for one’s country, even if it means hiding your fears. Masculinity is never revealing your sensitive side, and never showing weakness. According to these standards, Jason isn’t masculine at all—but neither, it turns out, are the boys who value these traits most.
Jason’s Watch
Jason’s watch, which breaks at the beginning of the story, symbolizes a past and a time of life that has come to an end. Although the watch belonged to his grandfather and presumably survived for many years, it is destroyed with Jason’s single fall on the ice. The watch opens a greater divide between Jason and his parents, particularly his father, since Jason is terrified to admit his carelessness with the watch. With the watch (and the regimen of time) broken, Jason’s life becomes less predictable and more out of his control.
Birds
Birds play a symbolic role in the novel. From the beginning, Jason muses that there are no swans in Black Swan Green, that the name of the village is at best ironic and at worst a pathetic joke. Yet other birds are present throughout the story. A flock of birds soars overhead, leading Jason out of his house to explore the bridle path. Another flock of birds screams out of the bushes while Jason and his classmates wait at the bus stop for the news that Tom Yew is dead. Jason’s mother’s expensive Japanese koi is snatched from the pond by a bird. In one of the final scenes, a swan suddenly appears at the lake. The birds represent, in turn, freedom and warning and the randomness of life. The presence of a swan in Black Swan Green is a sign of Jason’s maturity, that beauty and order have been restored to his world by the lessons learned through his recent life experiences.
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By David Mitchell
