Thoughts on Chapter 1

Black Swan Green is a hard book to get into. I say that as both me and “teacher me” thinking about my students reading the text. Mitchell asks the (American? 21^st Century?) reader to acquaint himself with the totally unfamiliar dialect and idioms of a British village circa 1982. I found myself having to use context clues time and again to try to understand what the characters were saying. This kind of reading asks you to be active, engaged. We don’t have “sixth form” (15) as a grade level in the U.S., for instance. As a reader, I had to use the clue that Julia, Jason’s sister, is 18 to guess what that meant. (I actually Googled it to remind me about the British schooling system. I could only hope students would try to be resourceful in this situation.) By chapter’s end, I found myself much more comfortable reading. And I appreciated the fast-flying 80s pop culture references throughout. They leant an authenticity to the story and character—from musical references to the Human League to movie references to Superman II.

Mitchell also asks us to become familiar with the terminology and characteristics of Jason’s interior world. So far, we know that he has three inner voices guiding him: Hangman (who seems to control his speech for fear of his impediment), Unborn Twin (a source of self-deprecation and social anxiety), and Maggot (a kind of superego). I really liked the casualness with which these voices were introduced. It was up to the reader to discern their purpose and place in the story. I also think they may be a useful tool to track Jason’s growth over the course of the novel. Which voices take prominence? Why? How will and do the power dynamics shift?

Finally, one theme I predict may be explored in the text—and that I think would be interesting to keep in mind when teaching this to a class—is Jason’s (and maybe the village’s) idea of social hierarchy. He’s thought a lot about what makes someone accepted. For example, Jason tells us that “names aren’t just names” (5). Rather, whether a child in Black Swan Green has a nickname, is called by his last name, is referred to by his first name, or so on, all reflects his social standing. There’s a code these children abide by and to Jason, at least, it ultimately defines people as being either important or unimportant. I wonder how his conceptions of these classifications will change during the course of the narrative. What factors will contribute to these changes and what will be the signifiers?